State news in Texas
State
Meet the Freshmen: Shelley Luther
Luther made state and national headlines in 2020 when she was jailed after refusing to close her salon during the COVID-19 shutdowns.
More Texas Teachers Target Students for Sex Crimes
In 2024, nearly 100 educators statewide were accused of sexually exploiting children.
With Dade Phelan Out, Eyes Turn to Day One Speaker Vote
Just a day before the Republican caucus was set to meet to nominate a Speaker candidate, Phelan announced he would no longer be seeking the position.
Will Lawmakers Provide Property Tax Relief in 2025?
Fiscal responsibility advocates are urging the legislature to return surplus tax dollars to Texans and put Texas on a path to eliminate property taxes.
State Archive
Federal Court Suspicious of SEC Claims In Paxton Case
A woefully unprepared prosecutor for the Obama Administration’s Securities and Exchange Commission exposed in federal court the frailty of the politically driven charges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Following a complaint mirroring the trumped up...
Conservatives Call For Reform or Abolition of the Texas Ethics Commission
A coalition of conservative grassroots organizations are calling on state leaders to reform or abolish the Texas Ethics Commission and hold accountable the six remaining commissioners for targeting churches and lying in federal and state court. The call came in a...
More Evidence: Taxes, Regulations Hurt Minorities Most
Providing even more evidence that big government hurts minorities the most, a new study has revealed that the liberal state of Illinois has the highest black unemployment in the nation while the State of Texas has the lowest. According a study by the Illinois Policy...
Bettencourt Prevents Property Tax Increase, Saves Taxpayers $100 Million
Dallas taxpayers dodged a $100 million bullet last week as the Dallas ISD board of trustees rejected a 13-cent tax increase. Though a majority of the trustees supported the measure, the 5-4 vote wasn’t enough thanks to a lawmaker from Houston. Few in the Texas...
TEC Consultant Expenditure Rule a Total Mess
A new rule under consideration by the Texas Ethics Commission is so poorly drafted that no citizen could ever be expected to comply with its requirements. The rule is aimed at forcing Texans to file even more information when they spend money speaking about...
“Active Enforcement Culture” Designed to Chill Speech
A left-wing think tank that has been cited as an inspiration for speech regulators in Texas is now conceding that “tough” campaign finance regulations and burdensome enforcement regimes are designed to suppress free speech. In a recent report from the Brennan Center...
Time to Get Serious About Downballot Races
This week a national polling group released a poll showing Hillary Clinton within six points of Donald Trump in Texas. That result should be a call to arms for the conservative grassroots in Texas to turn their attention downballot. The poll, conducted by Public...
Texas Ethics Commission Dead Last in Transparency
As he ended his tenure as Chairman of the Texas Ethics Commission, Paul Hobby patted himself on the back for implementing a costly program to upgrade the commission’s software and website. But a new study from the Campaign Finance Institute suggests Hobby’s upgrades...
In Private, Ethics Committee Confessed Efforts Were Illegitimate
While recently uncovered documents show members privately confessed their efforts regulating political speech were “not meaningful,” a report from a select legislative committee was nonetheless used to justify an attempt to expand the power of the Texas Ethics...