State news in Texas
Statewide Texas News
Rural Health Bill Amended to Prohibit Social Transitioning of Minors
Legislation passed in 2023 to prevent gender mutilation of minors did not address the psychological or social transitioning element.
Education Committee Hears Homeschool Freedom Protection
The measure would reinforce established prohibitions against homeschooling regulations.
Texas GOP Priority Bill Stalls While Staffer Accused of Promoting ‘Woke’ Agenda
Legislation to end the sale of obscene products in traditional retail stores has yet to receive a hearing.
Texas Senators Unanimously Pass Impeachment Reform Legislation
The legislation clarifies certain laws and provides additional guidelines for impeachment proceedings.
State Archive
Texas House Decriminalizes Lemonade Stands
Soon, Texas children may be able to sell lemonade without fear of prosecution. In one of the first bills passed in the session, the Texas House has voted to decriminalize children's lemonade stands. Often one of the first opportunities for children to learn about...
Conservatives Defeat Effort to Turn Failing Schools into Welfare Centers
As Democrat lawmakers in the Texas House were working to give administrators of failing schools extra time before being shut down, conservatives were able to defeat those efforts and clean up glaring problems with the bill. During their first daily calendar of the...
Out-Of-Touch Local Officials Versus Texas Taxpayers
Taxpayers across Texas are demanding relief from skyrocketing property tax burdens, yet some local officials are actively opposing popular reforms to help control the growth of Texans’ property tax bills.Recent polling shows an overwhelming 77 percent of...
Pecan Bill is 86th’s Occupational Licensing Battle in a Nutshell
Texas likes to tout its business-friendly environment, but when it comes to government permission to perform your profession, Texas lags behind other states. Conservatives have tried for several sessions to undo some of the burdensome barriers to entry that...
Senate Committee Considers Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying Ban
Progress on a proposed ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying is ramping up, as the legislative session hits the halfway point. A long-standing practice in the halls of the Texas Capitol, taxpayer-funded lobbying refers to cities, counties, and other local governments or...
Texas’ Most Unethical Agency
A state agency that bills itself as the government’s ethics watchdog was caught red-handed by senators today making false statements in a bid to get more taxpayer funds. Established in the state constitution by voters only to set travel reimbursements for state...
Texas Senate Proposes Temporary Property Tax Relief
Unlike the Texas Senate’s robust homestead exemption plan from 2015—which the Texas House watered down before passing—the upper chamber of the Texas Legislature is now proposing a failed approach that would not provide permanent tax relief. Perhaps the most...
Texas Senate Goes on Supplemental Spending Spree
Three major items have now been heard in the Texas Senate, and three times lawmakers have unanimously bucked taxpayers and voted for bigger government. The latest example is Wednesday's action approving a $6 billion supplemental budget. Senate Bill 500 by State Sen....
Texas Senate’s Supplemental Budget Spends State Savings on Ongoing Expenses
In every session the Texas Legislature passes a supplemental budget to cover shortfalls from the previous biennium. This session, the supplemental bill proposed by the Senate includes numerous expenditures out of the Economic Stabilization Fund to cover ongoing...