Production of crude oil and natural gas has historically fluctuated based on many market-driven and geopolitical factors. Because the Texas Legislature collects severance taxes from this volatile production to primarily fund the state’s rainy day fund, the purpose for and use of the ESF must be worthy.
A Crisis in Dignity
The Texas Attorney General’s Office announced this week that it was intervening in a case involving McKenna West, an Alaskan woman who was paid to carry a child for another couple. The couple commanded her to undergo a late-term abortion after an ultrasound revealed her baby boy, who she calls Gabriel, had a treatable heart condition. McKenna...