The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
Freshman state Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, has been held up by some Republicans as a symbol of the party’s growing popularity with Hispanics. He says he is only motivated by the issues facing his constituents. Full Story
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The speaker of the House dampens expectations for vouchers, tax breaks and transportation without ruling any of those things out. And the lieutenant governor unpeels another layer of problems he says arose from a campaign manager's embezzling. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson discussed the GOP's challenge in attracting Latino voters and his support for a guest worker program. Full Story
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On Valentine's Day, state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, joined numerous lawmakers who have already filed bills that would extend rights to same-sex couples. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson — a passionate defender of the Second Amendment — explained his opposition to universal background checks, an assault weapons ban and other gun control measures. Full Story
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Texas' founders wanted a part-time Legislature with no room for full-time politicians. But paltry state pay means today's lawmakers must hold full-time jobs elsewhere — narrowing the ranks of likely officeholders to those who can afford to do it. Full Story
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In recent years, state lawmakers have focused on increasing the rigor of high school courses, hoping to prepare students for college. But some business leaders say that has come at the expense of career and technical education, and they're hoping for legislative change. Full Story
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Texas' public pension systems — including the one state lawmakers pay into — have an airtight exemption from the landmark 1973 sunshine law that was designed to let taxpayers known how public money is being spent. But some lawmakers want to change that. Full Story
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The Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday approved a bill to reform the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and the “scope-of-practice” bill that would increase the prescriptive power of advanced practice nurses. Full Story
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Soon after their replacements were sworn in last month, eight former House members registered as lobbyists with the Texas Ethics Commission. Full Story
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Hoping to flex what little muscle they have in the Legislature, Democrats this week plan to take aim at Republicans over public education. Full Story
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In this edition of the Texas Weekly Newsreel: The state's school finance system is ruled unconstitutional, committee hearings kick off at the Capitol and California Gov. Jerry Brown dukes it out with Rick Perry. Full Story
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In a state capital where moving from the Legislature to the lobby — and, sometimes, the other way — is unremarkable, it’s also common to find the relatives of lawmakers lobbying the state government. Full Story
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While members of the Texas Legislature can no longer act as lobbyists before state agencies, plenty of lawmakers still manage to lobby local governments. Others find work that critics would classify as lobbying by another name. Full Story
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Full video of my 2/6 TribLive conversation with Speaker of the House Joe Straus, R-San Antonio. Full Story
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Last week, House Speaker Joe Straus appointed a committee to examine the state's Code of Criminal Procedure. Committee members and relevant interest groups were caught by surprise, but they say the code is long overdue for revisions. Full Story
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Lawmakers are diving into the state budget, figuring out which parts of the governor's State of the State speech they liked and didn't like, and watching out of the corners of their eyes at the latest in the 2014 race for governor. Full Story
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Leaders of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas offered candid testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, explaining how the institute has changed its processes to prevent future improprieties. Full Story
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At Wednesday's TribLive conversation, House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, held open the possibility of a compromise with the federal government on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Full Story
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Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, criticized Republican Comptroller Susan Combs on Wednesday, saying she had a “cavalier” approach to doling out millions of dollars in tax incentives, including the award eventually granted to the promoters of F1 auto racing. Full Story
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