Local law enforcement agencies could apply for grants to equip their officers with body cameras and could also come up with guidelines for the equipment under legislation that the Senate approved Thursday.
Eva Hershaw
Eva Hershaw was a legislative reporter covering agricultural, environmental and general policy for The Texas Tribune in 2015. In the two years before arriving at the Tribune, she worked as a freelance journalist for VICE News, The Christian Science Monitor, The Atlantic online, and Al Jazeera America in Mexico and Brazil. Born in Idaho and raised in eastern Washington State, she holds graduate degrees in journalism and Latin American studies from the University of Texas.
Posted in
State Government
Senate Announces Budget Negotiation Team
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has named the Senate lineup of budget negotiators who will meet with House counterparts and hash out a final version of the two-year state budget.
Posted inState Government
Lawmakers Push for Consumer Access to Raw Milk
A lawmaker’s push to increase Texans’ access to raw milk stirred controversy on Tuesday, as dairy farmers, doctors and consumer advocates gathered at the Capitol to debate the merits of unpasteurized milk.
Posted inState Government
Senate Signs Off on School Scholarship Plan
The Texas Senate on Tuesday signed off on legislation that could let some low-income families move their kids from public school to private school — a bill that GOP leaders were quick to distance from school vouchers.
Posted inState Government
Point of Order Ends Discussion on Integrity Unit Bill
Legislation that would relocate the state’s anti-corruption unit was temporarily derailed in the House on Thursday because of a missing element in the legislation.
Posted inState Government
Teen Leads Charge to Change Confederate Heroes Day
One hundred and fifty years after the end of the Civil War, a 13-year-old boy caused an uproar at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday as lawmakers considered his proposal to modify a state holiday honoring Confederate heroes.
Posted inState Government
Lawmakers Look to Gulf to Meet Water Needs
Texas lawmakers on Monday began looking at a seawater desalination bill proposed by state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa that advocates say would offer “drought-proof” means of supplementing withering state water supplies.
Posted in
Economy
Senate OKs Bill That Would Tighten Spending Cap
The Senate passed a bill Thursday that would tighten the state’s constitutional spending cap and make it tougher for future legislatures to break it. Senate Bill 9, by Sen. Kelly Hancock, passed with a vote of 19-12.
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Energy
Lawmaker’s Bill Aims to Prevent Another Fertilizer Plant Blast
State Rep. Kyle Kacal has introduced legislation that he hopes would prevent another accident like the explosion of a West fertilizer plant in 2013 that killed 15 and injured more than 200.
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Health care
Rules Hurt Family Violence Programs, Nelson Says
State regulations are unnecessarily holding up funds for shelters and programs that help victims of family violence, state Sen. Jane Nelson says. She wants to loosen the rules, even as she leads the charge to tighten other state contracting procedures.
