The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
Anyone in the habit of calling state legislators has probably had the pleasure and/or pain of the hold music to which staffers must occasionally subject them. Is the music the lawmakers' choice, or is it out of their hands? Full Story
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Legislators have to choose between mobs — one under the Gadsden Flag with the snake and motto “Don’t Tread on Me”, the other a recent phenomenon under signs like, “If you can read this, thank a teacher.” Full Story
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Lawmakers today heard heated testimony on a number of bills targeting hospitals' ability to hire physicians. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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The president of Planned Parenthood and daughter of the late Democratic Gov. Ann Richards on Republican lawmakers’ efforts to defund her organization, a Texas attorney general’s opinion she says will keep low-income women from preventative care, and how her mother would’ve handled all of this. Full Story
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Does tapping the Rainy Day Fund have 90 House votes to move on to the Senate — and how much will the process of getting there damage the even bigger task for lawmakers of setting the next biennium's budget? Full Story
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This week on the TribCast, Ross, Reeve, Ben and special guest Jim Henson discuss the Rainy Day Fund, Hispanic Republicans, Tommy Lee Jones and a good deal more. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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Tribune readers, wondering what was personally at stake for the state’s education policy makers, asked us to check where lawmakers send their children to school. We obliged, and posed that question to all 181 members of the Legislature and 15 members of the State Board of Education. Full Story
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The House Election Contest Committee unanimously voted today to uphold Rep. Will Hartnett's determination that Donna Howard won the long-disputed HD-48 seat. Full Story
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The House Calendars Committee voted this evening to place the voter ID bill, SB 14, on the schedule for Monday. Full Story
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Texas House Appropriations committee approves use of 3.2 billion of rainy day fund for 2011 budget. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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Late Tuesday afternoon, the House Appropriations Committee voted 27-0 to move HB 275 to the floor. The substitute bill authorizes the state to draw down about $3.1 billion from the Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
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Calling on Washington to fix the country’s “discriminatory” immigration system, Hispanic Republicans in the Texas Legislature also fired off the first salvos in what could be a divisive battle within the party over immigration legislation. Full Story
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Some small school districts in Texas still paddle poorly behaving students, and protesters at the Capitol today said they want the swatting to stop. Full Story
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I believe people should understand the gravity of their decision — which is why it's too bad there's no sonogram provision for the Texas budget process. Full Story
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The past few days have seen thousands of students, educators and parents at the Texas Capitol to protest the budget cuts they say will do long-term harm to Texas students. Here are some images of the action. Full Story
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House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, thought he had a deal with Gov. Rick Perry and his staff to tap the Rainy Day Fund to close the current biennium shortfall. But with no public support from the governor's office, Pitts adjourned his hearing. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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