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State Capitol Reporter - Texas Press Asssociation
A weekly, bullet-point look at the Texas Capitol — covering the antics, actions, and aftermath of each legislative session. Gary delivers a straight-shooting news report on the state government issues that matter most to Texans.
High housing costs cut 2025 income gains
High housing costs slowed income growth in Texas last year, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, The Texas Tribune reported. The state’s median household income was $82,625, up slightly from the previous year. That is slightly lower than the national median household income of $84,780. The state’s poverty rank shrank, but the number of older Texans and families living in poverty rose, census data indicates. Housing costs rose for both renters and homeowners. More than half of the state’s 4.3 million renters are spending a third of their take-home pay on rent, while the share of homeowners with a mortgage considered “cost-burdened” rose slightly to 32% in 2025. Hispanic and Black households had the largest increases in median income, now up to $70,438 and $64,664, respectively. That still lags behind white median household income at $92,479. “I don’t think I would flag it as a bad thing for Texas,” said Lloyd Potter, a professor emeritus at the Texas Demographic Center. He said the state’s rising educational levels and diverse workforce are encouraging signs. Potter said the rising median age in Texas largely reflects the aging baby boomer population and lower birth rates. “We’re still a young state, but we are getting older,” he added. Families can use voucher money to shop online Texas families who have opted to enter the state’s new school voucher program received another round of funding in October, and families have spent nearly $50 million on purchases through the online marketplace Odyssey, the Texas Standard reported. That is about 20% of the $270 million allocated thus far. Families can receive up to $10,400 per child. While much of that goes for tuition and fees at private schools, money left over can be spent for books, school supplies, tutoring, therapy, and enrichment activities. Questions have been raised about oversight of the voucher program, which was originally funded with $1 billion of taxpayer money. Travis Pillow oversees the program for the Texas Comptroller’s Office. “Everything that is on that online purchasing platform has been reviewed to ensure that it meets the requirements in the law and is an eligible education expense,” Pillow said. Texas families can choose from more than 2,200 approved vendors. That includes businesses offering cheerleading, piano, and cooking classes, as well as jiu-jitsu lessons. State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said allowing families to use taxpayer money for purchases beyond private school tuition is unfair. “I can give you $10,000, and you can use a portion of that $10k, which is taxpayer money, in order to procure services and/or products at taxpayers’ expense,” West said. “You can’t do that in a public school.”
Kelley Mathews
Devotional Columnist
Reason for Hope
Election season runs on hope. Will our preferred candidates and propositions win? We hope so. How will the newly elected make decisions? With integrity, we hope. But now that election season is wrapping up (temporarily), our need for hope doesn’t disappear. In fact, we lean on it even more strongly. It’s a hope based on the character of one specific person—Jesus Christ. The early Christians knew this, but living among the pagan Romans sometimes discouraged them. The apostle Peter wrote to remind them that their faith was solid: “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” (1 Peter 3:15). Do you see how he described Jesus? As their hope. Sometimes we hear this verse as a call to practice our evangelism stump speech … “Can you give a gospel presentation to a stranger on short notice?” And while it is good to know how to clarify what we believe, we can rest easy today. Peter here is talking to a church sitting within a hostile pagan culture. They didn’t get to vote on their leaders—Rome had imposed its government, religion, and culture in every territory it conquered. Sometimes Christians faced opposition or discrimination. Occasionally they could experience true persecution. Everyone around them was worshipping Caesar as Lord, which is why Peter reminds them to revere Christ as Lord. And they were to identify Jesus not just as Lord or savior or redeemer, but as the object of their hope. Do you identify Jesus as your hope? Whether we fret about elections, or struggle with the loss of a loved one, hear a bad diagnosis, endure a broken relationship, or face financial hardship …the big, dramatic struggles of life along with our everyday difficulties leave us longing for hope. It helps that our savior lived the same kind of life we do—fully human, suffering from hunger, sorrow, aches, and rejection. That same Jesus even experienced death, but because he rose again to life, we also have the hope of resurrection and life eternal. He is the reason we can endure the uncertainties of health, finances, relationships, and international conflict. Our hope is based not on chance or wishes but on the personification of love himself, the risen Jesus. So let’s keep him in his rightful place as Lord. Our elected officials, while necessary to make our society work for us, will never fulfill the longings of our heart or meet our every need. Only God does that. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). May our lives run every day on our one, true hope.
Barney Ellis
Veteran's Affairs
The NFL Gives A Salute To Service
November is the NFL’s “Salute To Service” month. The military and professional football have been good buddies since 1879. That’s 147 years and professional football in America is only 10 years older! The Salute is aimed at generating support for Veterans--those serving now and those who have served. It’s a year round event but focuses on Veterans Day. You may have seen some of the teams last Sunday sporting camo and olive drab gear. That comes from the NFL Shop’s Salute To Service Collection. You can buy a lot of great-looking stuff from the Collection (Cowboys, of course!) including personalized NFL camo t-shirts for less than $50. This is the 15th season for the Salute, and it’s raised $75 million for Veterans’ programs so far. The money (including NFL Shop sales) goes to five different organizations, including the USO and the Wounded Warrior Project. All this month, NFL teams will play games dedicated to the “Salute.” Many teams will highlight Veterans during their games scheduled for the month of November. The Dallas Cowboys have designated their Week 10 game on the 15th to the Salute when they host the San Francisco 49ers. The Houston Texans will dedicate their Week 12 game on the 29th when they host the Baltimore Ravens. By the way, many of the televised games over the rest of this month will feature flyovers, which are crowd favorites. Nothing highlights our Veteran-guaranteed freedom better than hearing the roar of engines in afterburner and seeing the world’s best pilots flying in perfect formation in the sky over a football stadium! Comments, questions or suggestions: VeteranFife@gmail.com
