Donna Howard

Representative Howard recognizes the need for timely and coordinated action between the state and federal governments to prevent the further spread of the screwworm outbreak. She supports the actions taken by the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) to quarantine infected populations and believes we should leverage Texas’s robust research ecosystem to enhance diagnostic and testing capabilities. For example, Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory recently deployed a rotation of staff members to South Texas to assist a USDA mobile animal disease laboratory in identifying new cases. Rep. Howard will always consult with state agencies, field researchers, ranchers, and other stakeholders to inform her response and ensure that the community has access to all the appropriate resources to prevent further spread of the outbreak.

As data center construction rapidly expands across Texas, Representative Howard believes that we need thoughtful policies which address community and environmental concerns while allowing the state to continue serving as a hub for technology and innovation. She supports policies that give local governments the necessary land-use and regulatory authority to ensure developers are responsive to community concerns and follow through on promised economic investments including job opportunities and paying property taxes. Part of this local control also includes allowing communities to reject a proposal for a data center if they don’t want it.

To address environmental concerns, Representative Howard supports legislative action to create statewide operating standards which can be adapted to the environments of different regions and encourage local partnerships. For example, while all data centers would be required to be water efficient, a data center in West Texas could cooperate with local partners to utilize the abundance of produced water to cool their systems. These statewide operating standards would also require data centers to build infrastructure which reduces noise and light pollution.

In regard to electricity usage, Representative Howard believes that data centers should pay for their electricity usage and the infrastructure needed to connect to the grid. For data centers which generate electricity off the grid, she believes that they should be employing a mix of thermal generation and renewable energy such as solar to reduce harmful pollutants produced by gas generators.

Representative Howard believes that there is tremendous potential in making Texas a hub for AI development in the world. However, she believes that this development must be done in partnership with local communities and the industry leaders must be willing to be responsible environmental stewards. Due to the local impact that data center construction has on communities, Representative Howard believes that providing Texans with accurate data about the opportunities and challenges of data centers will be key to shaping the policy discussion. To inform her positions on this issue, she has consulted with fellow legislators, environmental non-profits, mechanical engineering professors, and constituents.

Having access to a sustainable supply of water is probably the most critical issue facing Texas’s long-term viability. One of the greatest challenges surrounding water policy across the state is the diversity of water systems, which all require different solutions. Representative Howard believes that the Legislature can be most effective by adequately funding supply, infrastructure, and conservation projects that local water development boards identify. This is no small task, and will require massive new funding commitments.

According to the 2027 State Water Plan, the state will need to invest $174 billion over the next 50 years to keep up with the water demand. While Rep. Howard appreciates the Legislature’s $20 billion appropriation for water infrastructure and supply projects over the next twenty years; she believes that Texas needs a more sustainable funding mechanism. Last session, she authored HJR 126, which would’ve transferred excess dollars from the state rainy day fund into the Water Fund and provide a more consistent stream of dollars without the need for new appropriations. Unfortunately, this legislation didn’t pass last session but she will continue working with her colleagues on innovative solutions to increase funding for water.

Another key part of addressing the water crisis to improve conservation efforts and replace outdated infrastructure. When considering the water needs of the state, it’s important to factor in the supply we currently have. Representative Howard believes is very supportive of increasing funding for conservation and reclamation programs. For example, the City of Austin’s purple pipe program reclaims wastewater for irrigation, cooling, and toilets. This reclaimed water is less expensive than drinking water to treat, making it a smart investment for the state to help cities preserve potable water for their growing populations.

When faced with policy decisions on agricultural water use, Representative Howard believes it’s important to work with legislators and local water planning groups whose communities are directly impacted by these policies. Additionally, she often consults the expertise of universities with robust agricultural and environmental research programs such as Texas A&M.

A final key policy issue to address the state’s water crisis is reforming our planning process to provide legislators with more up-to-date information on water usage. Representative Howard believes that the Texas Water Planning process should be updated on a biennial basis rather than every five years to help legislators make more informed decisions based on current data. This would allow legislators to be more responsive to sudden changes in water usage such as the explosion of data centers or new conservation technologies becoming available across the state.

Improving grid reliability will be a key factor in ensuring Texas remains a desirable place to live and do business. Representative Howard believes that increasing energy supply and building additional transmission infrastructure will be crucial to address rapid load growth.

To meet the increased energy demand, Texas must utilize its uniquely diverse energy portfolio to increase existing generation capabilities in thermal, solar, and wind while also building out nuclear and geothermal capabilities. She supported the establishment of the Texas Energy Fund in the 88th Legislative Session to improve the state’s ability to fund these projects. As the state moves to address the concerns of grid reliability, we also need to consider how to improve energy efficiency among residents. Representative Howard supports expanding the uses of the Fund to include incentivizing homeowners to make efficiency upgrades such as improved insulation and installing residential solar. As the Legislature looks to address the increased strain on the grid, Representative Howard believes we have an opportunity to make historic investments in generation, transmission, and efficiency which can meet the needs of both current and future generations of Texans.

While Texas is more than capable of meeting the energy needs of the State, we do not have the adequate infrastructure to move the power to where it’s needed. Representative Howard believes that the state needs to leverage public and private partnerships to invest significant capital into building out additional transmission lines that serve all energy types. Specifically, Rep. Howard is supportive of building 765 kV lines which can transport more energy with less land use, and less wasted energy.

Representative Howard believes that the top-tier research produced by Texas’s higher education institutions is one of the state’s greatest exports. As the Vice Chair of the House Higher Education Committee, she is committed to ensuring that Texas’s research institutions remain competitive and well funded.

Because the federal government makes up such a large percentage of funding for our research institutions, Rep. Howard believes that this is an opportunity to generate bipartisan support among Texas policymakers at the state and federal levels. Representative Howard will work with her colleagues in the Legislature and partners in Congress to coordinate their efforts and ensure that Texas remains a priority state for research dollars.

Another opportunity to ensure that Texas remains competitive for research funding is to encourage more joint proposals from higher ed institutions. For example, Representative Howard recently attended a technology and innovation forum where Dr. Jeff Prevost of UT San Antonio described the joint proposal submitted by 16 Texas universities and 3 national labs in response to the National Science Foundation’s Quantum Leap Challenge. While this proposal unfortunately didn’t get selected, it created a much more interconnected research ecosystem that could serve as a model for leveraging all of our top-tier research institutions for competitive funding.

Another advantage that Texas has for attracting research investment is its role as a hub for business and industry. As a leader in energy, agriculture, healthcare, and IT, Texas should leverage these public-private partnerships not only to drive capital investment, but also to apply research in the field. For example, Rep. Howard has been a strong advocate of getting Texas power companies to adopt distribution fault anticipation technology to prevent wildfires caused by faulty power lines. This technology was patented by Dr. B. Don Russell at Texas A&M and can autonomously monitor power lines and alert operators about potential system failures weeks in advance. This technology has been adopted across the west coast and in other countries such as New Zealand, but has yet to see widespread adoption in Texas. Rep. Howard sees this as an opportunity for Texas companies to further invest in research and technology developed by our higher ed institutions to address a critical issue facing our state.

Representative Howard is greatly concerned by the drop in the measles vaccination rate and growing distrust of vaccines in the State of Texas. As a policymaker and a former nurse, Representative Howard has been active in trying to increase access to vaccinations and improve education and awareness regarding vaccine safety.

Representative Howard has been working on a bill for years that would reform our outdated immunization registry. Currently, Texas is one of only four states with an explicit “opt-in” requirement for our immunization registry. This “opt-in” system has created barriers for physicians and health departments, particularly when it comes to interacting with Electronic Health Records (EHR). Her bill streamlines the consent process by automatically including Texans in the registry while providing clear instructions for individuals to opt out. As vaccination rates fall across the state and health officials have to respond to public health crises such as the measles outbreak, the need for this bill becomes increasingly evident.

In regard to engaging with communities that are skeptical about vaccine safety, Representative Howard believes that this is a communication issue rather than a legislative policy issue. She believes it’s important for providers to foster an ongoing dialogue with patients and families about the effectiveness of vaccines, while also creating an environment where questions are welcomed.

Scientific evidence and expert input are central to Representative Howard’s policy-making process. During the Legislative session, Representative Howard and her colleagues consider thousands of bills across a variety of complicated subjects. Because legislators can’t be experts on every policy area, Representative Howard is very proactive in reaching out to experts who can provide relevant insights and share evidence-based data to help inform policy decisions.

Representative Howard prides herself on a long career of putting policy over politics which can sometimes mean taking a vote that is politically unpopular if the data leads to a different conclusion. In these instances, Representative Howard makes an effort to communicate with her constituents and help them understand how the data informed her decision-making process. Even if they don’t agree with all of her votes, she wants constituents to feel that their input is heard and for them to understand her choices.

In instances where scientific evidence diverges from public opinion, Representative Howard tends to side with the established scientific community. She believes it’s important to review a wide range of evidence and cross-check data with other specialists in the field. In the end, she will go where the facts and science leads her. For example, an issue where she often has to contend with competing claims is related to abortion healthcare. While there are physician-led groups who oppose abortion and a wide range of beliefs in the court of public opinion, the general consensus among the medical community is that abortions are a proven medical procedure that should be available to physicians to protect the health and safety of women. She recognizes this procedure as a safe medical procedure that should be available to pregnant Texans.