New face on the Texas Ethics Commission.
Former Representative Steve Wolens is Texas House Speaker Straus’ most recent appointee to the Texas Ethics Commission. Speaker Straus may appoint two members to the eight-person Commission-one Republican and one Democrat. Wolens, a Democrat, served in the House from 1981-2005 and authored ethics legislation during that time. Wolens replaces Paul Hobby, who left the Commission after his term expired earlier this year. To read more…
Texas sales tax revenue update. 
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar has announced that the state sales tax revenue for September 2016 was 3.9% lower than September 2015, totaling $2.13 billion. Comptroller Hegar attributes the drop to declines in consumer and oil and gas-related spending across the state. Sales tax revenue is the single largest source of funds for the state budget. To read more…
Race for Texas’s 23rd Congressional District heats up.
Former U.S. Representative Pete Gallego’s rematch with U.S. Representative Will Hurd for Texas’s 23rd Congressional District remains close in the final stretch. Gallego is a Democrat from Alpine, Will Hurd a Republican from San Antonio. Gallego was ousted by Hurd in the 2014 and is eager to reclaim his seat. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan is set to visit San Antonio in mid-October to campaign for Hurd. To read more…
Only in Austin…
The sun has set on ACL Weekend One, but Austin’s Zilker Park is already gearing up for the second weekend, which runs October 7-9. Weekend Two’s lineup includes Willie Nelson, the Chainsmokers, Kendrick Lamar, and Mumford & Sons. To read more…