Michael Quinn Sullivan

When the dust settled in the University of Illinois clout abuse scandal, not only were the institution’s president and regents fired, but a statewide officeholder, the house speaker, a state senator, a congressman, and two state representatives found themselves in hot water and their political careers in ruins. Texas legislators should pay attention.

It’s never fun to watch an ally go bad, seemingly betray their principles for a few bucks and renounce everything they once supported. But that is exactly what appears to have happened at Texas Alliance for Life (TAL) and with its executive director, Joe Pojman.

Texas voters, who have begun taking a dim view of the proliferation of toll roads, will be asked on the November ballot to divert dollars currently headed for the state’s “rainy day fund” over to the Texas Department of Transportation.

AUSTIN, Texas — In light of the malicious prosecution of Governor Rick Perry, Republican lawmakers are rushing to jump on the bandwagon opposing the Democrats politically motivated action. But several House Republicans loyal to liberal House Speaker, Joe Straus, bear

AUSTIN, Texas–One of three pizza parlors in Taylor, north of Austin, is getting more than $200,000 in taxpayer money as an incentive to expand operations. The handout came after a Texas A&M Engineering Extensive Service report found that there were

AUSTIN, Texas–In an article published by Texas Monthly today profiling embattled UT Regent Wallace Hall, who uncovered evidence of legislative clout abuse in admissions and is at the center of an impeach inquiry for his work, it was revealed that

AUSTIN, Texas–After three years of deteriorating relations with his employers on the University of Texas Board of Regents and a growing scandal involving legislators allegedly using their clout to get friends and family admitted without proper qualifications, UT president Bill

AUSTIN, Texas–A Friday, July 4, deadline passed for the University of Texas president to resign his post over a growing admissions scandal, with sources telling the Austin American Statesman that Bill Powers is now trying to negotiate for a longer stay at

AUSTIN, Texas–Two highly placed sources say University of Texas president Bill Powers has been given a choice: resign by the end of the day July 4, or be fired next week. The order comes as a whistleblower has allegedly stepped

Monthly sales tax revenues in Texas are up 8.5 percent from May 2013, marking the 50th straight month of state revenue growth according to Comptroller Susan Combs. The state collected $2.45 billion in sales taxes in May, of which $621.5

Saying they cannot find the cows they want in domestically, Chipotle is importing beef from Australia. That doesn’t sit well with Texas’ Commissioner of Agriculture, who says the company is being “irresponsible.” Writing in the Huffington Post last month, Chipotle

AUSTIN, Texas–After being turned out of office by primary voters in the May runoff, State Sen. Bob Deuell (R-Greenville) now finds himself facing a lawsuit from a conservative pro-life organization allegedly he illegally attempted the silence the group during the

AUSTIN, Texas–A Democratic member of the Texas House facing 10 felony charges of barratry (aka ambulance chasing) will be tried in a Montgomery County court in August. Missouri City’s Ron Reynolds, first elected to the Texas Legislature in 2010, was arrested

After occupying the office of University of Texas President Bill Powers, 18 students were arrested on charges of criminal trespass. They were protesting a new “shared services” program that would consolidate jobs and out-source work. Without endorsing their tactics, one

While state law expressly recognizes Good Friday as a date for which schools must provide an excused absence for students, some school districts are requiring parents to provide “documentation” of their attendance in religious ceremonies. Because inclement weather this winter

AUSTIN, TEXAS–Texans should pay higher gasoline taxes, a Texas Tech University professor advocated at a policy conference organized by the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation in Austin on April 16. He acknowledged that how transportation dollars are spent must also

AUSTIN, TEXAS–A grand jury is expected to be called to investigate allegations that Texas Gov. Rick Perry abused his power when he vetoed funding for the Travis County District Attorney’s office as part of the state budget. The veto came

While the most politically active of Texans look ahead to the May 27 partisan run-offs and others are planning for November’s general election contest–Battleground Texas is making in-roads where few voters participate: the non-partisan municipal races. City councils, school boards,

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s bid for re-election lost a key business-focused endorsement this week as Texans for Lawsuit Reform switched their endorsement to Sen. Dan Patrick for the Republican run-off election. In the March primary featuring four candidates, Patrick led

AUSTIN, TEXAS–With more than $4 billion in surplus revenues expected to greet lawmakers in 2015, the Texas Public Policy Foundation proposed the creation of a fund providing across-the-board sales tax relief. The initiative is expected to be spearheaded in the

While campaigning for office as an opponent of tax increases, congressional candidate Brian Babin’s record in local office have led some to charge him with hypocrisy. Babin says that while local elected officials have to “bite the bullet” and increase

Campaigning to be Texas’ next governor, State Sen. Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) trekked to west Texas where–according to a local television station–she was met by an “almost empty room” and the sound of “crickets.” KMID reporter Lauren Tropea told her

Despite a federal appeals court upholding the state’s landmark women’s health legislation passed in the summer of 2013–forcing the closure of unsafe abortion clinics–a new round of legal challenges are being brought by abortion advocates like Planned Parenthood. Now, Planned

While her campaign has been mostly silent on issues regarding the state’s lucrative oil and gas business, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wendy Davis’ legislative record shows her taking positions outside the Texas mainstream. Davis voted against legislation in 2011 that sought

Hailing it as a breakthrough for commuters and an important economic development tool, the mayors of Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston last week announced their support for a privately funded high-speed train between the state’s largest metropolitan regions, according to

Nearly five months after voters approved Proposition 6, House Speaker Joe Straus appointed two Republicans and a Democrat to the State Water Implementation Fund’s advisory committee. The advisory committee is charged under state law with overseeing the Texas Water Development

For five months a family has been separated by a Dallas judge–not for abuse or neglect–but because their children were seemingly educated at home. In March a separate judge ruled that the hearing records must be provided to an advocacy

A leading activist on fuel and transportation tax issues, Terri Hall, says that the 2015 session in the Texas Legislature could focus on a potential gas tax hike due to recent statements she claimed were offered from Republican House leadership

Legislators would be prohibited from serving as “bond counsel” for any public entity in Texas under a policy proposal made by Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott today. At least two Democratic senators currently profit from such arrangements — including Democratic

TEXAS–Two Texas grassroots coalitions, each supporting either State Senator Dan Patrick and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst for Texas Lieutenant Governor, released dueling public letters of support for their respective candidates this week. Some tea party groups demand unity and asked

AUSTIN, TEXAS–An influential establishment GOP lobbyist last week emailed his clients telling them that the Republican primary run-offs for lieutenant governor, attorney general and comptroller “are over before they start.” The email was obtained by Breitbart Texas. Robert Miller of

AUSTIN, TEXAS–Groups affiliated with the administrators of Texas’ public education bureaucracy took a hit in the Tuesday Republican primary, losing most of the competitive races in which they endorsed. Advocates for education reform say the election results should be a

While the three tea party incumbents who were being challenged by establishment politicians won big, liberal-leaning Republicans closest to House Speaker Joe Straus lost in race after race this week. Defeated Straus incumbents include State Rep. Lance Gooden in House

AUSTIN, TEXAS–The State of Texas’ Legislative Budget Board (LBB) released a report late Monday showing that Texas’ budget has increased faster than population and inflation–while also collecting more than needed to operate government. The report was released after the Wall

It was a harrowing night for liberal Republicans in the Texas Senate, with one entrenched senator losing, another heading for a run-off and a third only narrowly winning. Meanwhile, a tea party incumbent handily won reelection. Freshman State Sen. Donna