Governor Greg Abbott today signed House Bill 2 into law to provide a record $8.5 billion in new funding for public education and a historic $4 billion for teacher and staff pay raises during a bill signing ceremony with over 175 educators, students, and parents at Salado Middle School. The Governor was joined at the bill signing by Chairman Brandon Creighton, Chairman Brad Buckley, Salado Independent School District (ISD) Superintendent Dr. Michael Novotny, and Temple ISD teacher JoMeka Gray.
We rate the House-passed tax legislation as a good bill, not a great bill. We grade it a B and Steve Forbes rates it as: "needs improvement." That said, we cherry-picked some of our favorite, unheralded items from a White House document 50 Wins in the One Big Beautiful Bill that we suspect you aren’t aware of. We'll highlight what we like least in this 1000-page bill at a later date.
AG Paxton’s legal filing asked the court to rule that the law favoring illegal aliens was unconstitutional, explaining that “In direct and express conflict with federal law, Texas education law specifically allows an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States to qualify for in-state tuition based on residence within the state, while explicitly denying resident-based tuition rates to U.S. citizens that do not qualify as Texas residents.”
This resolution is supported by ADF, Heritage Action, SBA Pro-life, National Right to Life, Human Coalition, Heartbeat International, Family Research Council, Students for Life, Americans United for Life, Family Policy Alliance, Concerned Women for America, Catholic Vote, March for Life, 40 Days for Life, National Pro-Life Alliance, NIFLA, Citizens for Life, Christian Broadcasting Network, Focus on the Family, Liberty Counsel Action, and Eagle Forum.
The spiteful open-borders legacy of Joe Biden will plague America for generations to come, long after the former president is a fading bad memory. Somewhere between 10-12 million foreign nationals are believed to have entered the U.S. illegally under his watch, to add to the existing 12-20 million illegal aliens. Almost all were unaudited. They stormed the border for four years without background checks of the sort that American citizens must undergo to purchase a firearm or take out a loan.
It's been six months since their disastrous 2024 Election performance, and Democrats are “still searching for the path forward” wrote The New York Times last week. In order to help them fix this difficult problem, Democrats recently hired some (very) expensive consultants – and one decided to ask voters what animal they'd assign to each party. Republicans were “apex predators... lions, tigers & sharks.” Democrats were called “tortoises, slugs & sloths.”
"We just saw Ukraine conduct one of the most significant operations of the Russia-Ukraine War, and with a small amount of money, with a small amount of quadcopters they were able to decimate Russia’s Long-Range Strategic Bombers. I’m worried about that – that’s not a “what if,” that’s now. My question is pretty simple: Is our U.S. airspace safe from drone threats?" asked South Texas Border Cong. Tony Gonzales.
Governor Greg Abbott today signed into law the strongest bail reform package in Texas history at Crime Stoppers of Houston. Joined by dozens of bail reform advocates and families of victims, the Governor signed Senate Bill 9, Senate Bill 40, House Bill 75, and Senate Joint Resolution 5 to protect Texans by keeping violent, repeat offenders behind bars.
The "Mr. South Texas" designation is presented to a deserving individual who has made a significant and lasting contribution to the growth & development of Laredo and/or the South Texas Region – and the Mr. South Texas Selection Committee Members take great effort in creating an all-inclusive nominating pool of candidates from all walks of life who have made a significant impact on the area.
Co-hosted by Bryce Dubee, RRC Spokesperson and Nick Kraynok, RRC Multimedia Manager, the show will feature in-depth conversations with the agency’s many subject matter experts, frontline staff and leadership. Each approximately 30-minute episode will explore a timely topic, with discussions on key regulatory issues including orphan well plugging, produced water management and seismicity, as well as behind-the-scene insights on how the agency operates.
In one of the delicious ironies of history, after the 2012 Presidential Election the GOP set out to broaden its appeal to Minorities & Young Voters, it ignored the advice of its top party officials, and embraced a candidate that many insiders rejected. Now, a fascinating new 2024 Election Analysis puts 2024 in the context of data from yhe 2012, 2016 and 2020 Elections to see which direction each party is moving with individual groups of voters. Spoiler alert – it's a feel-good story for Republicans.
"With empowered parents, exemplary teachers, and exceptional academics, Texas is on a path to be No. 1 in educating our children,” said Gov. Abbott. “With this over $481 million in merit pay, Texas is awarding (42,000) teachers from every corner of our state with the pay raise they deserve – putting them on a path to earning a six-figure salary. And soon, Texas will invest even more in permanent pay raises for experienced classroom teachers."
"That a single District Court Judge assumed power to delay the removals of detainees located anywhere in the country – without a hearing or jurisdictional tether – raises substantial questions about judicial rulemaking authority," said Sen. Ted Cruz during the hearing. Cruz, who chairs the Senate Judiciary's Federal Courts, Oversight & Federal Rights Subcommittee, is taking on judicial blockage of the Federal Govt. deporting illegal aliens.
After a brutal couple of months at the start of the year due to the Trump tariff turmoil, the American Economy is humming right now. In fact, the Atlanta Fed's latest estimate for GDP growth for the 2nd Quarter reflects a more-than-healthy 4.6% Growth Rate. The president's Economic Policies have flipped U.S. investment from negative to positive, consumer confidence is up to a 4-Year High – and consumers are spending again.
Last week, in what is being called the largest-ever ICE enforcement operation, nearly 1,500 illegal foreign nationals were arrested—most of them hiding in so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions. That’s not just a number. That’s a blunt warning: there are thousands more just like them—living, working, and perhaps plotting among us, thanks to open-border ideologues and their enablers in blue-state leadership.
“I'm pleased to announce a significant decline in the number of Investment Funds that boycott the Oil & Gas industry, as well as the removal of BlackRock Inc. from the Comptroller's List of companies that boycott energy producers,” said Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, adding, “This is a meaningful victory that validates Texas' leadership on this issue, which has seen a monumental shift in the way companies, governments and individual Americans view the energy sector."
There's danger in Making America Great Again with Executive Orders, but is there any other way to do it? I love most of what President Trump is doing – in fact, it’s kind of what I’ve always dreamed of; Make a list of what’s been screwed up by Democrats and The Left, check them off as they get solved, and suddenly America would be great again. But if Republicans want to "Keep America Great," they’d better start passing his Exec. Orders into law.
Governor Greg Abbott commended the Texas Legislature for making a Texas-size investment in the state's water infrastructure following passage of Senate Bill 7 and House Joint Resolution 7. In his 2025 State of the State Address earlier this year, Governor Abbott declared a Texas-size investment in water infrastructure an emergency item this legislative session.
