Beware of Non-Ag Development
To the editor:
The Fayette County Record reported that Commissioners Court discussed possible commercial development regulations at its May 28 meeting. That’s good. The pressure for growth and large-scale real estate development will only increase and should be regulated. I’m retired and try to maximize my time on the family farm near Ellinger where I grew up. There are large gravel operations adjoining our property and nearby. Before the gravel pits, the land was used for cotton and grain fields and grazing cattle since the County was settled in the 1820s and by German and Czech immigrant farmers after that.
The 2023 Legislature passed the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act (Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code § 51.002). It prohibits Texas cities and counties from adopting ordinances regulating commercial activities over which the State has authority. The State regulates almost everything in some way. A case challenging the validity of that law is pending before the Texas Supreme Court (No. 26-0521). https://search. txcourts.gov/Case.aspx?cn=260521&coa=cossup The Texas Attorney General has determined that current Texas law does not allow counties to adopt and enforce moratoriums on solar farms (Opinion No. AC-0003, issued 8-16-2023). The AG will likely reach the same decision for other similar types of commercial activities. The County Attorney for Delta County (in NE Texas) requested an AG opinion (RQ-0634-KP) on 2-24-2026 as to whether a county has authority to impose a moratorium on energy and data centers. www.texasattorneygeneral. gov/requests/ken-paxton/ rq-0634-kp. An opinion has not yet been issued.
The Texas Municipal League posted last week that the Texas House Select Committee on Governmental Oversight would meet on 6-4-2026 to hear invited and public testimony on the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act to:
• Investigate and identify local ordinances that conflict with the Act and determine whether local governments are unlawfully enforcing such ordinances; and,
• Identify additional regulatory areas where local governments have sought to supplant the state as the exclusive or primary regulator, directly or indirectly, and make recommendations to help small businesses by reducing regulatory inconsistency. www.tml.org/1137/May- 29-2026-Number-21
In the 2025 Legislature, Senate Bill 819 was filed by Senator Lois Kolkhorst to authorize the Public Utility Commission “to put guidelines in place for new wind and solar installations to help balance the need for these structures with the state’s responsibility to protect nature.” SB 819 passed in the Texas Senate but was not voted on in the House. SB 819 was opposed on grounds that it would override private property rights and targeted wind / solar facilities but not oil and gas operations. See Conservative Energy Network ( https://conservativeenergynetwork. org/sb-819-a-directthreat- to-texas-energy-future).
SB 624, the predecessor bill by Sen. Kolkhorst, failed to pass in the 2023 Legislature. Last August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will no longer subsidize solar and wind projects on productive farmland.
https://texasfarmbureau.org/ usda-moves-to-limit-solar-windprojects- on-farms/ The USDA said: “One of the largest barriers of entry for new and young farmers is access to land. Subsidized solar farms have made it more difficult for farmers to access farmland by making it more expensive and less available.” The Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute estimates Texas loses about 640 acres of farm and ranchland each day (233,600 acres per year) to conversion for non-ag use. (Fayette County is about 614,000 acres, with 471,000 acres in agriculture. USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2022 Census.)
Oil and gas, surface mining, data center, landfill and housing projects all create problems in rural areas. County officials and adjoining landowners must be notified and allowed to participate in the permitting process. Please again strongly urge members of the Legislature for Fayette County to enact laws requiring appropriate review and effective regulation and enforcement for all industrial and non-agricultural development projects in rural counties. Rural land, residents and natural resources must be protected.