Three times this year — in the regular session and in two subsequent special sessions — legislation targeting transgender student athletes sailed through the Senate only to falter in the House.
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
Watch Comptroller Glenn Hegar discuss the state’s economy and more at The Texas Tribune Festival
Hegar also talked about how to keep Texas business-friendly and what another wave of COVID-19 could mean for the state budget.
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Texas Legislature 2021
With Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s blessing, lawmakers fast-track property tax cut proposal
Tax relief for property owners joins a packed to-do list for Texas lawmakers — which includes redistricting, COVID-19 vaccine mandates and a spending plan for $16 billion in federal stimulus dollars.
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Texas Legislature 2021
State Rep. Jim Murphy, chair of House GOP Caucus, won’t seek reelection
Murphy, who represented House District 133 from 2007-09 and again since 2011, chairs the House GOP Caucus and the House Higher Education Committee.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Despite his victory in Texas and no credible evidence of widespread fraud, Donald Trump calls for election audit legislation
There has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud, and the Texas secretary of state who oversaw the 2020 election and was appointed by the Republican governor declared the election “smooth and secure.”
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Texas 2022 Elections
State Rep. Chris Paddie, chair of powerful state affairs committee, says he won’t run for reelection
The news comes less than a month after Paddie, who has represented House District 9 since 2013, announced he would run for reelection.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas sued over bill stopping social media companies from banning users for political views
A judge recently blocked a similar bill in Florida after a lawsuit brought forward by NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, the same groups that sued Texas.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Law enforcement warns of “credible threat” against Texas legislators who voted for abortion ban
The threat was apparently made on Reddit and included the names of House and Senate members who voted for Senate Bill 8 during the regular legislative session.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott adds property tax relief, bail to special session agenda
Abbott has faced pressure from his right to prioritize property tax relief. One of his challengers in the Republican primary has slammed him for not including it earlier in the agenda, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called it his top priority this session.
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Redistricting Texas
After losing to a Democrat in 2020, former GOP state Sen. Pete Flores seeks election in newly drawn Republican district
Within hours, Flores got the endorsement of Sen. Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, who is vacating the seat to run for land commissioner, and then Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate.