Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission

Unlike residents of more than 30 U.S. states and many foreign nations, Texans who want to buy a fifth of vodka or bourbon can't find their favorite spirit on the shelves of their local Walmart or Costco. A landmark ruling issued by a federal court in Austin could soon change that. 

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Nearly a year after a series of self-inflicted wounds led to a purge of the agency's upper management, a new commissioner and new executive director have launched a series of reforms — and the businesses they regulate say they've seen a big change. 

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On the final TribCast of 2017, Emily talks to Alexa, Neena, Jay and Edgar about some of the Trib's biggest stories of the year: the bathroom bill, Hurricane Harvey, the TABC scandal and our series on child sex trafficking. 

 

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State Rep. Sarah Davis will ask Gov. Greg Abbott to put ethics reform on the agenda of the ongoing special session and said focusing on ethics would restore trust in the Legislature at time when it's diminishing.

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The chair of a House oversight committee wants more information about potential "misconduct" that occurred at the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

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Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Licensing Director Amy Harrison helped oversee the creation of a controversial flyer depicting agency honchos partying during out-of-state junkets.

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On this week's TribCast, Ross talks to Ayan, Alexa and Jay about high-level changes at the state's alcohol regulator, the redistricting trials underway in San Antonio and the special session that starts next Tuesday.

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A lawyer with a lengthy military background has been tapped to clean up the embattled Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, which has been dogged by controversies and high-level departures in recent months.

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He had only been in the job for a few weeks, but the interim director of the troubled Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is out. Ed Swedberg abruptly quit Friday after saying he did not want to participate in the termination of another high-ranking official at TABC.

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The U.S. Department of Justice argued in a legal filing Thursday that courts should drop any further action over the old version of Texas’ voter ID law. That story tops the Texas Political Roundup.

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Two fresh departures from the troubled Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, announced Thursday, bring to five the number of high-level officials calling it quits since The Texas Tribune began publishing a series of stories about lavish spending, mismanagement and regulatory overreach at TABC.

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On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Patrick, Jay and Jim about Speaker Joe Straus' "bathroom bill" comments in the New Yorker, the TABC's war with Spec's and a top lobbyist's eight-year-old comments on young women drinking at Baylor.

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A shake-up continues at the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission with the resignation of TABC General Counsel Emily Helm, the third top official to leave the agency in recent months.

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After a three-year probe, state liquor regulators asked an administrative court to cancel every permit held by Spec's, the state's largest liquor retailer, or fine it more than $700 million. Instead, the judges recommended nothing but a warning.

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Kevin Lilly is one step closer to becoming a commissioner at the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission — an embattled state agency that’s been in the Legislature’s crosshairs over controversial spending practices in recent months.

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House Republicans successfully added gender-defining language to a bill that would regulate companies like Uber and Lyft. That's among the news in this week's Texas Political Roundup. 

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Amid a controversy over travel to fancy resorts and other spending controversies, the head of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Sherry Cook, announced she was stepping down from her job effective May 23.

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For more than three hours, top TABC officials were grilled by House members for misusing state resources, taking trips to Hawaii on the taxpayers’ dime, mixing vacation with state duties, misreporting who has been assigned which state-owned vehicles, and cozying up to the very industry they’re supposed to be regulating.

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The state's top alcohol administrator received "hazardous duty" pay while in Hawaii. And the TABC brass has gotten trained as police officers, which allows them to get take-home cars, free gas and an array of weaponry, according to records and interviews. 

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The Texas House on Thursday voted unanimously to cut the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's travel budget and restrict its use of money from outside groups.

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