Strategy Guide
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Data Center Community Engagement in Texas
Who decides, when to start, how to prepare for a hearing, and what community giving can and cannot do.
Read ArticleTexas Local Government and Public Affairs Insights
Guides for companies facing a city, county, or district decision.
Executive Note: Start while there is still time to hear the objection and change the plan. Listen, map support and objections, and keep a record of who was contacted.
The JD Key Approach
JD Key Consulting is an Austin firm for Texas local government and public affairs. James Dickey leads strategy. Blake Sbrocco is Vice President and takes part in the work.
We listen, map who supports a project and who objects, and help willing residents contact their own officials. We track that outreach. James and Blake also speak in interviews, op-eds, and testimony.
The firm works beside your team, your counsel, your technical specialists, and the lobbyists and public relations people you already use. Public advocacy is client work. It is not a promise of access or a result.
Strategy Guide
Why Companies Need Local Public Affairs Help
Why would a company with a capable team still hire someone to listen in a Texas city or county?
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Local Public Affairs vs. Public Relations
What should local public affairs handle when a public relations firm already speaks for the company?
Read ArticleStrategy Guide
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Government Affairs vs. Lobbying: Where Local Work Fits
Where does local work fit when a lobbyist already covers Austin?
Read ArticleOperator Brief
Batch Zero: what it takes to keep your Texas power allocation
Batch Zero eligibility, September response deadlines, October permit constraints, and the financial commitments behind a Texas data center’s power schedule.
Read ArticleStatistics
Texas Data Center & ERCOT Statistics 2026
Sourced figures on large-load queues, peak demand, LFL capacity, and grid policy — built for citation by journalists and operators.
Read ArticleRegulatory Intelligence
Texas Regulatory Mandates Driving Agency Spending in 2026
How 89th-session mandates create new state agency spending, which agencies and businesses they affect, and how to manage the downstream compliance cost.
Read ArticleConstitutional Analysis
Texas Counties Lack Authority for Data Center Moratoriums
The statutory and constitutional case against county data center moratoriums in Texas. Dillon's Rule, Chapter 232, Chapter 245, the 30-day shot clock, and Article I, Section 17.
Read ArticleConservative Case
Republicans Don't Have a Data Center Problem. Our Platform and Principles are Clear.
The 2024 Texas Republican Platform — Principles 4, 8, 9, and the Preamble — already settled the carve-out debate. Why panic and dark money don't change the answer. Part 1 of 4.
Read ArticleFiscal Analysis
What a $2 Billion JETI Data Center Really Means for a Small School District
Hold harmless on M&O, 3x yield on recapture-free Golden Pennies, 5x bond capacity on I&S. The school finance math behind a JETI project at a $500M-base district.
Read ArticleLegislative Intelligence
2026 Interim Charges: Both Chambers Just Put Data Centers on the Agenda
Speaker Burrows and Lt. Gov. Patrick assigned data center charges to six committees across both chambers. Four areas overlap. Analysis for data centers, energy, and infrastructure.
Read ArticleLegislative Intelligence
The Speaker Just Put Data Centers on the 2027 Agenda. Twice.
Two committees received explicit data center charges. Regulatory streamlining, SB 6 review, water scrutiny, and grid resilience.
Read ArticleLegislative Intelligence
Cities Keep Changing the Rules. The Speaker Just Built a Committee to Stop It.
Speaker Burrows created a select committee to review the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act. Here's what the law already provides and what the committee will clarify for data center developers.
Read ArticleLegislative Intelligence
The Senate Just Put Data Centers on Four Committee Agendas
Patrick's charges assign data center growth, grid reliability, water consumption, and a $3.3 billion fiscal audit to four Senate committees.
Read ArticlePolicy Analysis
Federal AI Preemption Is Coming. Here's What Texas Keeps and What It Loses.
The White House AI framework tells Congress to preempt state AI laws. Three categories of Texas authority survive. Three don't.
Read ArticleRegulatory Strategy
If You're Not Commenting on PUCT Rules, Someone Else Is Shaping Them for You
The Project 58481 comment window closed April 17. The commission adopted a different large-load rule on September 18.
Read ArticleSelection Guide
Top Texas Government Affairs Firms (2026): Choose With Confidence
A CEO/GC framework to compare Texas GR firms by fit, senior coverage, conflicts, and regulatory depth.
Read ArticleVetting Checklist
How to Hire a Texas Lobbyist Without Costly Surprises
The 7 questions that separate expensive networking from disciplined risk reduction.
Read ArticleStrategy Guide
Texas Government Affairs: Reduce Risk With Early Visibility
How the Texas legislative and regulatory process actually works—and why early visibility prevents expensive surprises.
Read ArticleNewsletter
Newsletter Archive
Browse past issues of the Texas Government Affairs Intelligence Briefing — free policy analysis delivered twice monthly.
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