Republicans were assigning blame after the measure’s dramatic failure Sunday night, but were also already looking ahead to a special session.
Texas Legislature 2021
The 87th Texas Legislature approved hundreds of new laws during its regular session that ended in May 2021, including a near-total ban on abortions. Lawmakers then returned to Austin for three special sessions aimed at passing additional conservative priorities. Although House Democrats fled the state for weeks, lawmakers eventually passed new voting restrictions. They also approved new political maps and a proposed constitutional amendment that could lower property tax bills.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Overhaul to Texas state government employees’ retirement accounts advanced out of Legislature
Senate Bill 321 would enroll new state workers in a cash-balance plan — similar to a common 401(k) retirement account — rather than the defined-benefit pension plan that current employees have.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Analysis: An end to a weird legislative session, and the beginning of an uncertain political cycle
A session transformed by COVID-19 protocols is giving way to a political cycle already disrupted by the pandemic’s effects on state government.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas Democrats abandon House floor, blocking passage of voting bill before final deadline
Midnight was the deadline for the House to approve the legislation that would alter nearly the entire voting process, create new limitations to early voting hours, ratchet up voting-by-mail restrictions and curb local voting options.
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Texas Legislature 2021
GOP priority bail bill dies in Texas House after Democrats walk out on voting bill
House Bill 20 would have made it harder for arrestees to get out of jail without cash and limited charitable bail funds’ ability to post bond for people. Gov. Greg Abbott said bail legislation will be included in a special session.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas Legislature approves bills to require power plants to “weatherize,” among other measures to overhaul electric grid
The Texas House and Senate both approved negotiated versions of Senate Bill 2 and Senate Bill 3, the two sweeping bills to change the state’s power grid and the people who oversee it.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Effort to curb governor’s pandemic emergency powers falls short at Texas Legislature
The proposal’s low bill number signaled it was a priority of new House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Beaumont Republican who referred to the legislation as “the House’s blueprint for pandemic response.”
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Texas Legislature 2021
After drastic changes made behind closed doors, and an overnight debate, Texas Senate approves voting bill
Senate Bill 7 includes provisions to limit early voting hours, curtail local voting options and further tighten voting by mail. The upper chamber suspended its own rules to approve it after debating it for hours overnight.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas lawmakers poised to pass sweeping voting bill to restrict voting hours and change election rules
House and Senate negotiators have reached a deal on competing versions of Senate Bill 7. Once both chambers sign off on the agreement, it will head to the governor’s desk before it becomes law.
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Texas Legislature 2021
President Joe Biden says Texas voting bill is “part of an assault on democracy”
Senate Bill 7, a Republican priority voting bill, would limit early voting hours, curtail local voting options and further clamp down on mail-in voting, among several other provisions.