New inventions and technologies, from the lightbulb to the farm tractor to the automobile to the laptop computer to Uber drivers, cause serious job market disruptions. They also cause a backlash, as horse and buggy operators, cab drivers, video rental stores, and typewriter makers inevitably predicted chaos and job losses. Artificial intelligence will make life much better and healthier for most people, but it will bring massive disruptions, too.

Governor Abbott has made public safety a top priority. He’s signed into law the strongest bail reform package in Texas history, expanded resources for local law enforcement, and directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to target repeat violent offenders. The consistent decline in the crime rate reflects the results of those priorities and build on the Governor’s commitment to protecting law-abiding Texans by ensuring dangerous criminals remain behind bars where they belong.

President Trump took action this week to defend the integrity of American citizenship, signing two Executive Orders to protect birthright citizenship from abuse and put an end to birth tourism. American citizenship is more than a legal status. It represents a sacred bond between the American people and our Nation and carries profound rights, privileges, and responsibilities. It should never be exploited by malign foreign actors or those seeking to manipulate our immigration laws for their own benefit.

Texas Comptroller Don Huffines announced a comprehensive performance review of the Comptroller’s office to identify inefficiencies and find savings for taxpayers. The internal review will assess all aspects of agency operations including business processes, vendor contracts and administrative structure measured against best practices in the private sector. The Comptroller of Public Accounts is the chief financial officer for the state of Texas and is charged with managing over $150 billion in state assets.

Texas Comptroller Don Huffines is reminding Texas Parents & Shoppers they can save money on a long list of clothes and various Back-to-School supplies during the state’s sales tax holiday this Friday, Saturday & Sunday, Aug. 7-9. State law exempts sales tax on qualified items — such as clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks priced below $100 — saving shoppers about $8 on every $100 they spend. The dates of the Sales Tax Holiday and list of tax-exempt items are set by the Texas Legislature.

Recently the Trucking Association Executives Council (TAEC) released a progress report documenting significant federal and state action to remove illegal operators, strengthen regulatory oversight and restore fairness for trucking companies and professional drivers that follow the rules. The Texas Trucking Association (TXTA) is a member of TAEC, and TXTA President and CEO John D. Esparza serves on the action committee that helped develop the report. 

Governor Greg Abbott today announced Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO) will establish a new strategic hub in Austin to drive innovation, emerging technology, and the next phase of the firm's growth. The hub will incubate new and emerging businesses across Apollo's asset management and retirement solutions platform, intended to represent meaningful capital investment with significant job creation.

Democrats have proven that they will stop at nothing to block attempts at passing voter ID laws. CA attorney general Bonta had originally described Proposition 39, as a measure to "establish additional voter identification and citizenship verification requirements." But his new description reads: "PROHIBITS CITIZENS FROM VOTING UNLESS THEY PRESENT GOVERNMENT-ISSUED IDENTIFICATION." Bonta is required by law to provide a "true and impartial" title and summary. His change makes a mockery of that duty.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, chaired a hearing titled Hidden in Plain Sight: Confronting the Muslim Brotherhood Network in America. The hearing examined the Muslim Brotherhood’s efforts to seize influence inside American nonprofits, political organizations, universities, courts, taxpayer-funded programs, and other American institutions.

Only 25 years after the September 11 attacks on the United States, a major political party has fallen in with people who view that attack as deserved and the attackers as righteous. If it were parody, no one would accept it because good parody is based in truth and the truth is this fall of the Democratic Party is not believable. Sure, they’ve expressed sympathies for enemies of the United States before, but always for political advantage only; now they appear to mean it or are so afraid of it they won’t say anything to the contrary. Democrats have gone from being wrong to being an existential threat to the country.

Texas Comptroller Don Huffines announced today that the state’s record-setting education freedom program is giving Texas parents a choice to enroll their children in the school that best fits their individual educational needs. Over 85,000 students have already confirmed participation for the 2026-2027 school year in the Texas Education Freedom Account (TEFA) program according to the first-annual report to the Legislature on student participation released by Huffines.

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) introduced the Protecting Our Kids from Harmful Research Act. This legislation prohibits the use of federal funds for research or publications that promote dangerous, life-altering, and irreversible gender transitions for minors.

For most Texans, three things reign supreme: Football, Oil & Gas, and the Rule of Law. Early last month, a Bexar County judge ruled on two of the three, ordering San Antonio's CPS Energy to pay nearly $400 million to honor natural gas contracts it agreed to during Winter Storm Uri in 2021. The message was clear: CPS Energy must pay its bills just like everyone else, but the ruling goes well beyond CPS’s unpaid invoices.

Executive Director Wei Wang welcomed RRC inspectors to the Austin headquarters for training on advanced fire prevention and electrical safety codes. To enhance inspector expertise and ensure safer field operations, the RRC has partnered with the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service to introduce a new fire-prevention training program. This initiative is designed to equip oil and gas inspectors with practical skills to identify and mitigate wildfire risks and electrical hazards.

Governor Abbott has championed the Texas Stock Exchange since its announcement. In September 2024, the Governor celebrated its creation during a press conference at the Governor’s Mansion. The Governor congratulated the exchange upon receiving SEC approval in September 2025. On July 6, 2026, as trading operations began, Governor Abbott welcomed the opening of the Texas Stock Exchange and the greater competition and opportunity it brings to American capital markets.

We've long wondered why states have been happy to disregard federal law on marijuana (we have always been in favor of legalization), but not use of other medicines and drugs. A state that insisted on asserting its sovereignty to allow people to buy and sell any medical product they wish, with informed consent, would become a mecca for innovation and freedom and better health. Montana has taken the first step in that direction.

Huffines previously served in the Texas Senate, where he built a reputation as one of the Legislature's strongest defenders of taxpayers and individual liberty. He helped pass legislation protecting the Second Amendment, strengthening border security, defending the sanctity of life, expanding free markets, increasing government transparency, and safeguarding private property rights.

The Texas General Land Office (GLO) posted Amendment 22 to the Hurricane Harvey $5.6 Billion State Action Plan for a federally required 30-day public comment period. The proposed amendment updates funding allocations and administrative language to better align available resources with current program needs, support the effective and strategic expenditure of federal disaster recovery funds, and ensure continued implementation of Hurricane Harvey recovery programs.

Governor Greg Abbott announced that 17 Rural Pathway Excellence Partnership (R-PEP) planning and expansion grants totaling $2,560,000 have been awarded to 17 rural school district partnerships. The $200,000 planning grants, administered by the Texas Education Agency, will support prospective R-PEPs in designing pathways focused on labor market alignment, operational readiness, and launch preparation. The $80,000 expansion grants will support existing R-PEPs seeking to expand by adding districts and/or pathways.

Congress must follow his lead and codify this action into law. That’s why I introduced the Initiating Biomedical Outcomes to Garner Advancements into Innovative Neuroplastogen Efficacy (IBOGAINE) Act to cement this potential breakthrough for our veterans. According to a study published by Stanford University School of Medicine in 2024, participants who received ibogaine treatment experienced reductions of 88% in PTSD symptoms, 87% in depression symptoms, and 81% in anxiety symptoms after just one month.