Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced earlier today that Texas' State Sales Tax Revenue saw an increase during December 2023 when compared to 2022 – indicating an increase in the state's economic growth of 3.2% . Sales taxes represent the largest source of state funding for the Texas State Budget, and account for 57% of all tax collections.
This legislation to bar the DOD from maintaining JROTC programs at any private school operated or controlled by entities linked to the Chinese Communist Party. Another measure ensures corrupt officials responsible for Vladimir Putin’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline are held accountable. He also secured passage of a bill that will call attention to how the dictatorship in Venezuela seizes American hostages, including Texans.
Last year, my casework team helped return nearly $800,000 from the IRS and other government agencies back to hard-working Texans. In total, we completed 1,552 cases — assisting constituents with IRS issues, passport renewals, Veterans Affairs claims, Social Security checks, and so much more. I'm proud to have a top-notch team that's passionate about helping our fellow Texans, and we look forward to meeting your needs during 2024!
The U.S. needs a strategy to limit the burden on Americans and protect our quality of life. Instead, the Democratic Party merely virtue signals, saying, "Welcome, take whatever we have." As of Jan. 1, California is offering Medi-Cal to approximately 760,000 undocumented migrants of all ages. The state faces a staggering $68 billion deficit.
"Texas serves as a beacon of opportunity, proving that when given the freedom to aspire and the foundation to succeed, businesses flourish and people prosper. As we look to 2024, we'll continue to work together and safeguard the promise of an even bigger, brighter Texas for generations to come.” said Gov. Greg Abbott, as the previously released October data for total nonfarm jobs was revised upward to 14,068,100, meaning Texas has now experienced 33 months of uninterrupted job growth through November.
In one of the most surreal experiences in U.S. history, Americans each night are seeing video clips of 1,000s of illegal immigrants crossing the border with complete impunity — as if our entire Federal Immigration Law has been dynamited. As millions of us watch this, Joe Biden says "the border is secure” – which we know is an utter lie. Surely these deliberate acts to destroy the nation violate his oath to faithfully execute the Laws of the Land – and are impeachable offenses. If not, what are we?
First encountered on Aug. 21st, 2022 by Border Patrol Authorities near El Paso, Texas, Jose Leonardo Marquez was processed and released the next day by overwhelmed Border Officials. Citing "a lack of detention capacity” as the reason for his release, Marquez was arrested last week while on the U.S. Capitol's Grounds the day after Christmas – where his behavior drew officers’ attention. Police found Marquez at the Capitol with a machete, a knife, and brick.
On December 18, Governor Abbott signed Historic Border Security Measures in Brownsville in front of the Texas border wall. Governor Abbott signed a transformative package of border security legislation passed during Special Session #3 and Special Session #4 of the 88th Texas Legislature. Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps created by the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border.
“I am so proud to serve as your first female Land Commissioner and of the tremendous successes your General Land Office has made in education, historical preservation, veteran support, coastal conservation, and strategic land management. This past year marked the beginning of a new era, and our team has wasted no time getting to work for Texans."
The RRC's Year in Review highlights our commitment to protecting Texans and the environment by surpassing high standards set by the Legislature and by meeting or exceeding critical performance measures in orphaned well plugging and pipeline safety inspections.
Anyone can look back, it takes a special bunch of powers to look forward. And, as long as you don’t think about it too much or revisit this column, you’ll find my predictive powers rank up there with whoever is touted today as someone with predictive powers (The only name that comes to mind is Carnac the Magnificent, but no one under 70 will know who that is). So, let us look forward to what we can expect to happen (or not) in 2024.
"There's no time to delay further on this issue, and failure to act may lead to a point of no return. We know what policies are needed to end this chaos, and we need to act now," said South Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales, calling on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to take Emergency Action on the border crisis. "I'm calling on all lawmakers to take emergency action for our border.”
"Voting is a privilege, and right reserved for American citizens to participate democratically in deciding the leadership of our country. Under Joe Biden’s watch, the integrity of our electoral process has been compromised," said Senators Ted Cruz and Katie Britt, members on the Senate Rules & Administration Committee, joining together with their colleagues to introduce the "Citizen Ballot Protection Act" to ensure that states have the authority to verify that only American citizens are voting in Federal Elections.
Texas’ labor market achieved a new record high as the state’s seasonally adjusted job count reached 14,094,900, an increase of 26,800 positions over the month of November. Lone Star State employment set new record high levels in each of the last 26 months and added 407,100 positions since November 2022, ranking No. 1 in the nation in over the year increase of seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs.
We may as well rename the Colorado Supreme Court as the Colorado Kangaroo Court. Without Trump being convicted of "insurrection" for the Jan. 6th riot, four Democrat-appointed judges have decided he must be removed from the state's Primary Ballot. Network news touted the result as "historic," "stunning," "explosive" – and proclaimed their "solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor." It looks like elitist liberal journalists are growing increasingly uncomfortable with Biden's struggle – in their own polls.
Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham announced that the Texas General Land Office (GLO) is partnering with the City of Port Isabel, the City of South Padre Island, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, and the Port Isabel Navigation District to provide residents there with a free event to dispose of inoperable vessels. The "Vessel Turn-In Program" (VTIP) will take place January 18th-20th, 2024, from 9 am to 5 pm.
This bill also applies to foreign missions in the U.S. conducted by China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. This legislation requires a monthly report of the notification logs from the State Department to the President, Senate Homeland Security Committee, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee. . .
“Last week, I sent a letter with bipartisan support alongside members of the For Country Caucus urging the Biden administration to secure their release as soon as possible. I am grateful Eyvin, Jerrel, Joseph, and the other American hostages who were detained have made it home safely.”
