R.G. Ratcliffe

Apr 22, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The final sweet spot in Governor Mark White’s 1986 re-election campaign was a trip to Blue Bell Creameries.

Apr 22, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Representative Jonathan Stickland apparently is the mastermind behind an amendment that would bar police from actively enforcing bans on the unpermitted carrying of handguns.

Apr 21, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The unlimited billionaire funding of Republican presidential candidates may actually keep the race alive until the Texas primary next March.

Apr 20, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The Environmental Defense Fund has put out a Wanted poster for Senator Troy Fraser over his effort to end wind energy incentives.

Apr 20, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Drug cartel violence in Reynosa on Friday is not necessarily an argument for passing the Texas border security bill.

Apr 17, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Texas Governor Greg Abbott paid only $1,718 in federal income taxes in 2014 on an income of $131,118.

Apr 17, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Legislative influencer Michael Quinn Sullivan is running a pro-Senate property tax cut telephone campaign to convince Republican legislators who voted for Speaker Joe Straus to support Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s plan over the House sales tax cut. But there’s also a back-door link to the state ethics bill.  

Apr 16, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw today proved he can be every bit as political on ethics issues as any Travis County district attorney.

Apr 15, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Governor Greg Abbott insisted today that he is more involved in the legislative leadership than some people think.

Apr 15, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Governor Greg Abbott already has warmed up his signature pen by turning two bills into law.  

Apr 14, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The Texas House this week will debate a bill that puts gas driller property rights ahead of homeowner rights.

Apr 14, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

A quick look at General Revenue spending by the House and Senate.

Apr 13, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The fight between Tesla and the Texas Automobile Dealers Association is about anything but free markets. 

Apr 13, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

High dollar deer hunting is in the news, and so are some of the state’s political bad boys.

Apr 9, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The wealth the Texas House and Senate want to share is expensive but small when spread statewide.

Apr 9, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The pressure is mounting on Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw to quantify exactly what his officers are achieving on border security.

Apr 9, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

If the Collin County district attorney won’t investigate Attorney General Ken Paxton for securities violations, a rogue grand jury will.

Apr 8, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

With the Legislature in session, Governor Greg Abott is worrying about Congress and the president.

Apr 8, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Texas Senate votes 20-11 to turn prosecution of state officials corruption cases over to hometown judges, juries and prosecutors.

Apr 8, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The Senate today is set to consider a bill that could end all ethics prosecutions in Texas.

Apr 7, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Texas Association of Business President Bill Hammond’s appearance at a news conference of Democrats and human rights activists to oppose anti-gay legislation raises the question: Has the Republican Party moved too far to the right?

Apr 6, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The Senate Subcommittee on Border Security today heard legislation to eliminate in-state college tuition for undocumented children who graduate from Texas high schools.  

Apr 3, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

This week’s Texas political scandal roundup.

Apr 1, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The Texas Department of Public Safety has faced questions about whether the border surge made the rest of the state less secure and whether it is taking credit for other law enforcement agencies actions, but now the DPS has announced a major border bust all of its own.

Apr 1, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

State Representative Stuart Spitzer wants Texans to abstain from sex out of wedlock, but the statistics show the teens have their cars a-rockin’ in his district.

Mar 31, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The strange dynamics of this Legislature started moving from simmer to boil with Tuesday’s House debate on a $209.8 billion budget.

Mar 31, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw needs to come clean on just what his agency is doing on the border.

Mar 30, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The House takes up its proposed $209.8 billion budget at noon Tuesday.  I’m offering up some essential documents you may need to follow the proceedings.

Mar 30, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

From a statue of Jefferson Davis to license plates with the Confederate battle flag, Texans just can’t seem to let go of the Civil War.

Mar 29, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Border security was the battle cry of Texas politicians in 2014. Will the theme become “misplaced priorities” in 2016?

Mar 25, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The House and Senate are tying themselves into budget and tax cut knots just to avoid spending the money they have.

Mar 24, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Ted Cruz proved you don’t have to be a millioinaire or an elected officeholder to grab the brass ring in Texas.

Mar 24, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

A new federal disaster preparedness rule is threatening to withhold hazard mitigation money from Texas if state leaders do not embrace climate change as a factor in weather disasters. 

Mar 23, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Fundamentalist Christians rallied at the Texas Capitol today, preparing themselves for the expectation that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn bans on same-sex marriage.

Mar 22, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

As U.S. Senator Ted Cruz launches a presidential big, will he have to explain his gay marriage money to social conservatives?

Mar 22, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

As Texas U.S. Senator Ted Cruz launches a presidential campaign, he may have to explain how he started his political career with $260,000 in donations from gay marriage supporters.

Mar 20, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

A couple of exchanges during debate in the Legislature this week are unlikely to find their way into etched stone.

Mar 20, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Texas as a terrible history of low voter turnout. Should the state follow President Obama’s suggestion to make voting compulsory?

Mar 18, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The debate Wednesday on HB 11 for border security revealed that last year’s surge of DPS troopers and National Guardsmen concentrated on just two counties on the Mexican frontier.

Mar 18, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

A new House bill with substantial backing would require women to produce government-issued identification before receiving an abortion to prove they are not a minor.

Mar 17, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

A bill to allow the carrying of concealed handguns on Texas college campuses briefly stalled in the Senate on Tuesday. But Florida is pressing ahead with similar legislation.

Mar 17, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

As the state debates how ridesharing is regulated, drivers should know their days are numbered.

Mar 16, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Senate debate on controversial open carry bill lacked enthusiasm.

Mar 16, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Texas kept its post-Reconstruction ban on handguns to promote immigration and economic development, not as a Jim Crow law.

Mar 13, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The Texas Eagle Forum and the John Birch Society are opposing calls for a constitutional convention on a federal balanced budget amendment. They call it dangerous.

Mar 12, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

Public Safety Director Steve McCraw has a history of seeing terrorists at the gate.

Mar 11, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The Tax Foundation gives you statistics to argue Texas taxes either way.

Mar 11, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The debate over border security often is as much about political posturing as it is about policy.

Mar 10, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

The goals of big business are clashing the the religious freedom agenda of Christian conservatives in the Legislature.

Mar 9, 2015 — By R.G. Ratcliffe

More legislative proposals try to solve voter angst over property taxes