Sunlight is starting to break through at the Capitol in the final month of the Texas legislative session. Open government measures have won passage in the House of Representatives with bipartisan support, and more House votes are scheduled on legislation championed by...
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton applauded a federal court ruling allowing the state to proceed with redistricting legislation without asking the federal government’s permission. The July 24 ruling by a three-judge federal court rejected plaintiffs' petition to...
S ome district and county attorneys reportedly have begun to dismiss misdemeanor marijuana possession cases following the Texas Legislature’s passage of House Bill 1325, a law creating a legal path for the cultivation and marketing of hemp and hemp products. Gov. Greg...
Gov. Greg Abbott on July 9 announced the receipt of $15 million in federal funding meant to increase operational capabilities of federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies. The Operation Stonegarden Grant Program allocation is part of $30 million...
The other day, someone I’ve known for years offered a pointed bit of criticism. “It’s easy for people like you to make long lists of things Congress should do to improve,” he said. “But you know good and well most of them won’t happen. So if you’re really serious,...
When I was a child, we defined summer as a time for play and being outside. We would take off in the morning and check back in around lunch time. Afterwards, we were back out with friends or exploring the surrounding cornfield to play hide-and-seek or another made up...
Contrary to the Waylon Jennings song “My Heroes have always been Cowboys,” I would say my heroes have always been veterans – especially World War II veterans. One of my heroes, Robert “Bob” Riley, took the final journey of his life Sunday, June 16. He was...
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, and 23 House and Senate members joined Gov. Greg Abbott in Houston on June 13 as he signed four disaster preparedness and relief bills into law. The group met at Gallery Furniture, owned by Jim “Mattress...
A couple of weeks ago I was speaking to a group of students and decided to start with a point-blank question: Is Congress doing a good job? There were perhaps 100 people in the room, and not a single one raised his or her hand. So I asked the question a different way:...
