STATE CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS
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Deadline to register for March primary nears
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City of Canadian hires James Rawls as new City Manager
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CANADIAN — The City of Canadian announced that James Rawls will begin serving as City Manager on Monday, January 19, 2026.
USDA encourages farmers and ranchers to vote in Hemphill County Committee election
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CANADIAN — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has mailed ballots for the Farm Service Agency (FSA) county committee elections to eligible farmers and ranchers across the country. To be counted, ballots must be returned to the Hemphill County FSA office or postmarked by Feb. 2, 2026.
OIL & GAS REPORT
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Intents to Drill
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Gas Completions
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Oil Completions
Hemphill County backs legislation to end “tax churn” on hotel stays
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At the January 12th regular meeting, the Hemphill County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a resolution supporting new legislation that would exempt Texas counties from paying the state’s hotel occupancy tax.
The state hotel occupancy tax is charged to anyone paying for a hotel room costing $15 or more per day. When the tax was first enacted in 1972 at a rate of 3 percent, collections totaled just $8.5 million. Legislative changes in 1984 and 1987 raised the rate to the current 6 percent, in addition to local-option hotel taxes imposed by many cities and counties.
STATE CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS
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Democrats Talarico, Crockett set first debate
The first debate in the state’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate is set for Jan. 24 in Georgetown, The Dallas Morning News reported. U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas and state Rep. James Talarico of Round Rock are vying for the nomination.
