State news in Texas
Statewide Texas News
Dan Patrick Uses Board Game To Make His Case for the Homestead Exemption
Patrick used the game of Monopoly to illustrate his preferred method of property tax relief.
Texas Parents Strongly Back Legislation Requiring Parental Approval for App Store Purchases
Parents and voters want more protection over what children can access online.
Proposal Would Require Healthcare Providers To Report Vaccine Side Effects
While the measure would require some vaccine side effect reporting to existing federal databases, two senators are eyeing the creation of a broader, statewide vaccine side effect database.
Budget Amendments Put Spotlight on Illegal Immigration’s Burden to Taxpayers
393 amendments have been pre-filed ahead of Thursday’s budget debate.
State Archive
Hall Monitor on Duty
Abortion advocates rallied at the Texas Capitol on Wednesday to lobby the legislature for increased access and taxpayer funding for themselves as part of Planned Parenthood Lobby Day. In advance of the event, Texas Right to Life distributed signs saying, “Former...
Haste at the Expense of Diligence
On Wednesday, the full body of Texas Senate moved to approve Gov. Abbott’s recent nominations to the University of Texas Board of Regents in the face of resistance from some of its conservative members. After an unprecedented five hour-long vetting process in the...
TPPF, Burton Propose the Liberty City
Most reform efforts aimed at restricting a city’s authority occur long after it’s incorporation, either by adopting new charter amendments or by citizen-led petition drives that force ballot referendums. But freshman State Sen. Konni Burton (R-Colleyville) is...
Franchise Tax in Creighton’s Crosshairs
State Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) presented his three bills to the Senate Finance Committee last week that aim to provide relief from the state's franchise tax, also known as the gross margins tax. In his testimony, Creighton observed how the free economic...
Strengthening the Spending Cap
At a press conference Tuesday, State Sen. Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick unveiled new legislation that would dramatically improve Texas' constitutional spending cap. Under the Texas Constitution, the current cap constrains the...
Stickland Fighting for Constitutional Carry Hearing
Over a month ago, sophomore State Rep. Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford) officially requested a hearing for his bill, HB 195. Also known as “Constitutional Carry,” the bill would allow for the unlicensed open carry of handguns in areas of the state where concealed carry...
Rushing on Regents
Despite senators just last week having expressed serious misgivings about nominees to the University of Texas Board of Regents, the Nominations Committee today forwarded those nominees to the full Senate with just one vote dissenting. Misgivings were offered by the...
Bills Filed To Eliminate Taxes
Legislators have filed bills seeking to repeal a slurry of petty and outdated taxes. For many of these taxes, administrative costs currently exceed revenue collections gained, making them highly inefficient. Others exist merely as burdensome relics of failed...
Sen. Schwertner: Freeze Tuition Increases
In recent years the cost of higher education has skyrocketed exponentially, pricing more and more Texans out of many college options as administrators rampantly raise tuition and fees. In an effort to control the issue, State Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) has...