The leaders of both legislative chambers say they will be united this year — even if cities and counties push back — and that local officials should come to Austin with solutions in hand if they don’t like new proposals.
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
Many see “Robin Hood” as a villain. But lawmakers rely on it to pay for schools.
Even outspoken critics of the controversial program that redistributes money among school districts, acknowledge that they need it to avoid future school-finance lawsuits.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Fall behind on your student loans? You could lose your license to work. Texas lawmakers want to change that.
Members of both parties have filed bills ending the practice of revoking occupational licenses for people behind on their student loans.
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Texas Legislature 2019
State lawmakers aim to lock in funding for Texas parks, historic sites
In 1993, the Legislature passed a law that said state parks and historic sites could receive all of the money generated by a tax on the sale of sporting goods. Since then, state lawmakers have given the parks department only about 40 percent of those collections.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Despite beer and lobby ties, Speaker Dennis Bonnen sees no need for recusals or new disclosures
Bonnen, who married into a beer distributing family, says he doesn’t need to recuse himself on alcohol issues and won’t name the lobbyists who own a piece of his bank — a list that is much longer than previously reported.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Voters to pick replacements for former state Reps. Carol Alvarado, Joe Pickett
There are special elections Tuesday in House District 145 and House District 79.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Political hardball, committee assignments spark joy and drama alike in the Texas Legislature
In this episode of our documentary series “Under the Dome,” House and Senate leaders make their highly anticipated committee assignments — and one longtime lawmaker ends up in the doghouse.
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Texas Legislature 2019
In the Texas House, they’re seen as lobbyists. In the Senate, they sit at the press table.
Two employees of the influential conservative group Empower Texans have been granted media credentials in the upper chamber. In the past — and in the House — they were rejected.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas lawmakers want to fix wait times at driver’s license offices. Will they agree on a solution?
The Texas House wants to pump $200 million into the state’s driver’s license program — and possibly move it to a new agency — to alleviate what have become all-day waits for some Texans at Department of Public Safety offices.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Analysis: A Texas senator’s reputation, in a word
What began as a lieutenant governor’s unusual admonishment of a state senator has turned into something else: a smear campaign.