Although Republicans have run state government for two decades, the governor said he was "shocked" to learn Texas has fifth highest regulatory burden.

The Texas Senate sent "school choice" bill, Senate Bill 2, to Gov. Greg Abbott Thursday. Abbott is expected to sign the bill, which will send public

Senate Bill 14 was authored by more than a dozen Republican lawmakers including Houston-area state Sen. Paul Bettencourt and mandates the creation of the Texas Regulatory Efficiency Office. Abbott said in the release that the office will function as Texas' DOGE and is geared toward checking the growth of what he called "the administrative state.