Hundreds of elected officials, business leaders and policy advocates gathered in San Angelo last week for the 22nd annual West Texas Legislative Summit, where conversations about energy, water, rural health care and the rapid growth of artificial intelligence offered an early preview of issues likely to shape the next Texas legislative session.
The sold-out Aug. 6 summit was hosted by the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce at Angelo State University’s C.J. Davidson Conference Center, with Congressman August Pfluger, State Sen. Charles Perry and State Rep. Drew Darby serving as honorary co-hosts. The event followed a reception at the historic Cactus Hotel the previous evening.
This year’s theme, “West Texas Horizon: Innovating for Opportunities, Grounded in Stewardship,” reflected a recurring message throughout the day: West Texas is positioned to play an increasingly important role in the state’s economic and energy future, but that growth will bring new demands on electricity, water and local infrastructure.
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows joined Perry and Darby for the summit’s opening discussion, looking back at the 89th Legislature and ahead to the 90th Legislature, which convenes in January 2027.
Burrows pointed to legislation strengthening classroom discipline and the statewide prohibition on student cellphone use during the school day as accomplishments from the most recent session he was most proud of. Looking forward, he predicted that property taxes would again be a dominant issue and also called for lawmakers to address the rising cost of health insurance and property and casualty insurance.
Perry placed greater emphasis on the long-term infrastructure needs accompanying Texas’ continued growth, particularly water and transportation. He warned that the state will have less surplus revenue available than lawmakers enjoyed during recent sessions, potentially forcing legislators to make harder decisions about competing priorities.
Water emerged as one of the summit’s major themes, particularly the enormous quantities of produced water generated alongside oil and natural gas production in the Permian Basin.
“You cannot separate power and water,” Perry said.
The summit has grown considerably since the San Angelo Chamber established it as a local policy forum in 2004. A Texas House resolution, H.R. 1520, commemorating its 20th anniversary noted that the event routinely draws more than 500 attendees and has developed into a major meeting place for state and federal officials, industry executives and West Texas community leaders.
With lawmakers still months away from returning to Austin, the 2026 summit offered an early indication of the legislative battles ahead. Property taxes and affordability remain high on the agenda, but West Texas leaders are increasingly focused on how Texas can accommodate extraordinary economic and technological growth without allowing its water, power grid and local infrastructure to fall behind.