The Senate Education Committee drastically altered the House’s primary piece of school finance legislation Friday but suggested compromise with the House was possible with less than a week left in the special session.
August 2017
Posted in
State Government
Texas House approves sending first two special session bills to governor
The Texas House tentatively approved two bills Thursday that will keep several state agencies from closing. The chamber is expected to give the measures final approval tomorrow, sending them to the governor.
Posted inState Government
Texas House approves “compromise” city annexation bill
Legislation that would allow Texans to vote on whether cities in large counties can annex areas outside of their limits — a contentious issue that prompted a filibuster in May — got one step closer to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk Friday.
Posted inState Government
Senate approves mail-in voter fraud bill, repealing nursing home law
The Senate on Friday approved a House-amended version of Senate Bill 5, which targets mail-in ballot fraud. But the altered bill repeals a nursing home voting law that passed with bipartisan support earlier this year.
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Higher Education
Baylor ordered to turn over records from sexual assault investigation
A federal judge has ordered Baylor University to hand over recordings, notes and other key documents from its infamous Pepper Hamilton investigation, which found that Baylor repeatedly mishandled allegations of sexual assault.
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Politics
Texas bathroom bill appears to be all but dead in special session
With just days left in the special legislative session, controversial proposals to restrict bathroom use for transgender Texans appear to have no clear path to the governor’s desk.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: Is the Texas Legislature done yet?
Are we done yet? The last weekend of the first-called special legislative session by Gov. Greg Abbott is upon us, and things at the Capitol are shaping up to be busy.
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Health care
Bill requiring separate abortion insurance among those Texas House passed this week
A bill that advanced in the Texas Legislature this week would require women to pay an additional insurance premium if they want their health plan to cover abortions not considered medical emergencies.
Posted inState Government
Analysis: Texas state budget tricks are great — until you total them up
A new report says the deferrals and other fiscal tricks lawmakers used this year — and are considering in the current special session — are digging a hole legislators will have to fill when they return to write a new budget in January 2019.
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Criminal Justice
Murderer Bernie Tiede denied new trial by appeals court
Bernie Tiede, the East Texas mortician-turned-murderer whose crime prompted a Hollywood movie, lost one round of his appeals Thursday.