The latest Dan Patrick news from The Texas Tribune.
It may have been the offseason for the Texas Legislature, but there was still ample news coming from state officials, much of which will reverberate through the legislative session starting in January. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/12/09/TT-year-in-review2016-Abbott-GOP-state-convention-BobDaemmrich.png)
School districts lost a court case that could have forced the state to reform its school finance system, and federal officials toured Texas to investigate claims that special education services were arbitrarily capped. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/12/09/TT-year-in-review2016-presser-protest-LauraBuckman.png)
Some Texas lawmakers were in a hurry to require transgender Texans to use the restrooms that match the genders listed on their birth certificates. But the policy and politics are complicated enough to prompt the governor to tap the brakes. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/06/13/3U2A5077-001.jpg)
The state's top elected officials are happy to go on about border security, but they get tongue tied if the conversation turns to cracking down on employers of undocumented immigrants. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/07/05/Patrick-Abbott-Straus.jpg)
In the Roundup: Protesters turn up for a white nationalist speaker at Texas A&M University, a business lobbying group says anti-LGBT bills will hurt the Texas economy and Gov. Greg Abbott calls for a convention of states. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/12/08/120916_Still.jpg)
It's hard to get property tax relief out of a state government that does not levy a property tax. But it's tempting turf for politicians in Texas, and they're going to try again when they meet in January. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/02/24/PropertyTax-DollarSigns.jpg)
An incoming state senator suggested Thursday that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will focus on schools, not businesses or sporting venues, with his "bathroom bill." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/04/21/6F6A8160.jpg)
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Wednesday that a Texas Republican elector's decision not to vote for Donald Trump may lead state legislators to pass a law requiring electors to support the winner of the statewide popular vote. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/08/23/7C2A3338.jpg)
If they were only listening to voters, Texas Republican lawmakers could cast stress-free votes on a proposed bathroom bill. That's also true if they were only listening to businesses. But voters and businesses don't want the same thing. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/04/28/bathroomvoters.jpg)
The differences in the House and the Senate aren't solely because of the personalities of their leaders. It's also in how those leaders are elected, and whom they answer to. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/03/20/StrausPatrick.jpg)
In two weeks, Texas will officially enact cuts of Medicaid reimbursement rates for disabled children's therapy services. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/05/02/20160429-TXT-Richmond001.jpg)
It makes political sense for statewide officials like the governor and the lieutenant governor to do things that attract favorable attention from voters. Speakers of the House live a little farther from the limelight. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/13/JoeStrausDallas_010.JPG)
Texas remains one of four states without a statewide ban on texting while driving, but Rep. Tom Craddick and Sen. Juddith Zaffirini plan to try again. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/02/09/TextandDrive.jpg)
A Trump administration may put wind in the sails of Texas lawmakers pushing for "school choice," allowing parents to use taxpayer money to send their children to charter, private and religious schools. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/11/11/DrakeTrump1785.JPG)
Whom President-elect Donald Trump appoints to a vacant U.S. Supreme Court seat and how his Justice Department will differ from President Obama's could determine whether Texas' 2011 Voter ID law survives. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/11/03/Early_voting_DeWitt_BD_TT.jpg)
Winning isn't everything when it comes to party control. If it was, Texas lawmakers would have nothing to do. But they still have plenty to fight about, and Republicans in Washington, D.C., will, too. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/05/15/IMG_9835.jpg)
Backed by the lieutenant governor, Sen. Charles Perry filed legislation Tuesday to eliminate sanctuary cities. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/05/25/A_S3R6271cmsPerry.jpg)
It won't change the color of the leaves on the trees, but the civics seasons in Texas have changed. Say goodbye to the elections and hello to the legislative session. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-FilingBills_Tamir.Kalifa001.jpg)
If President-Elect Donald Trump delivers on his promise to dramatically beef up security on the U.S.-Mexico border, leading Texas lawmakers say they might quit spending so much state tax money on it. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/04/20/MHN_BP_001.JPG)
They might not have predicted this, but Republicans won full control of the federal government in Tuesday's elections. For Texas Republicans, that removes a major political foil. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/11/09/Capitol_2_flags.jpg)