Almost a year after the massacre at Santa Fe High School, state lawmakers are considering ways to make students and teachers feel safe in the classroom again.
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
Analysis: The Texas Legislature is stuck. Don’t worry about it.
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.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Analysis: For the Texas Legislature right now, it’s bipartisan or bust
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.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas Senate approves two bills to override paid sick leave, local control over employment practices
LGBTQ advocates and business groups have warned that the measures could imperil municipal rules that outlaw discrimination.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Property tax reform proposals stall — for now — as top Texas lawmakers scramble for votes
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.
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Texas Legislature 2019
This Republican Texas lawmaker halted a bill to outlaw abortion. He now faces security concerns, sheriff says.
State Rep. Jeff Leach said a bill that criminalizes abortion will not advance beyond the committee he chairs.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, other top leaders propose raising the sales tax to provide property tax relief
The state’s “Big Three” unveiled the proposal in a joint statement. The idea would need approval from two-thirds of the House and Senate and a majority of Texas voters.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas legislation aimed at protecting monuments of all kinds sparks heated debate over Confederate markers
As Confederate monument supporters said history shouldn’t be erased, Democratic state Rep. Jarvis Johnson of Houston asked if markers depicting slaves hanging from trees should be erected.
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Texas Legislature 2019
No, experts don’t consider marijuana a gateway drug. That, and five more fact checks from the Texas Legislature on weed.
It’s unlikely Texas will become the next Colorado or California anytime soon. But when it comes to loosening criminal penalties or expanding medicinal use, how much of what each side says is true?
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Texas Legislature 2019
Analysis: The Texas Legislature’s tax bills aren’t only about money
Tax policy and state policy get mixed in unexpected ways in the Texas Legislature. Lawmakers are considering tax bills that would regulate vaping and trying to work out the social policy kinks in what could be the largest tax proposal of this legislative session.