Hobby Pushes Texas Monthly Even Further Left
Under new ownership from a prominent and liberal Texas family, Texas Monthly Magazine appears poised to push its editorial bent even further to the left and farther out of touch with Texans. On Monday,...
View ArticleRepublicans Reject Radical Speech Regulations
Republican legislators who have been pushing for radical new speech regulations have a new foe: the Texas GOP. Over the weekend, the State Republican Executive Committee voted 58-1 to pass a resolution...
View ArticleTexas State Bar Sued Over Racial Quotas
A group of lawyers are taking the Texas State Bar Association to court, saying the agency is violating the US constitution by allocating spots on its board according to race. Texas law requires the...
View ArticleSREC Action Invalidates TFRW Board Resolution on Speech Regulation
A resolution passed by the State Republican Executive Committee supporting free speech has invalidated a conflicting resolution passed by the board of the Texas Federation of Republican Women, members...
View ArticleCitizens Want Genuine Ethics Reform
Early in 2016, Gov. Greg Abbott declared genuine ethics reform his top legislative priority for the upcoming 85th session of the Texas Legislature. Abbott had sharp words for representatives in the...
View ArticleSenator’s Conflict of Interest Presents Hurdle for Design-Build
Taxpayer watchdog groups are urging Texas lawmakers to embrace a cost-saving method for construction projects that could lead to big savings for taxpayers. But one senator’s conflict of interest may...
View ArticleLegislative Priority: Restoring Due Process at the Texas Ethics Commission
The Texas Ethics Commission regulates speech regarding legislation, elections, and public officials. Established decades ago in order to set per diem allowances and recommend pay raises for lawmakers,...
View ArticleLegislative Priority: Election Code Reform
The old adage “ignorance of the law is no excuse” relies on the premise that laws will be based in common sense and will be easy for everyday citizens to understand. Many Texas laws fulfill that...
View ArticleLegislative Priority: Regulating Public Officials, Not Citizens
Texans’ First Amendment rights should be free from government regulation, and that includes burdensome reporting requirements. Currently, state campaign finance and lobby registration laws interfere...
View ArticleLatest Paxton Filings in SEC Case Further Discredit Collin County Prosecution
New motions filed in a federal lawsuit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton severely undermine the agency’s case and further discredit a related...
View ArticleLegislative Priority: Requiring disclosure of government contracts held by...
In 2012, liberal Republican State Rep. Vicki Truitt of Southlake was kicked out of office by her constituents after it was discovered that she had received $350,000 in no-bid contracts with the...
View ArticleLegislative Priority: Banning public officials from lobbying while in office
Most Texans are surprised to learn that some state and local officials work as lobbyists for private interests while simultaneously serving in public office. For example, outgoing State Board of...
View ArticleLegislative Priority: Capping undisclosed lobbyists gifts
Citizens often hear about how special interest lobbyists “wine and dine” legislators when they are in Austin and Washington DC. But few know that Texas laws impose virtually no effective disclosure...
View ArticleLegislative Priority: Requiring the disclosure of bond counsel and legal...
In 2016, New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver went to prison for a bribery scheme involving legal referral fees. Legal referral fees are fees earned by attorneys not for doing work, but for...
View ArticleLegislative Priority: Abolishing legislative pensions
Texas legislators often talk about their extraordinarily low salary – just $600 per month. And though they also receive more than $25,000 in additional per diem allowances, their real hidden prize is...
View ArticleWill Abbott Rein-in Gambling Speculators with Racing Commission Pick?
With his appointment of Texas Racing Commission Chairman Rolando Pablos as Secretary of State set to take effect on January 5th, Gov. Greg Abbott will once again be tasked with picking a chairman for...
View ArticleFeds: Paxton Prosecutor is Motorcycle Gang Kingpin
A motion filed in federal court contains blockbuster allegations against one of the special prosecutors Collin County taxpayers have been paying to prosecute Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The US...
View ArticleCooking Calendars
After spending three sessions killing conservative reforms in the House State Affairs Committee, State Rep. Byron Cook may soon be getting a promotion that would give him even broader leeway to thwart...
View ArticleHouse Leadership Pushes Gag Rule on Conservative, Pro-Life Amendments
As the Texas House convenes today, allies of House Speaker Joe Straus are working to implement gag rules to limit conservative amendments to major legislation. The move is a direct attack on the...
View ArticleCook Teams with Democrat to Avoid Testimony in Paxton Matter
In recent filings in a Collin County lawsuit in which he and a Florida business partner are being sued for fraud, State Rep. Byron Cook, a Republican from Corsicana, has added a curious name to his...
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