Texas narrows law barring contractors from boycotting Israel
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill weeks after a federal judge blocked the existing state law in response to a lawsuit. Full Story
The latest Greg Abbott news from The Texas Tribune.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill weeks after a federal judge blocked the existing state law in response to a lawsuit. Full Story
On this week’s TribCast, Aman talks to Ross, Matthew and Shannon about how Texas lawmakers' plan to raise the sales tax collapsed, why the 2019 session is like the 1997 one and what we'll be watching out for in the session’s final three weeks. Full Story
Gov. Greg Abbott and other legislative leaders endorsed the sales tax increase, intended to help fund ongoing cuts to school district taxes. But it has been effectively killed this session. Full Story
After it failed to move out of the House Higher Education Committee on Monday, a proposal to bring back the annual game seems all but dead. Full Story
State leaders are pushing a plan to drive down property taxes using revenue from a one-cent increase to the sales tax. They have said the plan would result in roughly $250 a year in savings on a $200,000 home. Full Story
A bill designed to encourage Texas manufacturers to use more recyclable materials won final approval Monday. It comes as China and India have implemented policies restricting the import of plastics and other materials. Full Story
The pieces are in place. There's a month to go. And the three leaders who bet big on school finance, education and property taxes are in a familiar place, imploring reluctant legislators to take the kinds of high-stakes votes that make and break political careers. Full Story
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen did not close the door on passing a sales tax swap with a simple majority instead of the current approach requiring two-thirds support of lawmakers and voter approval. Full Story
The medical school is projected to accept a class of 30 students for Fall 2020. Full Story
Lawmakers are in their last month of a regular session, with their priority issues — public education and property taxes — still incomplete. If they can't finish without a special session, they'll run into someone else's deadlines; school districts write budgets and set tax rates in June. Full Story
The House approved the bill designed to slow local property tax revenue growth, but made the bill contingent on the passage of a school finance bill, which is still pending in the Senate. Full Story
An amendment added to a Senate property tax bill ties it to school finance — a signal the Texas House doesn't want to leave the harder-to-pass education bill behind. Full Story
A former school contractor spoke Friday about a Texas law that prohibits state government agencies from doing business with contractors who boycott Israel. A federal judge temporarily blocked the law Thursday. Full Story
The order came in a case brought by a Pflugerville school speech pathologist who was told she could only continue her contract work if she promised not to boycott Israel. Full Story
The end of the legislative session — deal-making time — is looming, and the priorities set out by the state's top leaders three months ago remain undone. In fact, those centerpiece school finance and property tax measures aren't even teed up for the final negotiations. Full Story
This is the first legislative session since the storm devastated the Texas Gulf Coast in August 2017. Several measures are afoot to aid in recovery and mitigate the effects of future disasters. Full Story
Top Republican leaders have proposed raising the sales tax and using the money to lower local property tax rates. Wealthier Texans and businesses would likely benefit, while poorer Texans would likely pay more. Full Story
The Texas Legislature is in its biennial spasm of drama, with big bills stuck and some state leaders saying it will take a special session to get property taxes, school finance and all of that done. But they have six weeks to go, and they often do their big work on deadline. Full Story
The state's top three leaders bet everything on public education and property taxes this year, but they can't get where they're going — especially if they want to cut property taxes — without bringing some Democrats to their side. Full Story
Texas State University administrators and the student body president blocked the student senate's attempt to ban the conservative group Turning Point USA from campus. Full Story