Gov. Greg Abbott on May 26 issued a proclamation giving the green light to more services and activities in a second phase of the state’s plan to reopen from mandatory pandemic closures.   The Phase II proclamation allowed water parks to open beginning May 29 on condition that the venues limit occupa...

Gov. Greg Abbott on May 18 allowed restaurants to increase occupancy to 50% and relaxed his earlier executive orders that limited certain other public activities over the last two months to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Reopenings, Abbott said, must adhere to restricted occupancy levels and minimum...

By Ed Sterling Texas, along with the rest of the nation and the world, continued to battle the COVID-19 pandemic last week as cases and deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus increased. Gov. Greg Abbott on May 7 met with President Trump in the White House. The president praised Abbott’ leadershi...

G ov. Greg Abbott on Feb. 20 established a clemency application specifically for survivors of human trafficking or domestic violence. The application, crafted in coordination with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, includes a section that affords the applicant an opportunity to provide a statem...

A ttorneys General Ken Paxton of Texas, Patrick Morrissey of West Virginia and Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma are seeking clarification of the federal government’s guidelines regarding bathroom access and other issues involving transgender students. On May 13, the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Departm...

T he current method devised by the Texas Legislature in 2011 to fund public education does not violate the state constitution, the Texas Supreme Court unanimously ruled May 13. The lawsuit challenging the state’s education-funding method originally was brought in 2011 by more than 600 school distric...

By Ed Sterling U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Houston, and Christi Craddick, a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, co-wrote an opinion piece published Sept. 25 by the Houston Chronicle . McCaul and Craddick voiced their opposition to the federal ban that prevents the exportation of crude oil. They...

By Ed Sterling G ov. Greg Abbott ordered Texas flags across the state be lowered to half-staff in honor of slain Harris County Deputy Sheriff Darren Goforth on Sept. 4.  Abbott also asked that law enforcement officers turn on their patrol vehicles’ red and blue flashing lights for one minute at 11 a...

T exas Railroad Commission Chair David Porter on Aug. 19 spoke against America’s Clean Power Plan, a regulatory framework rolled out by the White House on Aug. 3. Texas is one of at least a dozen states lining up in opposition. Porter called the plan “another blatant attack on the oil and gas indust...

E ven if the Texas Legislature did not intentionally pass a voter identification law that illegally discriminates against voters who are black, Hispanic or poor, the practical effect of the law is discriminatory and in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act. A 49-page opinion of a three-judge pa...