State

State Archive

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After 18-Hour Process, House Passes Budget

After almost eighteen continuous hours of discussion, interrogation, and confrontation, the overnight debut of HB 1 ended in the Texas House with a 141-5 vote to passage at 5:39 a.m. on April 1. This base budget plan, submitted by Rep. John Otto (R-Dayton), arrived on...

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Shaheen Stands for Ballot Transparency

Earlier this year, State Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-Plano) filed legislation that would forbid governmental agencies from spending taxpayer funds to employ lobbyists to kill taxpayer friendly reforms. State Sen. Konni Burton joined Shaheen in backing taxpayers, making state...

Malfunctioning Machines

When everyday Texans go to the ballot box, they get to vote for their representatives only once before being stuck with them for their term. No matter how many promises a politician breaks, voters don’t get a “do over” until it's election season again; that’s just how...

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Wallace Hall Vindicated By Hostile Jury

A Travis County Grand Jury sent out notice earlier today that University of Texas Regent and whistleblower Wallace Hall will not be indicted on any charges, but not before they attempted to besmirch his reputation in a baffling public letter calling for less...

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Huffines Stares Down Franchise Tax

It’s a sad fact that many lawmakers tell voters one thing, but do another once they’re elected. Unfortunately for Texans, the problem isn’t restricted to politicians in Washington, D.C.—the disease that replaces conviction with complicity is just as contagious in...

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Shedding Light on State Affairs

In a meeting that lasted well past midnight, the State Affairs Committee of the Texas House considered legislation that would sharply limit free speech in the Lone Star State. On the agenda were four items; one each by State Reps. Sarah Davis (R-Houston) and Charlie...

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Eltife Eager for More Government

Wednesday afternoon on the heels of major victories for property and business tax relief in the Texas Senate, State Sen. Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler) took the opportunity to continue his foot-in-mouth parade. Perhaps bitter over the passage of such relief, some of which he...

Curtain Drop on Cronyism

Though corporate welfare is popular with some politicians, it’s a practice that taxpayers have been opposing for quite some time. This legislative session, one lawmaker has taken the lead to end one of the most egregious examples. State Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-Plano) has...

Addition and Placation

House budget writers added an additional $800 million to the 2016-17 budget plan on Wednesday in an effort to increase education spending. This brings the House’s proposed education spending to a total of $3 billion, well beyond the $2.2 billion that’s needed to...