Dade Phelan
Corporate Welfare Revival Scheme Has the Votes in the Texas House
At the end of last week, several Texas House lawmakers signed on in support of the corporate welfare revival effort prioritized by Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), increasing the total amount of public supporters to a threshold that’s enough…
Texas House Pushes to Revive Corporate Welfare Program Despite Bipartisan Opposition
In a year when taxpayers are barely hanging on and dealing with record-high inflation, rising energy costs, and historically high property taxes, the Legislature has opted to act decisively. They have wasted no time pushing for multinational, billion-dollar corporations to…
Lawmakers Seek to Steal From Taxpayers for More Corporate Welfare
It’s no secret that leadership in the Texas Legislature has been heavily focusing on property tax relief packages in recent weeks. The Texas House and Senate have both filed their proposals, and both seek to provide minimal relief for homeowners….
Corporate Welfare Revival Legislation Filed in Texas House
Late Thursday, Republican State Rep. J.M. Lozano (Kingsville) filed House Bill 2421 seeking to revive the largest corporate welfare program in Texas. The Chapter 313 tax abatement program, as a part of the Texas Economic Development Act, expired on December…
Phelan Announces House Committee Assignments
On Day 30 of the ongoing 140-day 88th Legislative Session, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan announced the committee assignments for all House state lawmakers. In comparison, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced the Senate’s committee assignments more than two weeks…
Polling Shows Support for School Choice Among Texans
On Monday, the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs released a report that seems to show a majority support for the policy of school choice. In the wake of government school reaction to the pandemic and in many…
Phelan Re-elected Speaker, Gives Insight Into Priorities
Election of Speaker The 88th Legislative Session officially convened Tuesday, and in the Texas House of Representatives, the first order of business after being sworn in was to elect a House speaker. Two candidates were nominated. The incumbent speaker, Republican…
Our Top 5 Articles of 2022
As 2022 comes to a close and we ramp up our efforts in preparation for all that 2023 brings, which includes the Texas 88th Legislative Session, we thought it might be prudent to summarize our top five pieces of written…
Polling Shows Texans Want Property Tax Relief Over Other Spending
With the 88th Legislative Session set to gavel in just a few short weeks from now, lawmakers are continuing to get pressure from Texas taxpayers on the need to prioritize actual property tax relief. Recently, Defend Texas Liberty PAC released…
Phelan’s Plans for $27B Surplus Don’t Include Property Tax Relief
On Thursday, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan addressed the Transportation Advocacy Group in Houston, speaking on transportation and infrastructure issues, among other items. In the course of his address, he indicated he has other plans for the projected nearly $27…
Taxpayer Champion Announces Candidacy for Texas Speaker of the House
On Friday, Republican State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (Arlington) officially filed as a candidate for speaker of the Texas House, challenging incumbent Speaker Dade Phelan (Beaumont). Tinderholt was first elected to the Texas House in 2015 and is a taxpayer champion…
House Speaker Wants to Renew Controversial Corporate Welfare Program
Last week, Republican Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan made headlines for his comments at the West Texas Legislative Summit in San Angelo, Texas, where he indicated that the House will take a “long, hard look” in the next legislative session…
Texas House Interim Charges Released – Missing Major Priorities
Last week, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), released his list of interim charges to all House committees. Every legislative cycle, the leaders of each respective legislative chamber issue interim charges for each committee to study in preparation for the…
Spotlight on the 87th: Promoting CRT
In today’s Spotlight on the 87th Legislative Session, we look back at House Bill 4139, legislation that would have allowed Critical Race Theory (CRT) to infiltrate the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). The bill was authored by State…
Potential Resurrection of Additional Corporate Welfare in the Works
On Wednesday, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) took to Twitter to talk about a speech he gave at the annual Ad Valorem Tax Conference hosted by the Texas Oil and Gas Association in San Antonio. Among the issues he…