State

Texans Brace for Winter Blast
Ahead of the two-year anniversary of the deadly 2021 winter storm, some experts say not enough has been done.

Texas Mafia: Reviving and Rebranding Crony Corruption
“I think that this whole system has been built in a very anti-taxpayer manner.”

H-E-B and UT Sponsor Dinner ‘Celebrating’ LGBT Advocacy
The dinner included a COVID-19 vaccine entry requirement.

Exclusive: Records Reveal Texans Are Fed up With Property Taxes
Citizens slam high property tax bills in correspondence with Gov. Greg Abbott’s office.
State Archive
Everything Is Bigger in Texas—Including Property Taxes
Property taxes in Texas are some of the highest in the country, according to a recent report from the Huffines Liberty Foundation. The Huffines Liberty Foundation, led by former state senator and gubernatorial candidate Don Huffines, determined that Texas ranks fourth...
Texas Lawmakers Want to Secure the Power Grid
This week on The Salcedo Storm Podcast, Texas State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R–Arlington) and Texas State Sen. Bob Hall (R–Edgewood) explained the dangers of leaving the power grid in its current state. The 2021 Texas “Snowmageddon,” Winter Storm Uri, showed Texans just...
Legislation to Ban Taxpayer-funded Lobbying Filed in the Texas Senate
On Monday, Senator-elect Mayes Middleton (R–Wallisville) filed Senate Bill 175, which would prohibit public funds from being used to hire registered lobbyists. If the Legislature bans the practice, school districts and cities will be barred from spending taxpayer...
Gov. Greg Abbott Invokes Invasion Clauses But Changes Nothing
On Tuesday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced his invocation of the Invasion Clauses of the U.S. and Texas constitutions as the invasion on the Texas-Mexico border worsens, but he refused to outright declare an invasion and return illegal border-crossers to Mexico....
House Lawmakers File Legislation to Halt Child Gender Mutilation in Texas
As prefiling for the 88th Legislative Session started Monday, State Reps. Steve Toth (R–The Woodlands) and Bryan Slaton (R–Royse City) immediately filed House Bill 41 and House Bill 42, respectively, to ban the child gender mutilation procedures wreaking havoc on...
Texas Lawmaker Is Fighting for Vaccine Freedom
Monday marked the beginning of bill prefiling in the Texas Legislature for the 88th Legislative Session. The opening of bill prefiling kicked off with hundreds of bills being filed within the first few hours, and even more followed. One of the major bills was State...
We Are Taking This Vote to the Floor
In 2017, I was one of five state representatives who participated in writing a rule that established a process for the Texas Republican Caucus to select the speaker of the House prior to the first day of session. This was an effort led by conservatives in order to end...
Texas GOP Voters Don’t Want Democrats in Charge
A new poll of Texas Republican primary voters shows a majority would be less likely to support Republican legislators who vote to allow Democrats to be put in leadership positions in the state Legislature. The poll, which was commissioned by the Republican Party of...
The Texas House’s 17 Incoming Republican Freshman
A previous version of this article said there are 15 incoming Republican freshman. There are 17, with Charles Cunningham winning HD 127, and Carl Tepper winning automatically in HD 84. As Republicans maintain a majority in the Texas House of 86-64—and after a...