More than 400,000 Texans are on probation, including approximately 218,000 felony probationers. Revoked probationers account for 37% of prison intakes and 41% of state jail intakes. The 22,980 probationers revoked in 2015, including 12,330 revoked for technical violations such as missed appointments, are projected to serve an average of 2.5 years at a cost of $54.89 a day, resulting in an annual cost of $460 million.
Local Government
When Government Lobbies Itself: Why Texas Should Ban Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying
Texas local governments use taxpayer dollars to hire lobbyists to influence state legislation—creating conflicts of interest, distorting democratic accountability, and undermining the interests of Texas taxpayers. Key points: Taxpayer-funded lobbying expenditures more than doubled from the 85th to the 89th Legislature, now reaching as high as $111.5 million. Taxpayer-funded lobbyists consistently opposed legislation involving property...
April 6, 2026