The bill would also prevent what abortion opponents call “discriminatory abortions” — where a woman or a doctor pursues an abortion on the basis of the fetus’ sex, race or disability.
Texas Legislature 2019
The 86th Legislature runs from Jan. 8 to May 27. From the state budget to health care to education policy — and the politics behind it all — we focus on what Texans need to know about the biennial legislative session.
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Texas Legislature 2019
“Pain and heartache” in the Texas Senate during debate on Confederate monuments
In a party-line vote, the upper chamber advanced a bill that would make it more difficult for cities and state agencies to remove or alter historical markers. The legislation comes amid a larger debate over whether to keep or remove Confederate monuments.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas House passes second, more limited bill expanding access to medical cannabis
It was the second time in as many days that the lower chamber moved to increase which medical conditions allow Texans to use CBD oil for treatment. But both bills face an uphill battle in the Senate.
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Texas Legislature 2019
In a surprising turn, Texas House opts to delay consideration of sales tax swap legislation until 2021
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.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Pro-LGBTQ bills look dead in the Texas House, but advocates say they’ve still made progress this year
“Having a hearing is sometimes a victory,” said state Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, whose conversion therapy ban was debated for the first time this year.
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Texas Legislature 2019
In 1997, George W. Bush couldn’t deliver a multibillion-dollar tax reform plan. Will Greg Abbott face a similar fate in 2019?
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.
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Texas Legislature 2019
How would lawmakers’ plan to hike sales taxes and drop property taxes affect Texans?
The so-called tax swap wouldn’t make a big difference in average Texans’ tax bills, according to a new analysis. But it would shift the tax burden from higher-income households to the less well off.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas House passes bill to vastly expand access to medical cannabis
The bill by state Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, is one of two that aim to expand the scope of the narrow Compassionate Use Act and have gained traction this legislative session.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas Senate approves school finance reform bill but opts not to fund it with a sales tax hike
The chambers will need to negotiate how to give teachers pay raises, whether to adjust how students take standardized tests and how to provide long-term property tax relief for Texans.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Analysis: Betting a whole legislative session on one big issue
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.