State news in Texas
Statewide Texas News
Texas House Overwhelmingly Rejects Motion To Remove Speaker Burrows
The motion was tabled 141-2, with five members present but not voting, and two absent.
Texas Democrats Try Again to Gut Death Penalty
Proposed legislation would prohibit the death penalty for individuals found to have had a “severe mental illness” at the time of a capital offense.
Texas Senators Move to Mandate Uniform Election Dates
The proposal would standardize electoral processes and potentially reduce voter confusion about election dates.
State Reps. Move To Slash Funding for Universities Promoting DEI
State lawmakers are proposing funding cuts for several Texas universities that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
State Archive
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Legislators have filed bills seeking to repeal a slurry of petty and outdated taxes.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...
Bettencourt Battles Property Taxes
It’s a common belief that property taxes are growing at rates that are simply astronomical, placing greater and greater strain on hardworking Texans. As a report by Americans for Prosperity - Texas indicates, the issue is front and center with Texans demanding relief...
Life in the Slow Lane
Under the procedures of the Texas House, the Speaker is commanded to refer “all proposed legislation … to an appropriate standing or select committee with jurisdiction.” But the rules are silent on how quickly the Speaker is expected to fulfill that duty. What is a...
Freshman State Rep. Files Pro-Transparency Legislation
Freshman State Rep. Mark Keough has filed legislation to force counties to be more transparent to taxpayers. HB 317 would require counties in Texas with populations higher than 45,000 to create and maintain an online searchable database of all county expenditures. “HB...
Toll Free Texas
Collin County State Reps. Scott Sanford (R-McKinney), Matt Shaheen (R-Plano) and Jeff Leach (R -Allen) recently filed a ten-item legislative agenda under the banner “Toll Free Texas,” which aims to more effectively prioritize non-tolled roads. Reforms include greater...
Transportation Funding a Top Priority
Transportation has become a major issue in the state of Texas with rising population and business growth placing greater strain on the existing infrastructure. The issue was even highlighted in a campaign advertisement by Governor Abbott where he claimed “a guy in a...
Hey Media, Be Happy We Won!
Lost in the coverage of Michael Quinn Sullivan and Empower Texans' historic win against the Texas Ethics Commission last week was one terrifying argument put forward by lawyers for the Commission. It's an argument over the scope of the TEC's power to regulate speech...