A bill from state Rep. Rob Eissler modifying how end-of-course exams factor into graduation led House Republicans into a debate over how best to handle student testing during what one called “extraordinary times” in public education.
House Passes Controversial School Testing Bill [Updated]
Posted in
State Government
Committee Passes Bill That Would Protect Veterans Fund
A Senate committee on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill that would prevent the Texas Veterans Commission — which faces a proposed 20 percent budget cut — from dipping into a fund it is barred from using for administrative purposes.
Posted in
Higher Education
Senate Passes TEXAS Grants Priority Model
A bill that would change the system for distributing TEXAS Grants — the state’s primary need-based aid program — by creating a new priority system passed the Senate today by a vote of 24-7.
Posted in
Demographics
Circumcision Questions, Other Inquiries Mulled for Some Passport Applicants
Were you circumcised at birth and was it a part of a religious ceremony? If so, who was there and why? It may sound far-fetched, but some applicants for U.S. passports may soon have to answer such questions.
Posted in
Economy
Thousands Rally for Smaller Budget Cuts
Thousands of protesters chanted “They say, ‘Cut back.’ We say, ‘Fight back'” as they marched to the Capitol this afternoon to rally against proposed budget cuts.
Posted inState Government
The Midday Brief: Top Texas Headlines for April 6, 2011
Your afternoon reading: Tea Party presses senators on budget; hospital tax quietly floated; Senate approves DNA testing bill
Posted in
State Government
Senate Approves Easing Restrictions on DNA Testing
The Senate today passed a bill that would reduce restrictions on post-conviction DNA testing by allowing biological evidence that was previously untested, or tested by older, potentially inaccurate techniques, to be tested and used as evidence in court.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Senate OKs Bill to Promote Texas Data Transparency
Data enthusiasts may be cringing at proposed federal cuts to data transparency websites, but the Texas Senate passed a bill today that would promote state transparency by requiring agencies to post high-value data sets online.
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Health care
Updated: Will Hospitals Be Taxed to Prop Up Medicaid?
Talk has resumed in the Senate — albeit quietly — about a so-called quality assurance fee, a revenue generator that would effectively tax hospitals to prop up the state’s cash-strapped Medicaid program.
Posted in
Health care
Medical Board Bill Moves Out of Public Health
The House Public Health Committee put its stamp of approval this morning on a much-watered-down version of Rep. Fred Brown’s Texas Medical Board bill, a measure designed to protect doctors from unfounded complaints.
