11/12/25 – My weird nephew Izzy called this morning. He was all excited about what he thought would be a tax refund check from Harris County. He had just finished scanning through the San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group’s latest report and had convinced himself that the check was in the mail.
The Holiday Miracle
“Uncle Bob! Uncle Bob! Did you see what happened?”
“No Izzy. Calm down. What happened?”
“Harris County solved all its flooding problems and they didn’t even have to spend half the money in the flood bond!”
“Whoa there, Izzy. That sounds a little too good to be true. What makes you think that?”
(Flipping through a loose-leaf binder with hundreds of pages): “Lookee here, Uncle Bob. Every map in the book is like this. Yessiree.”
“Yep, Uncle Bob. Every county in the river basin has flooding problems ‘cept Harris County. We done solved all our problems! I’m going to get me a new motorcycle with my refund check.”
“What’s wrong with your old motorcycle, Izzy?”
“It got flooded out.”
“And why do you think the county would give you a refund, Izzy?”
“They solved all our problems but only spent half the money. They geniuses.”
Izzy Gets an Education
“But that’s not how bonds work, Izzy. They don’t borrow the money until they need it.”
(Suddenly deflated) “You got to be kidding me.”
“Sorry Iz. I could use a refund check, too.”
“Oh, man. I was going to splurge and get me some nacho cheese Doritos with the change.”
“I’ll treat you to Doritos, Izzy, but I want to figure out what’s going on here.”
Uncle Bob’s Shocking Discovery
(Flipping through the report) “See, Uncle Bob. Harris County has NO flooding problems anymore, anywhere, nohow. I’m going to drop my flood insurance. That’ll save me some serious bank.”
“I wouldn’t drop it just yet, Izzy.”
“Why not?”
“Did you read this explanation on page 14, Izzy?”
“Read? Who reads anymore, Uncle Bob? That’s so old school.”
“It says the flooding in Harris County is still bad. They just aren’t saying how bad.”
“Why?”
“They claim they’ve been trying to figure out how to dish up the bad news…for four years.”
“Damn straight. I just can’t believe they’d try to trick me like this. They ‘da govmint. They ain’t supposed to trick people. Lives depend on this.”
“What do you say we drown our sorrows in some nacho cheese Doritos while I explain about government, Izzy?”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/12/25
2997 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/No-Flooding-in-Harris-e1762992703859.png?fit=1100%2C809&ssl=18091100adminadmin2025-11-12 17:53:122025-11-12 20:27:29Izzy Finds Harris County Magically Solved All Its Flooding Problems Overnight
11/11/25 – The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group will consider adopting a set of proposed minimum floodplain management practices for the entire river basin at its meeting on November 13. The standards are part of a requirement by the Texas Water Development Board for the 2028 update of the state’s next flood plan.
The recommendations start on page 22 of the technical document. However, the document is 634 pages long and 214 megabytes in size. So, I’ve extracted them for easy reference.
They are targeted to floodplain managers in cities and counties in the San Jacinto River Basin. But they affect everyone from developers, homebuilders, and home buyers to home owners, insurers and first responders. So, I will add some explanatory comments below the proposed regs for those who may not understand their logic or language.
Proposed Minimum Floodplain Management Practices
Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
All regulatory entities to implement ordinances that meet minimum requirements per the NFIP
All regulatory entities to remain active NFIP participants in good standing
All regulatory entities to participate in the Community Rating System (CRS) Program to reduce flood insurance rate premiums across the region.
Development of “No Adverse Impact” Policies
All regulatory entities to define a no adverse impact policy.
The no adverse impact policy should be focused on preventing negative impacts. Evaluation of impacts should be completed using best available hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, where appropriate.
Establish Minimum Finished Floor Elevations
All new habitable structures shall have a finished floor elevation established at or above or waterproofed to the FEMA effective 0.2% Annual Chance of Exceedance (ACE) flood elevation as shown on effective FIRMs except in areas designated as coastal flood zones.
Where regulatory mapping has been updated using Atlas 14 or newer rainfall data, all new habitable structures shall have a finished floor elevation established at or above or waterproofed to the FEMA effective 1.0% ACE flood elevation as shown on effective FIRMs except in areas designated as coastal flood zones.
In areas designated as coastal flood zones, all new habitable structures shall have a finished floor elevation established at or above or waterproofed to the FEMA effective 1.0% ACE flood elevation as shown on effective FIRMS plus 1 foot of freeboard.
All new critical facilities shall have a finished floor elevation established at or above or waterproofed to the FEMA effective 0.2% ACE flood elevation as shown on effective FIRMs plus 2 feet of freeboard except in areas designated as coastal flood zones.
Where regulatory mapping has been updated using Atlas 14 or newer rainfall data, all new critical facilities shall have a finished floor elevation established at or above or waterproofed to the FEMA effective 1.0% ACE flood elevation as shown on effective FIRMs plus 2 feet of freeboard except in areas designated as coastal flood zones.
In areas designated as coastal flood zones, all new critical facilities shall have a finished floor elevation established at or above or waterproofed to the FEMA effective 1.0%ACE flood elevation as shown on effective FIRMS plus 2 feet of freeboard.
Encourage Use of Best Available Data
Utilize the latest rainfall data, NOAA Atlas 14 or newer rainfall data, when conducting new analyses, designing drainage infrastructure, or developing regulations and criteria.
Compensatory Storage Requirements in the 1.0% ACE Floodplain
Any reduction in floodplain storage or conveyance capacity within the 1.0% ACE regulatory floodplain must be offset with a hydraulically equivalent (one-to-one) volume of mitigation sufficient to offset the reduction, except in areas identified as coastal flood zones.
A full hydrologic and hydraulic analysis should be performed to demonstrate that floodplain fill mitigation provided is sufficient.
Compensatory Storage Requirements in the 0.2/% ACE Floodplain
Any reduction in floodplain storage or conveyance capacity within the 0.2% ACE regulatory floodplain must be offset with a hydraulically equivalent (one-to-one) volume of mitigation sufficient to offset the reduction, except in areas identified as coastal flood zones.
A full hydrologic and hydraulic analysis should be performed to demonstrate that floodplain fill mitigation provided is sufficient.
Development of Detailed Hydrologic and Hydraulic Analysis Criteria/Requirements
All regulatory entities to develop hydrologic and hydraulic modeling criteria or requirements.
All regulatory entities to identify features of a proposed development that would warrant a full hydrologic and hydraulic analysis.
Incentivizing the Preservation of the Floodplain
All regulatory entities to explore and develop systems for incentivizing the preservation of the floodplain directly within the regulatory floodplain or within 100 feet of the banks of unstudied streams.
Nature-Based Solutions
All regulatory entities to adopt criteria for design of nature-based solutions for drainage infrastructure and stormwater quality management. TWDB’s nature-based solutions guidance manual should be referenced when adopting criteria.
All regulatory entities to establish criteria that would require new construction to incorporate, or minimally consider, nature-based solutions in design of drainage infrastructure and mitigation.
Operations and Maintenance
All flood-related authorities who own and operate drainage infrastructure to create a maintenance plan for those assets to manage and reduce future replacement costs.
All flood-related authorities who own and operate drainage infrastructure to develop and maintain an asset management plan, including GIS dataset of assets, to support maintenance of infrastructure. Datasets to leverage infrastructure toolkit that has been prepared by the TWDB to improve the assessment of drainage infrastructure condition and functionality.
Property Acquisition Program
All regulatory entities to develop property acquisition program for repetitive loss structures.
Flood Warning System
All regulatory entities to develop flood warning system for public awareness.
Hazard Mitigation Plan
All regulatory entities to develop a Hazard Mitigation Plan to help prepare for, respond to, and recover from flood events and maximize funding eligibility for disaster recovery funding.
Explaining the Proposed Minimum Floodplain Regulations
If you’re scratching your head about anything above, the following explanations may help.
NFIP and CRS
The National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System (CRS) encourages counties and municipalities to go beyond minimum floodplain management requirements in exchange for discounts on flood insurance premiums for their residents.
CRS rewards local governments that implement regulations which:
Reduce flood losses
Encourage accurate insurance rating
Promote awareness of flood risk
Depending on the strength of a community’s practices, it could earn its residents anywhere from 0% to 45% discounts on their flood insurance premiums. Currently, Houston and Harris County earn 25% discounts. Montgomery County earns 15%.
So encourage your elected officials. This recommendation hits you in the pocketbook.
No Adverse Impact
Chapter 11.086 of the Texas Water Code says “No person may divert or impound the natural flow of surface waters in this state, or permit a diversion or impounding by him to continue, in a manner that damages the property of another by the overflow of the water diverted or impounded.”
The San Jacinto Flood Groups recommendation encourages local governments to adopt policies and best practices that prevent such adverse impacts.
Finished Floor Elevations
These recommendations encourage cities and counties to establish minimum heights above expected flood levels for buildings. “Finished floor” refers to living space. Sometimes people park cars under the first finished floor. This recommendation does not count garages below living space.
Together these recommendations say that if an area has adopted Atlas 14 (the latest rainfall probability statistics) and flood maps have been updated, the first finished floor can be set at or above the 100-year (1%) flood level. Otherwise, the first finished floor should be elevated at or above the 500-year (.02%) flood level.
Critical facilities, such as hospitals, fire stations, police stations and evacuation centers should always be at least 2 feet above the 500-year flood elevation.
Compensatory Storage Requirements
This recommendation is the same as “no net fill” requirements already in effect for many 100-year floodplains in the region. It has the effect of saying, “You can’t bring dirt into the floodplain, but you can move it around.” For instance, to elevate homes, builders would have to use the dirt excavated from a detention basin. It’s designed to prevent constriction of the floodplain, which could raise flood heights.
Hydrologic and Hydraulic (H&H) Analyses
H&H Studies define where and how flooding occurs, including how fast runoff occurs, how fast it will move and where it will go. They replace flood maps based on outdated or incomplete data. They incorporate Atlas 14 rainfall data and account for new development, impervious cover, and drainage changes, including recent channel improvements or detention basins.
They enable updated floodplain mapping and help build regional consistency in data and methodology. That in turn helps improve local floodplain regulations and insurance accuracy.
Floodplain Preservation and Nature-Based Solutions
The farther homes are from floodplains, the safer they are. Preventing flood damage is vastly cheaper than correcting damage afterwards, often by a factor of 5 to 10 times or more.
Floodplain preservation provides permanent benefits including economic continuity, insurance savings, environmental benefits, and recreational benefits. It also avoids post-flood recovery costs including infrastructure repair, housing assistance, insurance claims, business disruption, and environmental cleanup.
O&M, Property Acquisition, Flood-Warning System, and Hazard Mitigation Plan
The last four floodplain management recommendations emphasize preparation.
Regular maintenance, for instance, can keep channels from becoming clogged with sediment.
Buyouts in areas that flood repeatedly prevent future damage and mitigation costs.
Flood warning systems can tell people when to evacuate or streets to avoid in a flood.
A hazard mitigation plan helps identify natural hazards, assess risks and vulnerabilities, and outline long-term strategies to deal with them.
11/10/25 – The Texas Water Development Board’s San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group will meet on Thursday, November 13, to consider adopting a technical memorandum that shows the river basin’s 100-year floodplains more than doubling in size.
However, even though the group acknowledges the superiority of Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) MAAPnext floodplain models, Harris County refuses to release updated flood maps. As a consequence, hundreds of pages of maps in the 634-page document show nothing for Harris County flood risk. Why?
Example of redacted map from page 98.
You can find the answer at the top of Page 14. “MAAPnext mapping information has not yet been made available to the public and will not be released to the public by HCFCD until late 2025 or early 2026. Given the sensitivity of this information…”
“… HCFCD has asked that MAAPnext mapping information not be shared publicly so that they can continue to carefully and thoughtfully control the roll out of this information to Harris County residents.”
Page 14, Draft Region 6 Technical Memorandum dated November 2025
HCFCD did not respond to a request for explanation or comment.
Redacted Information Exposes Public to Unnecessary Risk
This isn’t national-defense information. It’s public-safety information that you need to protect your family and life savings.
The County has been on the verge of releasing this information since 2021. But the County has postponed the release multiple times without a good explanation.
I have little faith in the late 2025/early 2026 release date. They have simply postponed it too many times. And in fact, a quick check of the MAAPnext website shows they’ve already delayed release again. Now they predict the END of 2026.
HCFCD blames delays on FEMA. But HCFCD doesn’t even need FEMA’s permission to release what they now have.
FEMA’s authority extends to flood insurance maps. But other counties release flood-map updates before FEMA for their own regulatory and public safety purposes. And that’s how this information could help.
Why We Need This Information Now
People need this data to make important decisions, such as:
Should I buy this house?
What is the real flooding risk at my house?
Should I buy flood insurance?
Can I afford flood insurance on top of my mortgage?
Is my parent’s house at risk? My children’s?
Is the assisted living center where my relatives live at risk for flooding?
Would you want to make one of these decisions knowing the government deliberately withheld information that could save a loved one’s life or your life savings? These are life-altering decisions affecting potentially hundreds of thousands of people.
A Houston Chronicle investigation found that 65,000 homes have been built in floodplains since Harvey – a number based on old pre-Atlas-14 flood maps.
The Region 6 Technical Report suggests that number may be radically understated. If floodplains cover twice as many square miles, it stands to reason more people will be affected.
Harris County has updated maps.
Not releasing the maps is a public-safety scandal.
Bob Rehak
Even worse, not explaining why the public can’t see information that could save lives and life savings is an even bigger scandal.
Meeting Information
The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group (RFPG) will meet on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 10:00 AM at the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, 1660 W Bay Area Blvd, Friendswood, TX 77546, Board Room.
The public may attend and address the RFPG in-person. Or as a courtesy you may virtually access the meeting “as technology permits.” The link for virtual access can be found at: sanjacintofloodplanning.org. And here is the agenda.
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
https://i0.wp.com/reduceflooding.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Region-6-Floodplain-Expansion.png?fit=2544%2C1786&ssl=117862544adminadmin2025-11-10 18:59:482025-11-10 19:11:46100-Year Floodplains Doubling in Size, But HCFCD Won’t Release New Maps
Izzy Finds Harris County Magically Solved All Its Flooding Problems Overnight
11/12/25 – My weird nephew Izzy called this morning. He was all excited about what he thought would be a tax refund check from Harris County. He had just finished scanning through the San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group’s latest report and had convinced himself that the check was in the mail.
The Holiday Miracle
“Uncle Bob! Uncle Bob! Did you see what happened?”
“No Izzy. Calm down. What happened?”
“Harris County solved all its flooding problems and they didn’t even have to spend half the money in the flood bond!”
“Whoa there, Izzy. That sounds a little too good to be true. What makes you think that?”
(Flipping through a loose-leaf binder with hundreds of pages): “Lookee here, Uncle Bob. Every map in the book is like this. Yessiree.”
“Yep, Uncle Bob. Every county in the river basin has flooding problems ‘cept Harris County. We done solved all our problems! I’m going to get me a new motorcycle with my refund check.”
“What’s wrong with your old motorcycle, Izzy?”
“It got flooded out.”
“And why do you think the county would give you a refund, Izzy?”
“They solved all our problems but only spent half the money. They geniuses.”
Izzy Gets an Education
“But that’s not how bonds work, Izzy. They don’t borrow the money until they need it.”
(Suddenly deflated) “You got to be kidding me.”
“Sorry Iz. I could use a refund check, too.”
“Oh, man. I was going to splurge and get me some nacho cheese Doritos with the change.”
“I’ll treat you to Doritos, Izzy, but I want to figure out what’s going on here.”
Uncle Bob’s Shocking Discovery
(Flipping through the report) “See, Uncle Bob. Harris County has NO flooding problems anymore, anywhere, nohow. I’m going to drop my flood insurance. That’ll save me some serious bank.”
“I wouldn’t drop it just yet, Izzy.”
“Why not?”
“Did you read this explanation on page 14, Izzy?”
“Read? Who reads anymore, Uncle Bob? That’s so old school.”
“It says the flooding in Harris County is still bad. They just aren’t saying how bad.”
“Why?”
“They claim they’ve been trying to figure out how to dish up the bad news…for four years.”
“Seriously?”
“I’m sorry, Izzy. They shoulda hired you to run Flood Control.”
“I got me a calculator that goes to 15 digits.”
“I’m sure you could have helped, Izzy.”
“Damn straight. I just can’t believe they’d try to trick me like this. They ‘da govmint. They ain’t supposed to trick people. Lives depend on this.”
“What do you say we drown our sorrows in some nacho cheese Doritos while I explain about government, Izzy?”
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/12/25
2997 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.
San Jacinto Flood Planning Group’s Proposed Minimum Floodplain Management Practices
11/11/25 – The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group will consider adopting a set of proposed minimum floodplain management practices for the entire river basin at its meeting on November 13. The standards are part of a requirement by the Texas Water Development Board for the 2028 update of the state’s next flood plan.
The recommendations start on page 22 of the technical document. However, the document is 634 pages long and 214 megabytes in size. So, I’ve extracted them for easy reference.
They are targeted to floodplain managers in cities and counties in the San Jacinto River Basin. But they affect everyone from developers, homebuilders, and home buyers to home owners, insurers and first responders. So, I will add some explanatory comments below the proposed regs for those who may not understand their logic or language.
Proposed Minimum Floodplain Management Practices
Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
Development of “No Adverse Impact” Policies
Establish Minimum Finished Floor Elevations
Encourage Use of Best Available Data
Compensatory Storage Requirements in the 1.0% ACE Floodplain
Compensatory Storage Requirements in the 0.2/% ACE Floodplain
Development of Detailed Hydrologic and Hydraulic Analysis Criteria/Requirements
Incentivizing the Preservation of the Floodplain
Nature-Based Solutions
Operations and Maintenance
Property Acquisition Program
Flood Warning System
Hazard Mitigation Plan
Explaining the Proposed Minimum Floodplain Regulations
If you’re scratching your head about anything above, the following explanations may help.
NFIP and CRS
The National Flood Insurance Program’s Community Rating System (CRS) encourages counties and municipalities to go beyond minimum floodplain management requirements in exchange for discounts on flood insurance premiums for their residents.
CRS rewards local governments that implement regulations which:
Depending on the strength of a community’s practices, it could earn its residents anywhere from 0% to 45% discounts on their flood insurance premiums. Currently, Houston and Harris County earn 25% discounts. Montgomery County earns 15%.
So encourage your elected officials. This recommendation hits you in the pocketbook.
No Adverse Impact
Chapter 11.086 of the Texas Water Code says “No person may divert or impound the natural flow of surface waters in this state, or permit a diversion or impounding by him to continue, in a manner that damages the property of another by the overflow of the water diverted or impounded.”
The San Jacinto Flood Groups recommendation encourages local governments to adopt policies and best practices that prevent such adverse impacts.
Finished Floor Elevations
These recommendations encourage cities and counties to establish minimum heights above expected flood levels for buildings. “Finished floor” refers to living space. Sometimes people park cars under the first finished floor. This recommendation does not count garages below living space.
Together these recommendations say that if an area has adopted Atlas 14 (the latest rainfall probability statistics) and flood maps have been updated, the first finished floor can be set at or above the 100-year (1%) flood level. Otherwise, the first finished floor should be elevated at or above the 500-year (.02%) flood level.
Critical facilities, such as hospitals, fire stations, police stations and evacuation centers should always be at least 2 feet above the 500-year flood elevation.
Compensatory Storage Requirements
This recommendation is the same as “no net fill” requirements already in effect for many 100-year floodplains in the region. It has the effect of saying, “You can’t bring dirt into the floodplain, but you can move it around.” For instance, to elevate homes, builders would have to use the dirt excavated from a detention basin. It’s designed to prevent constriction of the floodplain, which could raise flood heights.
Hydrologic and Hydraulic (H&H) Analyses
H&H Studies define where and how flooding occurs, including how fast runoff occurs, how fast it will move and where it will go. They replace flood maps based on outdated or incomplete data. They incorporate Atlas 14 rainfall data and account for new development, impervious cover, and drainage changes, including recent channel improvements or detention basins.
They enable updated floodplain mapping and help build regional consistency in data and methodology. That in turn helps improve local floodplain regulations and insurance accuracy.
Floodplain Preservation and Nature-Based Solutions
The farther homes are from floodplains, the safer they are. Preventing flood damage is vastly cheaper than correcting damage afterwards, often by a factor of 5 to 10 times or more.
Floodplain preservation provides permanent benefits including economic continuity, insurance savings, environmental benefits, and recreational benefits. It also avoids post-flood recovery costs including infrastructure repair, housing assistance, insurance claims, business disruption, and environmental cleanup.
O&M, Property Acquisition, Flood-Warning System, and Hazard Mitigation Plan
The last four floodplain management recommendations emphasize preparation.
As common-sense as these ideas are, it’s amazing that many areas still have not adopted them. That may be why Texas has more people living in floodplains than the populations of 30 states.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/11/25
2996 Days since Hurricane Harvey
100-Year Floodplains Doubling in Size, But HCFCD Won’t Release New Maps
11/10/25 – The Texas Water Development Board’s San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group will meet on Thursday, November 13, to consider adopting a technical memorandum that shows the river basin’s 100-year floodplains more than doubling in size.
However, even though the group acknowledges the superiority of Harris County Flood Control District’s (HCFCD) MAAPnext floodplain models, Harris County refuses to release updated flood maps. As a consequence, hundreds of pages of maps in the 634-page document show nothing for Harris County flood risk. Why?
You can find the answer at the top of Page 14. “MAAPnext mapping information has not yet been made available to the public and will not be released to the public by HCFCD until late 2025 or early 2026. Given the sensitivity of this information…”
HCFCD did not respond to a request for explanation or comment.
Redacted Information Exposes Public to Unnecessary Risk
This isn’t national-defense information. It’s public-safety information that you need to protect your family and life savings.
The County has been on the verge of releasing this information since 2021. But the County has postponed the release multiple times without a good explanation.
I have little faith in the late 2025/early 2026 release date. They have simply postponed it too many times. And in fact, a quick check of the MAAPnext website shows they’ve already delayed release again. Now they predict the END of 2026.
HCFCD blames delays on FEMA. But HCFCD doesn’t even need FEMA’s permission to release what they now have.
FEMA’s authority extends to flood insurance maps. But other counties release flood-map updates before FEMA for their own regulatory and public safety purposes. And that’s how this information could help.
Why We Need This Information Now
People need this data to make important decisions, such as:
Would you want to make one of these decisions knowing the government deliberately withheld information that could save a loved one’s life or your life savings? These are life-altering decisions affecting potentially hundreds of thousands of people.
A Houston Chronicle investigation found that 65,000 homes have been built in floodplains since Harvey – a number based on old pre-Atlas-14 flood maps.
The Region 6 Technical Report suggests that number may be radically understated. If floodplains cover twice as many square miles, it stands to reason more people will be affected.
Harris County has updated maps.
Even worse, not explaining why the public can’t see information that could save lives and life savings is an even bigger scandal.
Meeting Information
The San Jacinto Regional Flood Planning Group (RFPG) will meet on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 10:00 AM at the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District, 1660 W Bay Area Blvd, Friendswood, TX 77546, Board Room.
The public may attend and address the RFPG in-person. Or as a courtesy you may virtually access the meeting “as technology permits.” The link for virtual access can be found at: sanjacintofloodplanning.org. And here is the agenda.
For the full report, see Draft 2028 Region 6 Flood Plan.
Posted by Bob Rehak on 11/10/2025
2995 Days since Hurricane Harvey
The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.