Less than two months away from the Republican primary, Texas Right to Life has released their legislative scorecard for incumbent politicians. “The Pro-Life Scorecard is the most effective way for Pro-Life Texans to evaluate if their elected officials adequately...
Most Tuesday mornings, the Texas Minute—our weekday email publication—includes the One-Click Survey. It’s almost always a question about policy or politics, oftentimes tinged with a bit of humor. We ask readers to not only “click” an answer, but to then reply with...
Update: State Sen. Larry Taylor (R–Friendswood) and State Rep. Lyle Larson (R–San Antonio) confirmed to the Dallas Morning News that they were among the lawmakers in attendance. While citizens are being told to stay home and contend with shutdowns and mandates in...
NOTE: Since this article was published, yet another Republican –Geanie Morrison of Victoria – reportedly filed for the speakership. It has been updated. What GOP insiders hoped would be a quiet race for Speaker of the Texas House got suddenly heated on Thursday, with...
Dear Reader, I want to share with you our New Year’s Resolutions at Empower Texans. Communications experts say you should never repeat an accusation that is made against you. I hold to that as a good practice, but let me this one time repeat the accusation many in the...
Republican lawmakers should be very concerned. Come November 2020, Texans will be showing up to vote for the greatest promise-keeping politician in modern U.S. history. Love him or hate him, President Donald Trump has been a man of his political word. Taxes cut,...
Much is lost in the seemingly never-ending back and forth between the City of Houston and the firefighters who collectively make up the Houston Professional Firefighters Association. But three things are certain: any petition submitted to the city should be verified...
We’ll be releasing the 2017 Fiscal Responsibility Index this week. While the public release is set for 2pm on Wednesday, we thought we’d share the “top-lines” with you today. All votes included on the Index were announced in advance, and focus – as the name implies –...
After effectively killing the vast majority of Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session agenda by delaying and diluting them to death, House Speaker Joe Straus adjourned the chamber sine die a full day early over the objections of dozens of lawmakers. In the video archive,...
On the 140th day of the legislative session, the last day for work to be completed under Texas’ constitution, we generally start gearing up for the release of the Fiscal Responsibility Index, which measures lawmakers’ records on fiscal and governance issues. Not this...
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...
On Wednesday, the Democrat-coalition that governs the Texas House overrode Republican opposition to expand welfare in the state. At issue was HB 132 by State Rep. Ina Minjarez (D–San Antonio) which would significantly expand the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families...
In a stunning move, the Texas House voted overwhelmingly to support Democrat efforts to hamstring the state’s economy by raising the minimum wage. Earlier today, State Rep. Hugh Shine (R–Belton) moved to suspend the rules and fast track a proposed constitutional...
In an interview with KVUE News looking back on his first year as Governor, Greg Abbott unloaded on the legislators who killed his ethics reform agenda, calling their obstruction “reprehensible” and “shameful.” The chief obstructions were House Speaker Joe Straus...
Did you hear the one about how Texas House Republicans chose to fund diversity training over border security? No, it’s a true story – not a bad joke. During the debate on the budget in the Texas House, State Rep. Tony Dale (R–Cedar Park) offered an amendment to...
So who would have thought Republicans in Congress would grow a spine faster than Republicans in the Texas House? Well, they did by kicking the crony DEM-establishment leadership to the curb. As NBC political analyst Mark Murray noted in a tweet today “To recap: [Eric]...
With a majority of Texans dissatisfied with the burden of property taxes, House members are this weekend working to sell a sales-tax-cut plan to taxpayers. Meanwhile, the media is pushing an “analysis” alleging that the highest paid Texans would benefit if...
Throwing what can best be described as a wide-ranging temper tantrum in the face of unease among his inner-circle, House Speaker Joe Straus on Wednesday lashed out at many of Gov. Greg Abbott’s marquee proposals and attacked the conservative Senate led by Lt....
Looking at the new statewide issues polling from Texas Tribune, I am struck again by just how out of touch Joe Straus and his “leadership” team really are from the mainstream of Texas. Let’s step back. The closest thing to “Joe Straus on the...
With more than 84 percent of Republican primary voters saying they wanted more academic freedom and parental choices in education, GOP members of the Texas House decided to maintain the status quo … and explicitly forbid any efforts to expand options for students and...
