The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
Following a biennial custom, Texas lawmakers filed hundreds of bills this week ahead of the 82nd legislative session. Use this database to search the bill captions, which contain a lay description of the legislation. Filter the results by a bill's primary author and subject. Full Story
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It appears state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, will keep her seat in the Texas House. After overseas ballots were counted Monday, the final vote tally gave Howard a 16-vote victory over Republican challenger Dan Neil. Full Story
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It's the first day to prefile bills for the next legislative session, and lawmakers lined up early to get in their legislation. (Some lawmakers were more eager than others.) Our latest HuTube post has the action from inside the House clerk's office. Full Story
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When a party wins everything, as the GOP has in Texas this year, it gets almost everything its way. It also has everything to lose. Full Story
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Some Republican lawmakers are proposing an unprecedented solution to the state’s massive budget shortfall: opting out of the federal Medicaid program. But experts say the rhetoric may be more of a middle finger to Washington than sound public policy. Full Story
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Our wall-to-wall Election Day coverage — complete results up and down the ballot and county by county, the all-hands-on-deck Trib team on the Republican tsunami, my conversation with George W. Bush's media adviser and Rick Perry's pollster about what happened on Tuesday, Stiles and Ramsey on what 194 candidates spent per vote this election cycle, Hu on how the GOP rout will affect the substance of the next legislative session, Hamilton on the Texas Democratic Trust's unhappy end, Ramshaw and Stiles profile the new arrivals at the Capitol in January, M. Smith on what's next for Chet Edwards and Ramsey and me on six matters of politics and policy we're thinking about going forward — plus Thevenot and Butrymowicz on a possible solution to the high school dropout problem: The best of our best from Nov. 1 to 5, 2010. Full Story
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House Speaker Joe Straus is moving quickly to squelch any talk of a speaker's race. His office released two letters this afternoon — one from conservative leaders expressing support for him, and another that emphasizes his strengths as House leader. Full Story
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Embattled former Dallas state Rep. Terri Hodge hasn't even finished serving her year in prison for lying on her tax returns. But her successor, freshman Democratic Rep. Eric Johnson, is already pledging to file legislation that would prohibit lawmakers who commit felonies from receiving state pension benefits. Full Story
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State Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, died this morning of an apparent heart attack. He was taken to Austin's Brackenridge Hospital with heart problems; an aide in his Capitol office said his defibrillator went off and said he was taken to the hospital. Full Story
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Texas is — at least geographically — more red after Tuesday's GOP wave. Full Story
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Whether you call it a wave, a rout or a tsunami, one thing is clear: Republicans in the Texas House won a massive mandate for conservative bills — and budgeting — in the coming legislative session. Full Story
Tuesday's elections gave Republicans a nearly two-thirds majority in the Texas House — and, with it, the power to do just about whatever they want in the next legislative session. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the party faithful are battling over who should lead the lower chamber. Full Story
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Texas House Republicans react after defeating 22 incumbent Democrats, giving them the largest majority they've seen since Reconstruction. Full Story
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In this post-election TribCast, Evan, Elise and Ben look back on the election year that was and discuss Gov. Rick Perry's political future and the implications of the massive Republican landslide in the Texas House. Full Story
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House Speaker Joe Straus says he's now got 130 votes for re-election as speaker — and that the only thing new is that 99 Republicans instead of 76 will make the House a much more conservative body. But State Rep. Warren Chisum says he will continue the challenge to Straus that he announced three weeks ago. Full Story
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"I don't need lessons on how to be a Republican," Joe Straus said Wednesday morning, responding to claims by his challenger in the Speaker's race, state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, that he isn't Republican enough to hold the leadership post. Full Story
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House Speaker Joe Straus says he's got 122 votes for another term as speaker — in spite of the fact that at least a dozen of his past supporters were defeated in Tuesday's election. Full Story
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The Tribune's crack reporting staff — in Houston, Buda and other political hotspots — will be posting the latest news and spin the minute the polls close. Check back and refresh often for updates and photos from the field. Full Story
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Yes, yes, the governor’s race: It’s tended to suck all the air out of the room this election cycle, hasn’t it? But there’s an undercard as well, and even if it’s received scant attention by comparison, don’t think it doesn’t matter. To the contrary, the outcome of races other than the one at the top of the ballot has serious implications for a great many matters of politics and policy that will affect and should interest every single Texan in the near term. Full Story
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In our final TribCast before Election Day, the gang takes a look back at the closest races this cycle and dares to makes some predictions about what's going to happen on November 2. Full Story