Daily Briefing: Thursday, September 24, 2026

The Texas Ethics Commission voted September 23 to table, without discussion, a proposed rule change that would have raised the per diem paid to state lawmakers from $221 to $290.40 a day beginning in 2027, Texas Scorecard reported. The rate has stood at $221 since 2019 under the commission’s own rules, according to the commission. Because the threshold for detailed lobbyist expense reports is set at 60 percent of the per diem, the change would also have raised that trigger from $132.60 to $174.24 per lobbyist per day, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility reported.

The Senate Committee on Economic Development took testimony September 22 on project financing zones, which let seven eligible cities designate an area within three miles of a qualified project and collect rebates of state hotel occupancy, sales and mixed beverage tax growth there for up to 30 years, according to the hearing video. Sen. Angela Paxton of McKinney raised the absence of return on investment calculations, and a Comptroller’s office witness confirmed that no positive return estimates are calculated for the zones, Texas Scorecard reported.

Question 9 of the ten on Alberta’s October 19 referendum ballot asks whether the provincial government should work with other willing provinces to amend Canada’s constitution so that “a province’s laws dealing with provincial or shared areas of constitutional jurisdiction” take “priority over federal laws when the province’s laws and federal laws conflict,” according to Elections Alberta. Question 10 asks whether the government should begin the legal process under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding referendum on separation.

Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon reaffirmed his promise to hold a sovereignty referendum in a first PQ term, after the current U.S. president leaves office, during the third and final leaders’ debate on September 23, The Canadian Press reported. Liberal leader Charles Milliard, Conservative leader Éric Duhaime and Coalition Avenir Québec leader Christine Fréchette each used their closing remarks to argue against a referendum. Quebec votes October 5.