The Texas Commission on Public School Finance — created last year to scrutinize the way the state funds K-12 education — finalized a report on Wednesday that includes more than 30 recommended improvements.
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
Dennis Bonnen has spent half his life in the Texas House. Is he ready to run it?
Twenty-two years after joining the Texas House as its youngest member, state Rep. Dennis Bonnen is poised to take over the chamber’s reins on Jan. 8.
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Texas Legislature 2019
TribCast: Lewd texts and school finance scuttlebutt
On this week’s TribCast, Emily talks to Ross, Emma and Patrick about the pre-session school finance scuttlebutt, a big Obamacare ruling out of Texas and a state senator facing allegations he sent lewd texts.
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Texas Legislature 2019
In the Texas Legislature, bills filed on marijuana, daylight saving are all fair game
Watch the first episode of our mini-documentary series, “Under the Dome,” chronicling the cast of characters passing laws in the Texas State Capitol.
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Texas Legislature 2019
In Texas, “a perception that tuberculosis no longer exists” raises alarm for legislative attention
Tuberculosis is a rare disease, but public health experts are urging Texas legislators to invest in expensive medication, nurses who can help patients and supporting local health departments to test and treat people who may have been exposed.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Analysis: You can’t fix Texas school finance until you agree on the meaning of “fix”
Changing the way public schools are funded is hard even when everyone agrees on the problem. But Texas lawmakers will first have to figure out if they’re aiming to lower property taxes, increase spending on public education — or just change how the money is distributed.
Watch: A conversation on health care and Texas’ 86th Legislature
We’re livestreaming our conversation in El Paso on the health care agenda heading into the 86th legislative session.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Analysis: A tight-fisted Texas Legislature with expensive ambitions
State lawmakers are loath to raise taxes, but they need to find money somewhere if they want to give local school property taxpayers a break — a primary goal for many of the state’s top leaders.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Jeff Leach resigns from the hardline Texas House Freedom Caucus, urging GOP unity
The Plano Republican told members of the Tea Party-aligned caucus that he was leaving the group because he thinks that his “time, talent and treasure is best devoted to fighting for those things within the Republican Caucus.”
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Texas Legislature 2019
Legislative report: Harvey recovery has cost $2.7 billion so far — most paid by feds
A report released Friday by the Texas Senate’s budget-writing committee laid out past and future costs related to recovery from “the most costly disaster ever to hit the Texas coast.”