Forget the hyperbolic editorial rhetoric. The Governor’s proposals for improving our civil justice system will help make lawsuits less expensive and less time consuming.
82nd Legislative Session
Posted in
Criminal Justice
House Approves Four Loko Ban
The Texas House passed a bill today on malt liquor drinks that contain caffeine, ginseng, taurine or guarana. The bill prohibits the sale, manufacture, import and possessing of alcoholic energy drinks, like the infamous Four Loko.
Posted in
State Government
Video: Outnumbered Democrats Struggle
This session, Texas Democrats are a frustrated bunch. From sanctuary cities to the state budget, they have so far lost every battle they’ve waged against the GOP. Texas Politics Project Director Jim Henson analyzes the struggle between the majority and the minority.
Posted in
State Government
Lawmaking That Looks Like a Schoolyard Fight
It turns out you can do a lot of damage with nothing more than a rule book, which is hazardous in a place that often runs like a schoolyard: Conduct trumps content.
Posted in
State Government
“Pork Choppers” Soon to Be Open for Business
When state Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, introduced a bill last legislative session to allow licensed hunters to shoot feral hogs from helicopters, Texas lawmakers jokingly passed out “pork chopper” buttons. They’re not laughing anymore.
Posted in
Public Education
House Finally Kills Class Size Bill
In what may be the Democrats’ first concrete victory of the session, the House at last sent HB 400 to its grave when it failed to take up the controversial education legislation before its midnight deadline.
Posted in
Demographics
Voter Bill Draws Familiar Fight
In keeping with Republican lawmakers’ promises to strengthen state voting laws, the House today tentatively passed a bill that would make it a separate punishable offense for an illegal immigrant or non-citizen to vote or attempt to vote.
Posted in
State Government
K2 Closer to Being Outlawed
Synthetic pot, also known as K2, is one step closer to being outlawed in Texas.
Posted in
Public Education
“Spanking” Bill Passes After Being Reconsidered
A controversial bill that would require parental permission before school administrators are allowed to paddle unruly public school children passed the House today after failing on Wednesday.
Posted in
Energy
Fracking Bill Could Set National Standard
The House appears set to pass a bill that would compel companies to disclose substances they use in fracking, a process used to harvest natural gas. As Mose Buchele of KUT News reports, the bill could bring Texas a step closer to determining fracking’s environmental impact.
