There are many unnecessary, and unnecessarily excessive, criminal laws relating to licensing and regulation in Texas. This letter requests that the Sunset Advisory Commission examine this issue during its review of the Texas Department of Agriculture to determine whether some of the occupations regulated by TDA with criminal penalties require continued government regulation or would be better left to market processes.
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