Sugar Land residents could see increases to several city fees including solid waste and water services in 2027.

In a nutshell: At a Sept. 1 meeting, Sugar Land City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance to raise fees for city services. Most city service or utility fees will increase by 3.77%, although water, solid waste and stormwater fees will vary slightly, Director of Budget ShaLae Steadman said. 

Zooming in: The agenda item suggests increasing solid waste from $22.97 to $24.12 per month and water prices by approximately $3.06 per month for the average household using 10,000 gallons of water a month.

Also of note: Several other fees were updated this year, beyond the annual CPI adjustment, to better align with cost of services, Steadman said. City staff also created new fees for services currently provided with no cost recovery.

Looking ahead: The council will take a final vote on Sept. 15, per agenda documents. If approved, the proposed fees will go into effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Fort Bend County will see some shifts in how it receives legal advice.

In a nutshell: At an Aug. 27 meeting, Fort Bend County commissioners voted to create a new legal department—dubbed the Legal Department Civil Division—which will receive staff, resources and some responsibilities from the county attorney’s office.

What’s new: The new legal department does not eliminate the county attorney's office, but it transfers responsibilities, said Dennis Spellman, media relations and external engagement manager for Precinct 3.

Currently, the county attorney represents the county in civil suits and deals with transactions for projects and contracts. With the new department, the county attorney will still represent the county in civil suits, but it will no longer deal with the other transactional projects, he said.

Spellman said the idea of a new department came from the commissioners’ dissatisfaction with the amount of time some projects take to get out of the county attorney's office.

Looking ahead: The new department is set to be created in fiscal year 2026-27, which begins Oct. 1, per agenda documents.

Three candidates will face off during the Nov. 3 election to see who claims the spot to represent US House District 7 for the next two years.

House District 7 covers portions of Houston's inner loop, including West University Place, Bellaire, Midtown and a section of the Heights before branching out toward Fort Bend County and covering cities such as Sugar Land and Mission Bend.

Preparing for the polls: In Harris County, early voting will kick off Oct. 19 at 7 a.m., with polls remaining open through Oct. 30. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is Oct. 23.

On Election Day, vote centers across the county will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents can view more voting center information on the Harris County Clerk's Office.

Something to note: Candidates were asked to limit their responses to 50 words, answer the questions provided and avoid criticizing their opponent. Responses may have been edited for length, to adhere to those guidelines, or for style and clarity.

Texas senators indicated Sept. 1 that they intend to tighten regulations on data centers during next year’s legislative session, which begins in January.

What they're saying: “I think every member's district has had an impact from a data center conversation, so there will be plenty of bills trying to put things in place that are reasonable, responsible regulatory frameworks for data centers,” state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, said.

The big picture: With some Texas residents and conservation groups sounding the alarm about water-intensive technologies used by some data centers, state agencies have warned that limited information is available on how much water the industry actually uses. Officials said they have also had trouble determining exactly how many data centers are operating in the state today, as there is no “comprehensive statewide list” of existing and planned facilities.

Estimates from state agencies and the University of Texas at Austin suggest that roughly 370 data centers are currently operating in Texas, with about 100 facilities under construction and another 180 being proposed.