Texas Governor Cuts Water Supply to Construction Workers During Heatwave

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a new law that will nullify a wide range of local regulations, including mandated water breaks for construction workers, beginning Sept. 1. The new law strips the ability of local municipalities to enact certain regulations in favor of state authority, ostensibly to “provide statewide consistency.” Critics dubbed it the “Death Star Bill.” Texas is already the top state for worker deaths due to heat, and heat-related deaths hit a two-decade high just last year when at least 279 people across Texas died by heat.