Shelley Luther tells an Austin College data center forum she will file a bill giving counties limited say over industrial projects

State Rep. Shelley Luther said she plans to file a bill in the next legislative session that would give Texas counties some local control over industrial projects, including data centers, KTEN reported from a forum at Austin College in Sherman.

"We are going to file legislation this upcoming session to give counties local control of any industrial type projects happening in their area, very limited control because we don't want data centers in our backyards," Luther told the station. She did not describe the bill in more detail in the report, and the session is still months off.

The panel, held Wednesday, Oct. 21, drew Austin College students to hear about the opportunities and problems that come with the fast growth of artificial intelligence data centers.

One panelist, Chancellor Lackey-White of SMU's Hunt Institute for Engineering and Humanity, said the way the facilities appear without much explanation hurts their image. "What doesn't help public perception is we see them popping up we don't know a lot about them," Lackey-White said, tying that to transparency.

Lackey-White also cautioned against judging the projects on power alone. Electricity is a big factor for both the companies and the towns around them, Lackey-White said, but it "shouldn't be the only metric" when weighing how much a data center consumes and whether it is run sustainably.

KTEN reported that Texas has drawn the server farms because of available land, a stable energy supply and gaps in regulation, and that Grayson County commissioners pledged earlier this year to work with state lawmakers on tougher rules and on learning more about how such developments affect the area.

Students who attended said the conversation was hard but worth having. One told the station that policy and sustainability need to keep pace with an industry that is growing this quickly.

Sources

KTEN

Winter Market returns to downtown Katy Depot

The Denison Winter Market will operate every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. starting Oct. 24 at the Katy Depot, featuring vendors and food trucks.

Quincy DoyleOctober 23, 20261 min read

City workers sent for medical checks after touching chemicals someone dumped in a trash bin, and the city asks residents to rethink what they throw out

Several Denison employees came into contact with improperly discarded chemicals in a dumpster, the city said Thursday. It is urging people to use the regional household hazardous waste program instead.

Quincy DoyleOctober 22, 20262 min read

County would keep paying $28,051 a month for Denison firefighters and paramedics to cover rural areas, the same rate as last year

Grayson County commissioners take up the yearly fire and ambulance contracts Tuesday. Denison's deal, already signed by the mayor, works out to $336,612 for the year and requires monthly reports to the county.

Quincy DoyleOctober 21, 20262 min read

Hinojosa sues the governor's office for its emails with Elon Musk's companies, and Abbott calls it desperation

The Democratic nominee for governor says she was turned down after asking on Sept. 29 to see the records as a state lawmaker. Abbott's office has fought their release since 2025.

Quincy DoyleOctober 20, 20262 min read

State kept moving data center permits after Abbott ordered a halt, watchdog groups say, citing 35 actions since Sept. 21

FracTracker and Public Citizen say TCEQ records show air and stormwater approvals and expedited reviews after the governor's pause, including a generator filing in Dallas. The agency had said reviews were stopped.

Quincy DoyleOctober 19, 20263 min read

Four names on the comptroller ballot: appointed Republican Don Huffines faces Democrat Sarah Eckhardt in an open-seat race

The state's chief financial officer estimates revenue, collects sales taxes and now runs the school voucher program. Early voting starts Monday at two Denison sites.

Tobias IversonOctober 13, 20263 min read