State news in Texas
Statewide Texas News
Illegal Aliens Cost Texas Hospitals $121.8 Million in Just One Month
Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order mandates that hospitals report quarterly on the costs of providing care to individuals in the country illegally.
House Committee Considers Legislation Creating Penalties for Distributing Abortion Pills
Texas Right to Life estimates that abortion pills are being used to end thousands of pregnancies each year.
Lawmakers Consider Measures to Ensure Only US Citizens Vote in Texas Elections
Proposed proof-of-citizenship requirements align with provisions of the federal SAVE Act, which awaits Senate approval.
Jilted Lottery Ticket Reseller Sues the Texas Lottery Over Ban
Claims leveled in the suit burn former directors Gary Grief and Ryan Mindell, validating watchdog claims.
State Archive
Abbott Announces Special Session Announcement
Speaking to reporters this morning, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that citizens will know later this week if he will call the Texas Legislature back for a special session to address work that they failed to complete during the 140 day session that ends today. "I can tell...
Best and Worst Legislators of 2017
Editor’s note: During the 85th Legislative Session, Empower Texans and Texas Right to Life surveyed the citizens of Texas to determine who they believe are the “best” and “worst” legislators of 2017. The top 10 finalists for each category can be found below. While the...
House Failure
With just hours left in the 85th regular session of the Texas Legislature, lawmakers will be heading home with tales of their governing prowess. For members of the Texas House, that’s exactly what it will be: tall tales. The House failed to deliver on key reforms...
Straus Dares Abbott to Declare Special Session, Patrick Doubles Down
Speaking to reporters during an impromptu press conference Friday evening, House Speaker Joe Straus (R–San Antonio) announced that he is refusing to appoint conferees to meet with the Texas Senate on Senate Bill 2078. That bill was amended in the House to include a...
Grassroots Coalition Demands Policy Action
More than 50 leaders of Texas’ grassroots conservative movement have signed a letter calling on Gov. Greg Abbott and the legislature to deliver on substantive policy reforms before the session concludes on Monday. The letter convers a range of issues, including...
House Continues its Tirade Against Privacy Act, Similar Legislation
The liberal leadership of the Texas House has again sought to water down and defeat priority conservative legislation that has already passed in the Senate, this time by completely moving the goalposts on a legislative priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Facing the...
Sandra Bland Bill changes focus and form in the State Senate
The Texas Senate took steps and added amendments to the so-called “Sandra Bland Act," to change much of the way it approaches criminal justice reform in Texas. The bill is named after Sandra Bland, a woman involved in a nationally publicized police stop in 2015 in...
Field Narrows in RPT Chairman Race
The race for chairman of the Republican Party of Texas is now down to only two after another potential candidate announced he would not run for the position. Late last night, Mark Ramsey announced that he would be declining to run for the position, leaving only two...
Texas House Passes Voter ID Fix with Revisions
With the clock ticking and an important deadline looming, House lawmakers passed a fix to the state’s voter ID bill with only a few hours to spare. Responding to a last-minute push by Gov. Greg Abbott, the Texas House moved yesterday to give preliminary approval to...