What’s Going on With the Texas Lottery?
The Texas Lottery Commission has found itself in the spotlight during the current legislative session, as the agency is under Sunset review amid high-profile controversies involving the agency. While lawmakers have raised questions about some of the Lottery Commission’s past activities, new leadership at the agency has worked to address those concerns. Under the Sunset […]
Race for Comptroller Kicks Off as Hegar Heads to Texas A&M
The 2026 election season began in earnest last week with the announcement that State Comptroller Glenn Hegar will soon vacate the post he has held for the last decade. On Friday, the Texas A&M Board of Regents announced that Hegar was the sole finalist to take over as Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. Current Chancellor […]
Weekend Newsbrief: 3-9-25
Endangered Texas Democrats Opposed Al Green Censure The United States House of Representatives censured Houston-area Democrat Congressman Al Green on Thursday due to his disruptive behavior, which necessitated his removal from President Trump’s address to Congress earlier in the week. Although 10 Democrats joined Republicans in voting to censure Green for his “breach of proper conduct,” […]
Property Tax Relief a Priority for GOP Leaders, But Approaches Differ
State lawmakers are once again prioritizing the issue of property tax relief. However, leaders in the Texas House and Texas Senate are offering different approaches to the subject. State Representative Morgan Meyer, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has authored House Bill 8, which provides $2.8 billion in property tax relief in the form […]
During Harrison’s Tenure as HHS Chief of Staff, Agency Formed “Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, Diversity, and Inclusion”
A state representative who claims to be exposing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in state government served as Chief of Staff at the Department of Health and Human Services as the agency formed an “Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, Diversity, and Inclusion.” State Representative Brian Harrison served as Chief of Staff at the Department […]
Weekend Newsbrief: 3-2-25
The Texas Voice will feature the Weekend Newsbrief through the end of the legislative session to provide updates on issues we have previously written about and highlight interesting items that we haven’t devoted full-length articles to. Harris County Taxpayers Foot Lina Hidalgo’s Legal Bills, Pay for More Murals Harris County Commissioners Court met Thursday and […]
New Chief Justice Delivers State of the Judiciary Address
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock delivered his first State of the Judiciary Address to a joint session of the Texas Legislature yesterday, stressing the importance of a qualified and adequately compensated judiciary that will uphold the rule of law. Blacklock, who has served on the Texas Supreme Court since 2018, was appointed Chief Justice […]
Fact Check: Has the Legislature Been Taking Long Vacations?
Some commentators, often citing inflammatory speeches made by State Representative Brian Harrison, have accused lawmakers of taking long vacations at this point in the legislative session and, therefore, not doing any work. Is this really the case? Since the legislative session began on January 14, the Texas Senate has originated resolutions that grant the legislature […]
School Choice Advocates Laud HB 3
Leaders in the Texas House of Representatives unveiled a package of priority legislation related to education yesterday, including a bill to create an Education Savings Account program that school choice advocates lauded. House Bill 3, filed by State Representative Brad Buckley, would create a universal school choice program with initial funding of $1 billion from […]
Paxton Testimony Raises Questions About High-Dollar Legal Contracts
In recent testimony before the Texas Senate Finance Committee, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton testified that his office needed to hire outside lawyers to sue tech giants such as Meta and other large businesses under contingent-fee contracts because his office did not have the necessary appropriations to undertake the litigation. However, this was not the […]