The latest Greg Abbott news from The Texas Tribune.
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
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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
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The medical school is projected to accept a class of 30 students for Fall 2020. Full Story
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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House leadership plans to hold a floor vote on Monday. Meanwhile, the Senate is looking for one more vote to bring the priority measure to the floor. Full Story
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On this week’s TribCast, Aman talks to Ross, Shannon and Emma about why the top three Republicans in Texas just got behind raising the state sales tax, why national Democrats are suddenly pouring so much money into Texas and which Texas Senator you should be keeping a close eye on as the session enters its final weeks. Full Story
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Since 2005, state lawmakers have received the agency's biennial report detailing inefficiencies in government, but this year the report was not made public. Full Story
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In recent weeks, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has swiftly sued two companies over major fires at their Houston-area plants. It's a dramatic departure from the state's usual approach to environmental enforcement. Full Story
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The Texas Legislature is trying to focus on school finance and property taxes. But flashier, more divisive political fights beckon. Full Story
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Patrick Murphy was one of the escaped convicts sentenced to death for the murder of Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins during a robbery. The high court stopped his execution because Texas officials wouldn’t let a Buddhist chaplain into the death chamber with him. Full Story
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