Analysis: Cutting the Texas budget, even with money on hand
If Texas legislators cut the state budget this year, it won't be because they didn't have the money. It'll be because they didn't want to spend the money they have. Full Story
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In Texas House, uncertain fate of bathroom bill could reverberate
The Texas “bathroom bill” has made it to the House but chamber leaders are hinting that the controversial legislation may never reach the chamber's floor for a vote. Full Story
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![With less than a week before lawmakers convene, preparations are underway to welcome members of the state House of Representatives for the 85th session of the Texas Legislature.]()
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Funding for Abbott's pre-K program flat lines in both chambers (video)
In the Texas Political Roundup: Both the House and Senate budget plans have zeroed out the funding for Governor Greg Abbott’s early education grant program. Plus, the “bathroom bill” advances in the Senate. And one lawmaker files a bill that would penalize men for masturbating. Full Story
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Universities face funding cuts of 6 percent to 10 percent in Senate plan
In an attempt to make major changes in how higher education is funded, the Senate Finance Committee is proposing major cuts to each state university. Full Story
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Senate gives approval to two abortion-related bills
The upper chamber gave final passage to a bill that would ban what opponents call "partial-birth" abortions and put restrictions on donating fetal tissue, and initial approval to one that would ban doctors from performing dilation and evacuation abortions. Full Story
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![A woman reflects quietly in the waiting room at Planned Parenthood of Gulf Coast's ambulatory surgical center in Houston Friday, August 2, 2013.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas bullet train firm calls provision added to budget a "job killer"
Officials with Texas Central Partners, the private firm developing the Houston-Dallas high-speed rail line, said the rider added to the state senate's proposed budget Wednesday would put their project at risk. Full Story
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![A high-speed Texas train is planned to run near railroad tracks along Hempstead Road in northwest Houston.]()
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Watch as Texas House committee debates anti-"sanctuary" bill
The Texas House State Affairs Committee is set to debate a bill that would gut funding from local and state entities that don’t enforce immigration laws. Full Story
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![Critics of Senate Bill 4, a bill banning sanctuary cities, protest at the Texas Capitol as the bill is scheduled to be debated before the Senate State Affairs committee on Feb. 2, 2017.]()
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Patrick: Straus "out of touch with the voters" on bathroom bill
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Wednesday that House Speaker Joe Straus is "out of touch with the voters" for opposing the so-called bathroom bill that passed the Texas Senate a day earlier. Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick at a Texas Legislative Budget Board meeting on December 1, 2016.]()
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Texas Senate tentatively approves "bathroom bill"
After several hours of debate, the Texas Senate on Tuesday tentatively signed off on the “bathroom bill” on a 21-10 vote. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick confers with State Sens. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, Royce West, D-Dallas, on March 14, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Legislator: Some Republican men tried to retaliate over “masturbation bill”
After state Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, filed a bill that would fine men $100 for masturbating, some Republican men in the Texas House, she said, tried to derail a separate and unrelated bill of hers Tuesday. Full Story
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![State Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, questions Health & Human Services chief Charles Smith regarding state contracts for health clinics during a State Affairs Committee interim hearing on Aug. 15, 2016.]()
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Senators grill one another in tense hearing on property tax bill
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt's attempt to limit when cities and counties can increase property tax collections without an election drew bipartisan opposition Tuesday. But many supporters also came to the bill's defense. Full Story
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![State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, listens to testimony on SB2 at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on March 14, 2017.]()
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Watch as Texas Senate debates "bathroom bill"
A week after a marathon hearing, the Texas Senate debated the "bathroom bill" on the floor Tuesday afternoon. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick looks around the Senate Chamber on Feb. 7, 2017 prior to bringing up SB 4 sanctuary city bill for debate.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Here’s what the revised Texas bathroom bill means in plain English
State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, the author of the so-called "bathroom bill," last week unveiled a revised version of Senate Bill 6. We've updated our plain English annotation of the bill to explain how it would impact communities across Texas. Full Story
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![An all-gender restroom at The University of Texas at Austin.]()
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Will Senate bill provide tax relief or hamstring local governments?
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt says Texans are tired of seeing their property tax bills increase dramatically year after year. But local government officials say his Senate Bill 2 would limit their abilities to raise necessary revenues. Full Story
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Advocates hope to end policy in Texas of jailing poor for unpaid fines
Thousands of Texans are at risk of being arrested at any given moment for not paying fines often related to traffic offenses or other city ordinance violations, according to a recent report. Full Story
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Proposed law would crowdfund donations to help with rape kit backlog
As Texas faces a backlog of thousands of untested rape kits, lawmakers appear unwilling to spend state dollars to address the problem — but they're considering crowdfunding. Full Story
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![Jenny Black, executive director/coordinator at Austin/Travis County Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, shows a sexual assault evidence collection kit at St. David's Medical Center in Austin on July 29, 2013.]()
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Texas lost a ruling over its congressional map. So what's next for the state?
Here's what you need to know about Friday night's huge — and incredibly complicated — ruling that effectively invalidated Texas' congressional map. Full Story
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Unicycles and feral hogs: former lawmaker unveils his top bill descriptions
Having trouble classifying your electric unicycle? Want to identify your deer but don't want to get it tattooed? The 85th Texas Legislature is here to help. Full Story
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Mayors say Texas, U.S. politics increasingly undermine city needs
A major source of division among cities and state officials is differing opinions on what local control means — and to whom it provides the power to govern. Full Story
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![Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings was among a group of Texas mayors at a Feb. 17, 2017, news conference discussing their unified agenda in working with the 85th Texas Legislature.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A week to test local powers in Texas
The Texas Legislature is going to be busy this week with issues that ordinarily belong to other governments, as it considers the wisdom of local ordinances on restrooms, ride-hailing, short-term rentals, sanctuary cities and plastic bags. Full Story
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![A large crowd of transgender advocates opposed to SB 6 the bathroom bill converge on the Capitol Extension Rotunda during the Senate State Affairs Committee hearing on the bill March 7, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune