Amid an ongoing, contentious debate about the future of higher education in Texas, Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst have created a new Joint Oversight Committee on Higher Education Governance, Excellence, and Transparency. Full Story
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No time to follow all the happenings of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome. Full Story
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Debate is underway on HB 12, the so-called “sanctuary cities” bill, which would prohibit cities, counties and other governmental entities or special districts from adopting a policy that prevents law enforcement from asking persons lawfully detained or arrested if they are in the country legally. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: Obama to give immigration speech during El Paso visit; House draws line in the sand over budget; Ron Paul nets $1 million from debate moneybomb Full Story
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In recent months, a set of seven "breakthrough solutions" for higher education have been discussed, debated and mulled over in the press, the Legislature, and various academic circles. Arguably lacking in the debate is the voice of a disinterested third party — until now. Full Story
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The House is sending its five budget conferees — Reps. Jim Pitts, John Otto, Sylvester Turner, John Zerwas and Myra Crownover — off to negotiate with the Senate, but they want to tie their hands on certain issues, instructing them on what's acceptable to add, subtract or leave alone when they talk with the other side. Full Story
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With the House set to take up a loser-pays bill for the second time tomorrow, Gov. Rick Perry has added an item to his emergency list: tort reform. Full Story
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The Texas Senate passed a budget this week for the next biennium, but only after nearly suffering a meltdown. Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden has blamed some of the drama on the meddling of outside interest groups. Full Story
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Immigration legislation — mostly dormant so far this session — will see some action in the Legislature today. Full Story
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A bill in the Legislature aims to adjust the formula for assessing completion and dropout rates at dropout recovery charters, which supporters say penalizes the schools who serve challenging populations. Full Story
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It’s tense at the Texas Capitol. It’s May — the last month of the session. Deadlines are arriving daily. Bills are dying. Legislative wish lists are drying up and blowing away. Blame the puppies. Full Story
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Members of Congress from Texas — and potential candidates for those offices — have raised more than $9 million in the first quarter of this year in advance of the 2012 federal elections, campaign records show. Full Story
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Meet the folks behind The Texas Tribune: who we are, why we do what we do — and why we are asking for your support. Full Story
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With school districts across the state passing belt-tightening budgets due to cuts expected at the Legislature, Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports that some districts are gearing up for legal challenges. Full Story
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Is it about security or racial profiling? Will U.S. citizens be targets of harassment? Will it stain Texas with the reputation Arizona thrust upon itself? The Texas House will likely entertain those and other sensitive questions when House Bill 12, commonly referred to as the “sanctuary cities” bill, hits the chamber's floor on Friday. Full Story
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House lawmakers have sent the controversial abortion sonogram bill to the governor's desk — after a last-ditch effort by disability rights advocates to change language they called highly offensive. Full Story
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This afternoon, the University of Texas System released much-anticipated data on faculty "productivity" — noting, however, that the 821-page spreadsheet is in a raw draft form that has not been fully verified and "cannot yield accurate analysis, interpretations or conclusions." Full Story
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The governor told a press gaggle today that the Senate budget vote is a "step in right direction" — and that big-city police chiefs who oppose sanctuary city legislation must not have been listening last Election Day. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: Obama to stop in El Paso before Austin visit next week; conservative think tank launches budget ads; Down syndrome group wants abortion sonogram change Full Story
Some of the thousands of untested rape kits lining evidence storage room shelves statewide would finally get testing under a bill the Texas Senate approved today. Full Story
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