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The Latest Texas News
Texas Joins Fight Against Taxpayer-funded Gender Mutilation Surgeries for Criminals
Alongside 23 other states, Texas is attempting to prevent a mandate forcing taxpayers to fund the surgeries.
New Order From Abbott Seeks to End DEI in State Agencies
Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest directive mirrors a similar order by President Donald Trump issued last week.
Abbott Bans Chinese AI and Social Media Apps on Texas Government Devices
RedNote and DeepSeek are among the targets of the latest ban.
Understanding the Key Deadlines of the 89th Texas Legislature
The dates citizens need to know during the 140-day session.
The Archive
Scoring Straus
One of the most common questions I get about the Fiscal Responsibility Index is “Why doesn’t Joe Straus have a session rating?” Much of the answer lies in simply the way the Index is calibrated – we only rate lawmakers based on the votes they take. By tradition,...
Houston’s Capital Improvement Budget Misallocation
Following a series of divisive debates this year, Houston City Council passed its Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) budget, which will act as a five year guide for projects across the city. Only three council members voted against the plan, with Council Member Dave...
A Closer Look at Tax Reform
Property tax reform, while a wildly popular issue among Texans, has been largely dismissed by a Republican-led legislature. While much needed attention has finally been paid towards reducing the onerous business franchise tax, too little consideration has been given...
Who is to Blame for Houston’s Credit?
Moody’s, one of three major credit rating agencies, has revised their outlook on Houston to negative citing the growing debt and pension obligations that city officials have continually failed to address. The report states, “Houston’s economy continues to benefit from...
Abbott Brings Fresh Scrutiny to Crony Carve-outs
Adopted amidst controversy in 2001, Chapter 313 of the Tax Code – titled the “Texas Economic Development Act” – has grown over the past decade to become a favored carve-out for politically connected businesses. Under the program, big businesses are empowered to...
Bullseye on Final Passage
While the “token victory” of licensed open carry legislation was moving through the legislature, campus carry was left languishing by the coalition government of liberal House Republicans and Democrats. The measure was passed by the Senate but its House counterpart...
North Texas Cities: Top 20 Largest Tax Bases
Perhaps the most widely misunderstood concept in municipal governance is judging the size of the “property tax base.” When determining the appropriate tax rate, officials often err by considering only the median home values they tax instead of the total tax base,...
A World Without Labels?
Can you imagine how difficult it would be to shop in a store where none of the products had labels? One Texas politician wants to bring that concept to elections. The newest fad in corporate America is advertising campaigns that use feel-good leftist claptrap to pitch...
Amending on the Hip
Conservative voters are a force to be reckoned with—they demand results. Establishment Republicans tend to understand this, as they often cherry pick one bill from each major issue set that they allow to pass for use during reelection season. By passing one bill as...