By Mark Lavergne on
7/29/2009 4:22 PM
The Washington Times, a conservative-leaning periodical based in the nation's Capitol, ran an opinion piece by Gov. Rick Perry today extolling the virtues of limited government, using the Lone Star State as evidence, and, of course, slamming the kind of big, perpetual, all-encompassing government that reigns (pardon the pun) inside the beltway.
"In Texas, we have long based our approach on individual liberty and initiative, believing that families, entrepreneurs and individual citizens deserve the opportunity to strive and succeed -- with minimal government interference," Perry wrote. "After regular, 140-day legislative sessions every two years, Texas lawmakers go home to live under the laws they pass."
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By Mark Lavergne on
7/29/2009 3:49 PM
In an interview with conservative radio talk show host Mark Davis of WBAP Dallas, Hutchison announced that she would be resigning her position as Texas' senior U.S. Senator in October or November to focus on challenging Gov. Rick Perry for the 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary. She has not settled on a specific date, saying that she wants to do as much as she can to fight Obamacare, cap and trade, and other major leftist initiatives in Washington.
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By Mark Lavergne on
7/28/2009 4:34 PM
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples July 27 announced a partnership between the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) and Connected Nation, a national nonprofit, to create a broadband initiative called Connected Texas and to develop a detailed broadband inventory map showing where broadband services are and are not available in Texas, down to the street level. The aim is to better position Texas for competitive funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the ARRA -- the so-called "stimulus").
The map is expected to serve as a key asset for the state as it prepares for federal stimulus funding to support broadband investment. It will be based on information from Texas' cable, telephone, wireless Internet service providers, rural cooperatives, and municipalities. Connected Texas’s mapping project will use broadband data collection, GIS analysis, and data verification to determine where broadband service is currently available to Texas households statewide and, more importantly, the gaps in coverage where households are not served by any broadband provider.
Staples said that Connected Nation will “help Texas close the digital divide between urban and rural communities in our state. By creating a broadband map, we will learn which areas are unserved and underserved. This critical knowledge will lead to developing projects that bring high-speed Internet to all Texans, which will enhance economic development, expand educational opportunities, and improve health care.”
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By Andy Hogue on
7/28/2009 3:03 PM
Secretary of State Hope Andrade today drew the order in which 11 proposals to amend the Texas Constitution from the 81st Legislature will appear on the November ballot.
They are as follows:
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By Mark Lavergne on
7/27/2009 4:18 PM
Only in Texas does a Democrat in a statewide primary criticize his Democratic opponent for being unfaithful to the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
John Sharp did as much today when his campaign sent out a press release calling on Houston Mayor Bill White to renounce his membership in the nationwide group Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
Of course, White took some issue with the release.
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By Mark Lavergne on
7/27/2009 3:42 PM
Former Speaker Rep. Tom Craddick (R-Midland) July 17 was officially named the 2010 National Chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Board of Directors. ALEC is a consortium of conservative legislators from around the country. He will take office for one year starting at the States and Nation Policy Summit in December.
The announcement was made at the 2009 American Legislative Exchange Council's Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.
"I'm honored that the members of ALEC have named me national chairman," Craddick said. He went on to say he was "committed to uphold ALEC's mission and vision of limited government, free markets, federalism, and individual liberty as the association aims at impacting legislation across the nation."
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By Andy Hogue on
7/24/2009 3:32 PM
The U.S. Department of Education today approved an application from the state of Texas, clearing the path for $3.2 billion in stimulus dollars to pay for new textbooks, $800-raises for teachers, and about $2 billion in general public school funding.
Gov. Rick Perry had this to say: “I’m pleased that the U.S. Department of Education has approved Texas’ application for State Fiscal Stabilization Funds, which will help increase public school funding, providing each school a minimum additional $120 per student. Providing quality education to our state’s school children continues to be a top priority. Texas lawmakers appropriated this money, along with more than $30 billion in state funds, to enhance educational excellence in our state.”
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By Mark Lavergne on
7/24/2009 3:10 PM
Millions of Americans would actually lose private insurance under the federal health care reform bill, a study from the Heritage Foundation and the Lewin Group stated in a recent study.
About 88 million could lose their private, employer-based coverage, as they could be transitioned out of their current plan as employers opt out of continuing their existing coverage, a press release from the Heritage Foundation said.
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By Andy Hogue on
7/24/2009 3:08 PM
The Texas Public Policy Foundation hosted an 81st Legislative Session recap luncheon July 14 featuring members of its subsidiary conservative advocacy and study groups.
Speakers included: Talmadge Heflin, director of the Center for Fiscal Policy; Kathleen Hartnett White, director of the Anne and Tobin Armstrong Center for Energy and the Environment; Arlene Wohlgemuth, of the center for Health Care Policy; and Bill Peacock, director of the Center for Economic Freedom.
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By Mark Lavergne on
7/20/2009 4:03 PM
A Travis County grand jury has indicted Rep. Kino Flores (D-Palmview) of 16 counts of tampering with a government record and three counts of perjury, the Austin American Statesman and Dallas Morning News reported on Friday. The upshot, the grand jury handed down charges that Flores knowingly failed to represent sources of income on financial statements that lawmakers are required to submit to the Texas Ethics Commission. The statements in question go back to 2004.
According to the Statesman, Flores could face up to two years in state jail and a fine of up to $10,000 in fines for the tampering offenses, and one year in a state jail and up to $4,000 in fines for the perjury.
The full indictments can be viewed here.
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