Serving as mayor of a big city provides some perks; generous pay and benefits, national and international recognition, and apparently, extensive travel. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner is nearing his two-year mark in office, and in those first twenty-four months he’s...
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 –...
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...
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...
Say NO to Expansion! Despite numerous repudiations by the GOP rank and file, leadership in the Texas House continue to move closer to Medicaid expansion. A bill authored by a key Straus lieutenant pushing for a “Texas Solution” will now see the light of day 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...
