News

Halloween is here, heralding a few signs of Fall--it’s finally getting a bit cooler outside, the Holidays will be here soon, and for those attuned to the political scene, November elections are upon us.   This November, you won’t see any state or federal...

        photo: Nan Palermo Overview The 2019 Legislative Session produced very important results for the Texas lodging industry.  We offered and passed omnibus tourism public improvement district (TPID) legislation that will allow all Texas cities...

May 2019 The 2019 Regular Legislative Session wrapped up as a very positive one for the Texas hotel and lodging association.   This session, we offered tourism public improvement district (TPID) legislation for all Texas cities; targeted TPID legislation for six...

We’re in the final stretch of the 2019 Texas Legislative Session, with only four short weeks to adjournment on May 27.  This is also the busiest time of the Session, with legislators, lobbyists, and interested constituents scrambling to pass, block, or amend...

For the second time in three years, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released new salary requirements for employees to be classified as exempt from overtime. The DOL released its long-awaited proposed rule which, if adopted, would set the minimum salary threshold at...

It's been another busy month in the 2019 session. We've organized the important legislation into these categories: Short-term rentals. Local hotel occupancy tax proposals: New uses of tax revenue, and new county hotel tax proposals. (We've listed the communities with...

We are about seven weeks into the 2019 Texas Legislative Session, and the action is heating up. Fast approaching is Friday, March 8, the 60th day of 2019 Session. This is the deadline for most bills to be filed, and it also marks the date when the Legislature can...

86th Legislative Session Kicks Off The 86th Legislative Session opened at the Texas Capitol on this month as lawmakers took their oaths of office, selected new leaders, and began to work on major priorities for the new session like school finance reform and property...

This November’s midterm elections set new records for the State of Texas and reflects a new shift in direction for Texas politics. Over 8.3 million Texans turned out to vote in this midterm, nearly doubling the 4.6 million who turned out in the 2014 midterm election....

By Texas Lobby Group, THLA’s lobby team Fueled by the hotly contested race between Senator Ted Cruz and Democrat Beto O’Rourke, turnout for this year’s midterm election in Texas is set to dwarf that of the 2016 presidential election. About 15.8 million Texans are...