Texas Senate budget writers propose billions for teacher raises, lower property taxes and water projects
The Senate Finance Committee’s proposals won’t be voted on and sent to the full chamber until April. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/08/16/APrice-EmptyChambers-2.jpg)
The latest joan huffman news from The Texas Tribune.
The Senate Finance Committee’s proposals won’t be voted on and sent to the full chamber until April. Full Story
Law enforcement officers who serve on Operation Lone Star get a $500,000 death benefit for their survivors if they die on duty. But National Guard troops on the same mission don’t get a dime from the state for their families if they die. Full Story
Under Senate Bill 23, all felonies involving a gun would incur a mandatory 10-year prison sentence. It’s meant to curb crime, despite the lack of correlation between harsher sentences and crime rates. Full Story
State Sen. Joan Huffman filed a bill that would repeal a provision that allowed longtime lawmakers to increase their yearly take-home income by $140,000 by collecting pension payments without retiring. Full Story
Texas Tech’s review comes as Gov. Greg Abbott has instructed state agencies and public universities that “forbidden DEI initiatives” violate federal and state employment discrimination laws. Full Story
The state has spent $4 billion on border initiatives in the past two years, including $40 million to bus migrants out of Texas into Democrat-led cities. Full Story
Conservative activists have pushed for legislative leaders to ban Democrats from leading committees. Full Story
The redistricting process this year is mostly procedural and is not expected to produce very different results from the most recent process completed in 2021. Full Story
Advocates have previously called for repealing the sales tax on products like tampons, sanitary pads and pantyliners. Menstrual products are already tax-free in 24 states. Full Story
Texas gained two new seats in Congress based on population growth fueled by people of color. But the Senate’s proposal provides no new majority-Black or majority-Hispanic districts to reflect that growth. Full Story
Democrats criticized Republicans for “targeting” a North Texas district that had been trending Democratic and for not drawing any new districts where people of color would represent a majority of eligible voters. Full Story
Narrowly targeted pieces of Texas’ George Floyd Act — like restricting chokeholds and requiring officers to provide first aid — are expected to pass. But the Act itself and many other related reforms have failed to progress during the legislative session that ends Monday. Full Story
Senate Bill 321 would also authorize yearly payments to shore up $14.7 billion in unfunded pension obligations. Full Story
Senate Bill 321 would enroll new employees eligible for the Texas Employees Retirement System in a cash balance plan — similar to a common 401(k) retirement account — instead of the traditional, defined benefit pension plan. Full Story
Texas courts have long been criticized for keeping people in jail pending trial who can't afford to post bond. Two priority bills this session would change the bail system, but they're primarily aimed at keeping potentially dangerous defendants behind bars. Full Story
Recent reforms that let more people accused of minor offenses be released without posting cash bonds appear to be working, new research shows. But Houston area lawmakers want to roll them back. Full Story
Remaking the state’s political maps — redistricting — is important. One way to tell is that the lawmakers making the maps do their dead-level best to avoid saying anything that might signal their intent. Full Story
The law, written by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, requires homeowners to disclose if their properties lie in a flood-prone area or have flooded before. It's an effort to expand notification after many homes unexpectedly flooded during Hurricane Harvey. Full Story
Senate Bill 21, authored by Sen. Joan Huffman, a Republican from Houston, made Texas the 16th state to raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21. Full Story
The bills aim to create a "hostile environment" for human trafficking in Texas and address sexual assault, said Gov. Greg Abbott at a bill signing ceremony Tuesday in Dallas. Full Story