State news in Texas

Even though Democrats in the Texas Senate have chosen to torpedo the state's budget, the Texas House still has an opportunity to enact meaningful public policy. And with House Democrats circulating an anti-Joe Straus letter, the GOP should use their super-majority...

Taxpayers delivered a strong message, urging fiscal restraint and responsible budgeting. But some lawmakers decided to ignore the call and are forcing the state into a special session that could cost taxpayers a million dollars or more. Or a lot more. While the state...

The Texas House and Senate today passed the 2012-2013 budget. It is a tangible demonstration that a majority of legislators heard the message voters were sending in November, and have continued to send all session. Texans expected a budget that reasonably lives within...

As the legislative session comes to a close, rumors are more numerous than facts. But one sure fact is that the much-needed Health Care Compact is on track for adoption in the Lone Star State. State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst and state Sen. Jane Nelson deserve great credit...

It might not seem that newsworthy to the rest of the state, but an issue of taxation without representation is picking up lots of headlines in the Rio Grande Valley. SB 978, authored by State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa and sponsored by State Representative Veronica...

According to the House-Senate Conference Committee working on Texas’ new budget, state funding for public education will increase by $125 million in 2012-2013. At a time when the "informed" class in Austin decries all reductions to government spending as draconian,...

Here’s more evidence you are upsetting the status quo in Austin: the media is complaining about the impact you’re having on legislators! The managing editor of one publication said this week that voters like you are "children" who legislators need to tell to "shut up"...

As the Texas Legislature and the budget deal seem to be breaking down over school finance, Senator Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) is going to the mat to iron out the differences and deliver what is necessary. Late last night when the House's school finance bill was...