Where Texas 2036 is focused this year
This is a preview of our Texas 2036 newsletter with an overview of our goals, areas where we are focused and major projects for 2026. To receive this weekly look at our work, sign up here.
From Interim to Impact: Turning Data into Action at Texas 2036
Last week, we made the case for why the interim isn’t downtime in Texas politics, it’s where much of the real work happens.
This week, we’re showing you where Texas 2036 fits in. From education and workforce to water, health care, energy and childcare, our teams are already deep in the data and conversations that will help shape the next legislative session and Texas’ trajectory for years to come.
How interim work is shaping the 2027 session
The interim is when Texas 2036 begins the work that supports legislative action. Throughout this period, our teams focus on making sure the right data, analysis and insights are ready when the 2027 legislative session begins.
That work includes:
- Tracking legislative hearings and interim charges
- Providing nonpartisan data and policy analysis
- Monitoring how new laws are implemented
- Participating in Sunset reviews
- Preparing research designed to inform legislative decisions
Because of this work, we’re already shaping how we think about legislative priorities.
Meet the Education and Workforce team
This team is focused on helping every Texas student graduate prepared for what comes next. For Texas 2036, that means strengthening systems that move students successfully into postsecondary education or into the workforce with the skills needed to earn a family-sustaining wage.
In 2026, that work includes:
- Supporting implementation of House Bill 8: Working alongside state agencies and stakeholders to support rulemaking and rollout of HB 8, the landmark legislation that overhauled Texas’ assessment and accountability system, with a focus on clarity, consistency and stronger outcomes for students and schools statewide.
- Advancing smoother pathways to credentials: Building on research like “Earned But Not Awarded” to promote policies that recognize student progress, reduce stop-outs and help more Texans earn credentials with clear labor market value.
- Strengthening education and workforce alignment: Advocating for improved workforce data infrastructure and governance so education and labor systems work together more transparently and effectively.
Meet the Infrastructure, Natural Resources expert
Jeremy Mazur serves as director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at Texas 2036. His work focuses on strengthening water systems, energy reliability and overall resilience so that Texas communities can better prepare for and respond to changing conditions.
In 2026, that work includes:
- Monitoring energy system resilience: Tracking this weekend’s winter storm and its impacts to better understand how the state’s energy grid performs during extreme weather and where vulnerabilities remain. Read more about the storm.
- Supporting implementation of water infrastructure funding: Staying engaged in the rollout of HB 500, including reviewing proposed rules and submitting public comments to help ensure water infrastructure investments are implemented effectively and transparently.
- Strengthening flood resilience: Examining flood mitigation strategies and lessons from other states, and co-hosting a webinar with the American Flood Coalition in February to explore approaches that can improve flood preparedness and resilience in Texas. (Registration details coming soon on our socials.)
Texas 2036 is also expanding this work. We are hiring an infrastructure and natural resources policy advisor to support this portfolio. Learn more about the position.
Meet the Health and Economic Mobility team
This team focuses on the policies that shape whether Texans can stay healthy, remain in the workforce and support their families. At Texas 2036, the work centers on improving access to affordable health care and childcare, both of which are essential to economic mobility and long-term prosperity.
In 2026, that work includes:
- Explaining Texas’ record ACA enrollment: Sharing why Texas’ enrollment in the ACA Marketplace has outpaced the national trend, including the role of bipartisan legislation passed in 2021 that expanded access to affordable coverage.
- Evaluating health benefit reform options: Working with researchers to analyze All-Payor Claims Database claims data and assess the potential impact of reform options for the ERS and TRS health benefit plans.
- Listening to Texans on childcare: Conducting a statewide survey to better understand the experiences and needs of parents, childcare providers and employers related to early childhood programs in Texas.
Meet the Justice and Safety expert
Luis Soberon serves as a senior policy advisor for justice and safety at Texas 2036, covering issues across the justice system, including law enforcement regulation, courts and prison reform. His work intersects with education, workforce and government performance, reflecting how justice outcomes are shaped by multiple systems working together.
In 2026, that work includes:
- Improving traffic stop data collection: Following the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement’s Motor Vehicle Stop Data Advisory Committee as it develops stronger data collection and reporting standards to improve data quality and usability. Soberon testified at the committee’s inaugural meeting, which will continue to meet monthly through May.
- Advancing higher education in prison programming: Working with the Education and Workforce team to track the transition of prison-based higher education programs from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to the Windham School District, and visiting the George Beto Unit in Palestine to examine how these programs support reentry and workforce readiness.
Meet the Government Performance expert
Rahul Sreenivasan serves as the director of government performance and fiscal policy at Texas 2036. His work focuses on how state budgets, agency performance and data systems come together to support effective and accountable government, in close coordination with colleagues across the organization whose work aligns with government performance.
In 2026, that work includes:
- Modernizing data, privacy and AI governance: Working with Texas 2036’s AI lead, Renzo Soto, to promote a more unified approach to Texas’ data infrastructure, privacy protections and AI governance so state agencies can operate more effectively and Texans can have confidence in how information is collected, protected and used.
- Strengthening workforce data systems: Collaborating with the Sunset Advisory Commission and other stakeholders to improve Texas’ workforce data systems to strengthen government performance and support economic development and talent alignment.
- Assessing economic and revenue risks: Tracking broader economic and geopolitical trends and analyzing their potential effects on the Texas economy and the state’s long-term revenue outlook.
Meet the Policy and Advocacy team
The policy and advocacy team ensures Texas 2036’s research informs real decisions. The team connects data to decision-makers, builds bipartisan coalitions and stays engaged throughout the interim and legislative session to help move ideas from analysis to action.
In 2026, that work includes:
- Supporting legislative engagement: Tracking interim activity, hearings and charges, and working with lawmakers and staff to ensure research is timely, relevant and useful as policy discussions take shape.
- Advancing bipartisan policy solutions: Translating research into pragmatic policy options and building coalitions around long-term challenges facing the state.
- Strengthening coordination and follow-through: Supporting policy workflows, monitoring implementation and sharing clear updates that help decision-makers and the public understand what is happening and why it matters.
How we communicate our work in 2026
Texas has never lacked opinions. What it needs, especially during pivotal moments like this interim, is trusted information. Since 2016, Texas 2036 has believed that good data, clearly explained, can change how Texans understand the choices before us.
Our communications work ensures research does not stay on the page. It brings data into conversations across the state to help inform decisions leading up to the 2027 legislative session.
That is why our focus remains on sharing clear, nonpartisan insight with:
- Media outlets across Texas and the nation
- Chambers, organizations and stakeholders working in communities statewide
- Texans who care about where the state is headed
The power of good data and communications:
Beginning last October, Texas 2036 helped bring clarity to one of the most misunderstood issues in Texas: health coverage.
By grounding the conversation in data, our team engaged with more than 60 media stories, built on prior coverage and shared clear, data-driven analysis explaining the availability of affordable plans on the ACA Marketplace.
The results tell an important story. Texas bucked the national trend, with more than 4.1 million Texans enrolling in ACA Marketplace coverage, an increase over the prior year.
This is what happens when people have access to clear, trustworthy information and when organizations stay focused on long-term outcomes.
👉 Learn more about the story behind Texas’ ACA enrollment.
Communications we’re most excited about in 2026:
🎙️Future of Texas Conversations: Timed with the countdown to the bicentennial, we will launch a new series of podcasts, newsletters and insights that bring thought leaders together to explore what kind of future Texans want to build.
🚘 A virtual Texas roadshow: We will share regional data and insights with communities across the state this summer.
🗳️ The 10th Texas Voter Poll: We return ahead of the November elections with survey data to understand what Texans are thinking, feeling, and hoping for.
📝 New reports, issue papers and data insights: We’ll release research on education, health care, water, workforce, energy, resilience and more.
🗓️ The rollout of our 2027 legislative agenda: Coming this fall.
Texans are hungry for information they can trust. That is the role Texas 2036 was created to play, and in a year like this, it matters more than ever.
Let’s keep the conversation going…
We have received thoughtful feedback from many of you over the past few weeks, and we are grateful for it.
Tell us what you are excited about this year and share what issues you are watching and what questions you have. Your perspective helps shape this work. Keep it coming.
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