The Senate preliminarily approved a bill today by state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, that would add new definitions and harsher penalties to human trafficking laws.
Christopher Smith Gonzalez
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Criminal Justice
Brewpub Bill Gets Boost With Compromise
A bill that would give brewpubs more flexibility to sell their ales has been given a boost by a compromise with an influential beer lobby.
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Health care
Lawmakers Push for Changes to Hospital Hiring Law
Lawmakers today heard heated testimony on a number of bills targeting hospitals’ ability to hire physicians.
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Health care
Rural Hospitals Hope to Change Hiring Law
A Texas law dating back to the 1800s that keeps hospitals from directly hiring doctors comes before lawmakers today, in a flurry of bills designed to remove the ban — either for an individual hospital district, or for all the state’s rural hospitals.
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Criminal Justice
Lawmakers Get an Earful About Campus Carry
Supporters and opponents of allowing concealed handguns on college campuses packed a House committee room today where a number of bills that would allow it were being discussed.
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Criminal Justice
Senate Approves Eyewitness ID Reform
The Texas Senate unanimously approved a bill today that would revamp eyewitness identification policies used by law enforcement agencies.
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State Government
Ban Synthetic Drugs, Lawmakers Say
Synthetic drugs and hallucinogenic plants shouldn’t stand a chance in Texas, lawmakers on the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee said today, as they considered a set of bills that would ban the substances.
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State Government
Bills Would Consolidate State Agencies to Cut Cost
In an effort to cut administrative costs, state Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, filed a group of bills last week that would eliminate four state agencies.
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Public Education
Parents Push for Statewide Food Allergy Guidelines
Beth Martinez, who saved her young son’s life after an allergic reaction to something he ate, has joined with other parents across the state to support bills they say would help schools deal with an increasing number of students with food allergies.
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Guides
Texplainer: Why Can’t I Buy a Car or Liquor on Sundays?
You can’t buy liquor on Sundays and car dealerships can only be open one day over a weekend because of the last remnants of so-called “blue laws” in Texas. But a state Senate bill would change that for alcohol sales.
