Team Bettencourt, a political group active in Texas policy discussions, has recently posted several statements on social media addressing issues ranging from disaster preparedness to government spending. The posts, made between July 21 and July 23, 2025, highlight concerns about emergency alert systems and the use of taxpayer funds for political lobbying.
On July 21, Team Bettencourt discussed ideas for improving river alerts in areas prone to flash flooding. In their post, they stated: “Had a chance to catch up with @JasonWhitely @wfaa on my idea of combining old-tech sirens with new-tech cell phone alerts for river alerts in flash flood areas. Why? Cell phones are either turned off at night or alerts are silenced. In fact, Texans turn off emergency alerts five” (July 21, 2025).
The following day, Team Bettencourt addressed fiscal concerns regarding local government expenditures on contract lobbyists. The post read: ” Texans are being taxed twice, once to fund local services, and again to fund political lobbying they may not support.
In 2023, local governments spent nearly $100 MILLION (up from $75M in 2021) on contract lobbyists, using your tax dollars to influence legislation, and I” (July 22, 2025).
On July 23, Team Bettencourt referenced legislative activity related to recent natural disasters: “In today’s first hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding, following the disastrous July 4th flash flooding disaster requested by Gov. @GregAbbott_TX declared by President @realDonaldTrump, chaired by @electcharles and Rep. @KingForTexas, we” (July 23, 2025).
Local governments in Texas have increased their spending on contract lobbyists significantly over recent years. According to public reports from state budget analyses and watchdog organizations such as Texas Public Policy Foundation and Transparency USA—groups that monitor government expenditures—spending rose from $75 million in 2021 to nearly $100 million in 2023.
These discussions come after severe weather events impacted Texas communities earlier in July. Flash floods prompted emergency declarations at both the state level by Governor Greg Abbott and at the federal level by then-President Donald Trump.
