House Speaker Joe Straus said the controversial bathroom bill felt “manufactured and unnecessary.”
85th Legislative Session
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Politics
Watch House Speaker Joe Straus discuss the Texas legislative session
Watch a livestream of Texas House Speaker Joe Straus discussing the 85th Legislative Session with Jim Henson of the Texas Politics Project.
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Politics
How to make sure your voice gets heard at the Texas Capitol
What issues matter most to you this session? Texas House Parliamentarian Chris Griesel explains one of the most basic ways to engage elected officials on those issues: speaking up.
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Public Education
Analysis: Is this Texas state budget trick constitutional?
The Texas Senate is proposing a new accounting trick to balance its 2018-19 budget. The contrivance would work, mathematically speaking, but it raises constitutional questions and faces derision from the House.
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Politics
State’s legal foes seek new Texas congressional map for 2018
Groups suing Texas over its political maps have asked a federal court to ensure new congressional districts are drawn ahead of the November 2018 elections.
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Criminal Justice
Yet again, lawmakers poised to do little to help sex-trafficking victims
When it comes to child sex trafficking, Texas lawmakers are once again poised to focus on criminal enforcement this legislative session rather than providing resources to victims.
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State Government
Straus agrees with Patrick on their different audiences
In a radio interview Thursday, House Speaker Joe Straus said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has a different audience than he does. “He’s an entertainer, a talk show guy. And a statewide elected official. I’m not,” Straus said.
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Public Education
Senate Education Committee passes school choice legislation
In a 7-3 vote, the Senate Education Committee passed a bill that would create two public programs subsidizing private school tuition and homeschooling expenses.
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Economy
Texas cities predict dozens of canceled events if “bathroom bill” passes
Tourism officials in the state’s four biggest cities expect to lose at least $407 million in revenue from upcoming events if the “bathroom bill” becomes law. Scores more event planners are likely to bypass Texas entirely in the future, they say.
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Criminal Justice
House panel votes to raise age of criminal responsibility from 17 to 18
The House Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee on Wednesday voted to approve a bill that would raise the age of criminal responsibility in Texas from 17 to 18.
