As the 87th Texas legislative session resumes after a two week adjournment, efforts to ban taxpayer-funded (TPF) lobbying are back in the spotlight. Considered priority legislation by the Republican Party of Texas, bills were once again filed by State. Rep. Mayes Middleton (R—Wallisville) in the House, and State Sen. Bob Hall (R—Edgewood) in the Senate.

Texas House Representative Dustin Burrows, who represents District 83 (Lubbock and a swath of West Texas), resigned his post as Chair of the Republican Caucus in the Texas House, apparently as a result of his role in the scandal currently plaguing Texas Republicans. Although he did not resign from office, he finds himself vulnerable in 2020. 

Last week we reported that lawmakers had lumped this session’s most prominent pieces of legislation — property tax reform, school finance reform, and a sales tax — into one codependent heap. Yesterday, the Senate took steps to remove and kill the sales tax portion of the heap.