Dade Phelan
Pushing Back Against Compromise School Choice Efforts
The Texas Legislature is widely expected to convene in yet another special legislative session in the coming weeks. This time they will reportedly focus on education freedom and parental choice or school choice and salary increases for government school teachers….
Legislators Celebrate Second-Largest Property Tax Relief Package in Texas History
In an official commemoration surrounded by Texas legislators, Governor Abbott ceremoniously signed and celebrated the second-largest property tax relief package in Texas history. Taking place in New Caney, Texas, and livestreamed online, Governor Abbott on Wednesday ceremoniously signed the new…
Political Calculus Changing Around Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying Ban?
Will Texas ban the practice of taxpayer-funded lobbying in the next legislative session? Taxpayer-funded lobbying, simply put, is the practice of local political subdivisions (school districts, cities, counties, etc.) hiring lobbyists in Austin to lobby lawmakers to increase the local…
Chairman Bonnen Kills Path to Property Tax Elimination
On Thursday, after months of stalemate, the Texas House finally took up for consideration a property tax plan intended to provide real relief to Texas taxpayers. The House convened in the early afternoon to consider the proposed plan. Senate Bill…
Legislature Reaches Property Tax Deal
The House and Senate finally reached a property tax relief deal, but is it everything that they claim it to be? On Monday, leadership in the Texas Legislature finally reached a deal ending the months-long property tax relief stalemate that…
Round 2: Abbott Calls Second Special Session
In the third attempt this legislative cycle, Phelan and Patrick continue the battle over property tax relief and Abbott introduces a new(ish) topic to the debate. The clash between the east and west chambers of the Texas Capitol has officially…
A Cap on Property Tax Bill Increases?
Just three days after House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) formed a new Select Study Committee on Sustainable Property Tax Relief in the Texas House, Chairman Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) sent a letter to the committee’s chairman, Morgan Meyer (R-Dallas), proposing a…
Texas Senate Doubles Down, House Forms New Study Committee
After Governor Abbott used the threat of his veto power to try and force the House and Senate to come to an agreement on property tax relief over the weekend (to no avail, despite having vetoed 76 bills), the battle…
Texas House Gives Initial Approval to Corporate Welfare Revival Priority
On Thursday, the Texas House of Representatives considered House Bill 5 (HB 5), or what was dubbed the “Texas Jobs and Security Act” by both the legislation’s author, Republican State Rep. Todd Hunter (Corpus Christi), and Texas House Speaker Dade…
Texas Expanding Medicaid Coverage With Help From Republican Lawmakers
The state of Texas is one of only 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid after the passage of Obamacare. That is a good thing. Medicaid expansion is costly and does not provide timely access to quality care. If you…
Corporate Welfare Revival Scheme Has the Votes in the Texas House
At the end of last week, several Texas House lawmakers signed on in support of the corporate welfare revival effort prioritized by Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), increasing the total amount of public supporters to a threshold that’s enough…
Texas House Pushes to Revive Corporate Welfare Program Despite Bipartisan Opposition
In a year when taxpayers are barely hanging on and dealing with record-high inflation, rising energy costs, and historically high property taxes, the Legislature has opted to act decisively. They have wasted no time pushing for multinational, billion-dollar corporations to…
Lawmakers Seek to Steal From Taxpayers for More Corporate Welfare
It’s no secret that leadership in the Texas Legislature has been heavily focusing on property tax relief packages in recent weeks. The Texas House and Senate have both filed their proposals, and both seek to provide minimal relief for homeowners….
Corporate Welfare Revival Legislation Filed in Texas House
Late Thursday, Republican State Rep. J.M. Lozano (Kingsville) filed House Bill 2421 seeking to revive the largest corporate welfare program in Texas. The Chapter 313 tax abatement program, as a part of the Texas Economic Development Act, expired on December…
Phelan Announces House Committee Assignments
On Day 30 of the ongoing 140-day 88th Legislative Session, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan announced the committee assignments for all House state lawmakers. In comparison, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced the Senate’s committee assignments more than two weeks…