The Texas House tentatively approved a $4.9 billion tax relief plan Tuesday that includes a cut to the state’s sales tax, marking a clear line in the sand against the Senate, which favors property tax cuts. Full Story
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A bill that that would allow epilepsy patients in Texas to use medicinal oils containing a therapeutic component found in marijuana was considered by state lawmakers in an emotional hearing on Tuesday. Full Story
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The House on Tuesday took up legislation on cutting the business franchise tax, also known as the margins tax. Learn more about the issue at hand in the Tribune's Texas Legislative Guide. And watch the action in the House and Senate using our livestream. Full Story
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A House panel late Monday learned some Harris County officials are not too keen on online voter registration. Lawmakers have filed two bills that would bring the practice to Texas. Full Story
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Lawyers for a Texas inmate convicted of capital murder in the 1999 stabbing death of a prison guard have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his Tuesday execution. Full Story
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Arguments over whether Texas’ voter ID law was written to intentionally discriminate against minority voters are up before a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Health newsletter: A detailed look at the Blue Bell ice cream recall, a health reporter's cancer diagnosis refocuses the conversation on screenings and an interview with John Warner, CEO of UT Southwestern University Hospitals. Full Story
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With the U.S. Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments in four same-sex marriage cases on Tuesday, Texas Republicans are already looking for loopholes in hopes of getting around a possible decision that effectively legalizes gay marriage. Full Story
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Here's an updated breakdown of House Bills 1-20 and Senate Bills 1-20, showing where House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick are placing their priorities for the 84th legislative session. Full Story
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The House is set to consider its tax relief package today as the impasse between its approach emphasizing a cut to the sales tax rate and the Senate's recipe that relies on a property tax reduction shows no sign of resolution. Full Story
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The House Human Services Committee heard testimony Monday evening on a bill that would partially consolidate the state’s massive health and human services system. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott answered a jury duty summons on Monday afternoon, reporting to the Travis County criminal court building in downtown Austin. After about two hours of waiting and chatting with fellow potential jurors, he learned he was not selected. Full Story
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Bills designed to shed more light on wining and dining of politicians by lobbyists and contractors advanced in the Texas Legislature on Monday. Full Story
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Health insurers could be prohibited from offering Texans plans covering abortions under a proposal by Republican state Sen. Larry Taylor of Friendswood. Full Story
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If the Texas Legislature has to come back for special sessions after its current session ends, it might not be because state lawmakers left something unresolved. It might trace back to election lawsuits pending in federal courts. Full Story
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As the Texas Legislature ponders ethics reforms to increase transparency and reduce conflicts of interests among its members, a key state lawmaker is facing new questions about whether his private business affairs are impacting his public duties. Full Story
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There was more fallout late last week from the Southern Methodist University-led research study that linked wastewater injection wells to a swarm of earthquakes near Reno and Azle in late 2013 and early 2014. Full Story
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On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics, host Jason Whitely, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey talk about last week's "breakfast blowup." Full Story
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Dawn Carlton is intellectually disabled, but she says she manages fine on her own. The 38-year-old woman is pushing for a series of bills this legislative session to change the way court-appointed guardians are used in Texas. Full Story
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How the House and Senate resolve their budget differences could offer clues about toxicity levels between the chambers for the balance of the session, so here's The Police, playing "Canary in a Coal Mine." Full Story
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