Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham appeared on a Let's Talk Local segment to explain how oil and gas revenue from state lands supports public school funding and affects property tax burdens on homeowners. She discussed the General Land Office's management of 13 million acres and its revenue generation for the Permanent School Fund.
$Buckingham stated that increased state revenue from oil and gas can reduce homeowner property tax burden.
Dawn Buckingham, Texas Land Commissioner (R); Sarah Zubiate-Bennett, Host of Let's Talk Local segment
Gov. Greg Abbott halted state funding for Flock Safety cameras in late August. Flock Safety responded by pausing certain agencies' payments for 90 days, allowing Dallas, Addison, New Braunfels, and Johnson County to keep cameras that would otherwise be removed. Abbott also directed TxDOT to pause installation of new license plate readers.
$Undisclosed total; at least $30 million devoted toward 3,200+ cameras for State funding for Flock cameras
Gov. Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas; halted state funding for Flock cameras; Flock Safety, Surveillance camera company; paused payments for 90 days; Dallas Police, City agency; met with Flock CEO; announced deal to keep cameras and 5 more
Texas State Senator Angela Paxton, estranged wife of Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton, released an advertisement stating she will vote for the Republican ticket on November 3. She did not mention her husband by name in the ad. Paxton filed for divorce from Ken Paxton in July 2025, citing adultery.
$$131 million for super PAC spending on Texas Senate race
Angela Paxton, Texas State Senator; estranged wife of Ken Paxton; Ken Paxton, Republican Senate nominee; Texas Attorney General; James Talarico, Democratic Senate nominee and 2 more
Secretary of State Carlos H. Cascos announced a 7 percent increase in new business filings in April 2016 compared to April 2015. A total of 14,871 certificates of formation were filed in April 2016, up from 13,874 in April 2015.
$14,871 for certificates of formation filed in April 2016
Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughs visited Laredo and toured the World Trade International Bridge, which connects the United States and Mexico. She met with Laredo Mayor Pete Saenz and local government and business leaders to discuss strengthening trade between Texas and Mexico.
$$303 billion for trade volume through Laredo's international bridges and ports in 2018
Ruth Hughs, Texas Secretary of State; Pete Saenz, Laredo Mayor
Texas Secretary of State Ruth Hughs participated in a cultural and economic trade mission to Japan hosted by the Japan Foundation and Center for Global Partnership. She attended policy briefings, met with Japanese government and business leaders, and visited Toyota Motor Corporation headquarters.
$$391 million for investment by Toyota into truck assembly plant in San Antonio
Ruth Hughs, Texas Secretary of State; Nakayama Norihiro, Parliamentary Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan; Sugiyama Motoaki, Deputy Mayor of Toyota City
The Texas Secretary of State announced that Texas joined ERIC, a non-profit consortium of member states. ERIC assists states in increasing voter participation and improving voter roll accuracy. Texas will use ERIC to identify eligible unregistered voters, voters who moved, deceased voters, and duplicate registrations.
$$1.5 million for appropriation for Texas to join ERIC consortium
Keith Ingram, Director of Elections; Shane Hamlin, Executive Director of ERIC; Grace Chimene, President of League of Women Voters of Texas and 1 more
Texas Secretary of State Ruth Ruggero Hughs traveled to the Rio Grande Valley to meet with public officials, economic development organizations, and community leaders on border-related issues. She participated in roundtable discussions, a fireside chat with Tamaulipas's Secretary of Economic Development, met with the RGV Metropolitan Planning Organization, and toured the Pharr International Bridge.
$$615 billion for annual trade value between Texas and Mexico border
Ruth Ruggero Hughs, Texas Secretary of State; Carlos Garcia, Secretary of Economic Development of Tamaulipas; Ambrosio Hernandez, Mayor of Pharr
Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson drew the ballot order for 17 proposed constitutional amendments. Texans will vote on these amendments in the November 4 election.
$Amendments would authorize legislative exemptions from ad valorem taxation on various property types and provide exemptions for residence homesteads.
Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced election security initiatives in her final week in office, including statewide security assessments for all 254 counties, identification of voter registrations using commercial mailboxes, and new secure military ballot options for deployed service members ahead of the November election.
$$8 million for appropriation for election security assessments in 254 counties
Jane Nelson, Texas Secretary of State; Texas Legislature, Appropriated funding for election security programs
Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson reflected on her nearly three and a half years leading the agency, highlighting modernization efforts, election administration improvements, and economic development initiatives as her tenure comes to a close.
$Millions of dollars for election security grants distributed to counties
Jane Nelson, Texas Secretary of State (115th); Greg Abbott, Governor who appointed Nelson
Governor Abbott joined manufacturing and business leaders for a roundtable discussion and press conference to highlight Manufacturing Week in Texas on October 1, 2026. He emphasized his economic priorities including reducing property taxes, lowering healthcare and insurance costs, making housing more affordable, and cutting college costs.
$$2.9 trillion for Texas economy size
Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas; Wroe Jackson, Texas Association of Manufacturers Executive Vice President & General Counsel
Gov. Greg Abbott's reelection campaign is intensifying attacks on Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa as polls show the race narrowing in early October 2026. A New York Times/Siena College poll showed Hinojosa narrowly leading Abbott by three points, prompting Latino Democratic leaders to urge the Democratic Governors Association to invest $10 million in the Texas race.
$Hinojosa proposes property tax cuts; Abbott accuses her of voting 40 times to raise property taxes.
Greg Abbott, Republican Governor, incumbent candidate; Gina Hinojosa, Democratic state representative, gubernatorial candidate; Andy Beshear, Kentucky Governor, Democratic Governors Association chair and 2 more
Records reviewed by the Associated Press show Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton took over 275 out-of-state trips since 2015 to places including California wine country, Caribbean resorts, and European tourism destinations. His security detail expenses for out-of-state travel rose from about $30,000 in 2015 to nearly $400,000 in 2024.
$$1.9 million minimum for security detail travel expenses for out-of-state trips
Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General and Republican U.S. Senate candidate; James Talarico, Democratic opponent in Senate race; Joshua Blank, Director of research, Texas Politics Project at University of Texas at Austin
Ken Paxton and James Talarico, candidates for U.S. Senate, separately answered questions from the United States Hispanic Business Council about healthcare, immigration, and affordability. Paxton appeared in person on Monday; Talarico appeared via Zoom on Wednesday after being diagnosed with the flu. The council's president asked both candidates identical questions.
$$50,000 for tax deduction for first- and second-time homebuyers
Ken Paxton, U.S. Senate candidate; James Talarico, U.S. Senate candidate; Javier Palomarez, President and CEO, United States Hispanic Business Council and 1 more
A new state constitutional amendment approved by voters in November 2025 and implemented through House Bill 9 created a $125,000 exemption for income-producing tangible personal property. According to Bell County's Tax Appraisal District, this exemption cost local taxing entities an estimated $12.1 million in property tax revenue in 2026.
$Bell County taxing entities lost an estimated $12.1 million in property tax revenue; school districts and colleges accounted for about $6.7 million of that loss, with the state Foundation School Program partially offsetting school district losses.
Tax Appraisal District of Bell County, Estimated revenue loss from exemption; Billy White, Chief Appraiser, Tax Appraisal District of Bell County; State Rep. Hillary Hickland, R-Belton, joint author of HB 9 and 1 more
Gregg County Commissioners Court approved a property tax increase from $0.304331 to $0.334331 per $100 of property value. County Judge Bill Stoudt said the increase was needed to fund the county budget as costs rise, including jail operations, road maintenance, and law enforcement.
$Property tax rate increased by $0.030 per $100 of property value to fund county budget for road maintenance, law enforcement, and jail operations.
Bill Stoudt, Gregg County Judge; Gregg County Commissioners Court, governing body that approved tax increase
Texas has significantly expanded property tax breaks for seniors and other homeowners through recent legislative cuts. Some 60% of Texas homeowners age 65 and up no longer pay school property taxes, part of a broader pattern affecting 2.4 million Texans. The Legislature boosted homestead exemptions, lowering school tax bills statewide.
$School property tax bills for general homesteads fell 13.6% to $896 statewide; for seniors fell 33% to $380; approximately 40% of Texas homeowners no longer pay property taxes.
Jane Lindsley, Hays County homeowner, age 72; State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, Houston Republican who authored property tax cuts; Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, State official proposing additional tax relief and 3 more
Republican officials and senators expressed concern over mounting spending to support Ken Paxton's Texas Senate campaign, worrying the race is becoming too expensive and unlikely to succeed. Audio leaked of Paxton criticizing Trump's midterm convention effort.
$$200 million-plus for outside spending by Republican groups to support Paxton campaign
Ken Paxton, Texas Senate nominee; John Cornyn, U.S. Senator (R-TX); James Talarico, Democratic Senate nominee and 1 more
State Sen. Angela Paxton released a television advertisement urging voters to support the entire Republican ticket in the November general election. In the 30-second ad, she did not mention her estranged husband, Attorney General Ken Paxton, by name but expressed support for keeping Republican seats in GOP control.
$over $126 million to over $130 million for TV ad spending by Texas PAC
Angela Paxton, Texas state senator, R-McKinney; Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate nominee; James Talarico, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate and 1 more