
Teenage Girl Sold as Sex Slave in Texas for $4,000, Say Police
Four people have been arrested in San Antonio for the alleged human trafficking of a sixteen-year-old teenage girl. Three of them have been charged with sexual assaulting her.

Four people have been arrested in San Antonio for the alleged human trafficking of a sixteen-year-old teenage girl. Three of them have been charged with sexual assaulting her.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott will make his ninth and last stop in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday as part of his statewide Grassroots Tour. The Governor will discuss the successes of the 2015 legislative session. The event is free.

A McLennan County judge named a Waco police detective to serve as foreman over a newly-selected grand jury in Waco. The detective and this grand jury could end up presiding over the Twin Peaks biker cases.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott held a ceremony to sign the toughest and most comprehensive border security plan of any state in the United States of America. The legislative package provides historic levels of funding to secure the border, establishes a Child Sex Trafficking Prevention Unit, strengthens penalties for human traffickers, increases funding for the border protection unit, and seeks reimbursement from the federal government for Texas funds spent on border issues.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick told the press corps that he would never run for Governor. He said “I will be lieutenant governor and this will be my last position.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill on Tuesday designating a segment of U.S. Hwy 287 in Midlothian as the “Chris Kyle Memorial Highway.” Chris Kyle was a Navy SEAL and author of the New York Times bestseller American Sniper.

Pro-life legislation making it more difficult for Texas judges to bypass parental notification when their children are seeking an abortion is gaining speed in the Lone Star State. The bill is sponsored by Senator Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) and strengthens judicial bypass laws. After four hours of debate on the Texas Senate floor on Memorial Day, it received preliminary approval by a 20-11 vote margin. The bill now goes to a third reading as amended on Tuesday, May 26th.

A long time statutory probate judge in Harris County, Texas, is raising an issue which begs the question of where the legislature’s power over the judiciary begins and ends. It is his opinion, that Senate Bill 1876, relating to appointing attorneys, mediators, or guardians, via a rotating list, is unconstitutional as violative of the separation of powers.

A woman testifying for Moms Demand Action has been called on the carpet for misleading the Texas Senate in that the tragic killing of her husband by her son resulted from the use of a firearm. In reality, her son killed his father with a pipe wrench and a knife.

The “Pastor Protection” bill, designed to protect pastors and their churches when refusing to perform a same-sex marriage, passed the Texas House with bipartisan support. The bill will go immediately to Texas Governor Abbott, who has vowed to sign it.

The Texas Senate passed House Bill 1187 designating a segment of U.S. Hwy 287 in Midlothian, as the Chris Kyle Memorial Highway. The Texas House passed the bill earlier this month. The bill will now go to Governor Greg Abbott for signing and making the bill law.

Women from Moms Demand Action, an anti-gun organization funded by Michael Bloomberg, lined up at the Texas Capitol this week to hypnotize legislators by reading from a prepared script.

A consumer protection bill authored by Senator Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood) is designed to eliminate catastrophic weather lawsuit abuse, while ensuring homeowners receive claims payments from insurers that are both fair and timely.

If passed by the Texas Legislature, the bill would have increased pay to either $10.10 an hour, or the federal minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (currently $7.25 per hour for non-exempt employees), whichever was higher.

A Texas State House Joint Resolution passed Thursday would, if passed by the Texas State Senate, ask the U.S. Congress to call an Article 5 convention, which would propose Constitutional amendments to impose fiscal restraint on the federal government, reduce its powers and jurisdiction, and limit the terms of office for federal officials and members of Congress.

The Texas Senate passed a bill on Tuesday which would protect the rights of certain religious organizations and pastors to refuse participation in marriage ceremonies which violate their sincerely-held religious beliefs. The Governor said he will sign a bill that offers such protection to pastors and ministers.

The Texas State Senate has voted in favor a bill that would ban insurance coverage for abortion. The ban applies to private health insurance plans, including qualified plans offered through health benefit exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”).

Responsible CHL holders in Texas have found themselves in airport security lines and forgot they were carrying a handgun. A bill that passed the Texas State House late last week would forgive concealed handgun license (CHL) holders for airport security slips.

The Berry children from Houston testified before the Senate State Affairs committee on Thursday, telling lawmakers how they were orphaned by a driver who was sending text messages on his smart phone. A bill in the Texas State House would make texting while driving a Class C misdemeanor.

The Texas Senate voted 26 to 5 on Thursday to allow the use of cannabis oil treatment for epilepsy patients. Senator Kevin Eltife (R-Tyler) is the author of the Senate Bill 339. According to the Quorum Report, the Senator said “he is very appreciative of my senate colleagues for passing this bill that gives hope of help for those with intractable epilepsy.”

The Texas State Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would give Texas law enforcement officers jurisdiction to enforce federal laws intended to – in the words of the bill’s author – “stop illegal alien criminals at the border.”

The Texas State Senate has passed a bill that would establish a sales tax holiday for firearms and ammunition. Senate Bill 228, authored by Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), would create the sales tax holiday on the last weekend in August before hunting season, beginning at 12:01 a.m. on that Friday, and lasting until midnight on the following Sunday.

A bill passed by the Texas Senate on Thursday would take redistricting and school finance lawsuits out of the sole hands of judges in Travis County. The bill, S.B. 455, provides that the Texas Attorney General may petition for the formation of a three-judge panel to hear school finance and redistricting cases.

Under a bill by Texas State Representative Geanie W. Morrison (R- Victoria), co-authored by Rep. Ron Simmons (R-Carrollton), rulings by judges in judicial bypass cases will no longer be kept from the public. Such rulings would be included in a report by the Texas Office of Court Administration which is made public annually. The name of the minor involved would be kept anonymous.

Pastors and their sermons have moved one step closer to protection under Texas law. State Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston) received unanimous approval for Senate Bill 2048, a bill necessitated by the actions of Mayor Annise Parker when she issued subpoenas to