As we ready for the start of the 89th Texas Legislature, one issue that have been circling the Capitol for several years is whether to expand casino gambling in Texas. Members have filed various bills over the years to test the waters, but there’s been very little movement so far. One thing that seems lacking...
What a difference 8 years makes. Donald Trump has announced his cabinet nominations and senior staff at breakneck speed, revealing more than 50 picks in the first month since the election. Despite a small stumble, Trump rolled out his team of reformers to perfection. Perhaps the onslaught has prevented the media from attempting to pick...
Yesterday, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor dismissed the horrific and permanently life-altering harmful results of transgender medical procedures on minors by comparing them to the side effects of taking aspirin. “Every medical treatment has a risk, even taking aspirin. There’s always going to be a percentage of the population under any medical treatment that’s going to suffer...
Now that we’re past the election, it’s time to start thinking about the 89th Legislative Session, which starts exactly two months from today. Tuesday marked the first day members could start filing legislation, so in honor, here are a few of the top issues you’ll see making news next year: Universal Education Savings Accounts (School...
In the final Gallup poll taken just before the election, 72% of Americans said they were dissatisfied with the way things were going in the U.S. That incredibly high number was actually the lowest it had been in the last two years, having mostly been measured in the high 70s and low 80s over that...
Ronald Reagan famously said that government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: “If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” The last part is funny because it exposes the backward thinking of government. If a product or service...
The preamble of the Texas Public Information Act says that the people who work for government agencies do not have “the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know.” To hold public servants accountable for the decisions they make and the money they...
If at first you don’t succeed in convincing taxpayers to fund one of the most expensive football stadiums in the state, try, try, try again. Next month, Willis ISD will make its third attempt to get clearance from voters to borrow $68 million for the new facility, apparently unable to take no for an answer....
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General released an explosive report revealing that CBP, ICE, and TSA are allowing immigrants entry into the U.S. and to board domestic flights without verifying their identity and vetting them for potential threats. “Under current processes, CBP and ICE cannot ensure they are keeping high-risk noncitizens without identification from...
The review period for Texas’ new educational curriculum has just ended and the State Board of Education is set to hold a hearing next week to discuss the feedback it received. Unsurprisingly, the comments were more negative than positive because people who are mad about something are usually more motivated to let the world know...
How do you make $8 million disappear? Ask Houston ISD. After a recent report by the Houston Chronicle revealed Houston ISD had spent more than $709,000 on developing the largest bond proposal in Texas history, $4.4 billion, TPPF submitted a public records request to obtain all the documents related to developing the bond. In other...
Texas state Rep. Brad Buckley, who chairs the House Committee on Public Education, recently sat down with TPPF’s Brian Phillips to discuss monumental new education reform, HB 1605. Among other things, the bill requires the development of high-quality instructional material (HQIM) that is made available—but not mandatory—for every teacher in every school district. The material...