The power of incumbency is more than raising money for campaigns and having a well-known political name. Changing the state’s election laws — or even debating issues that resonate strongly with voters — can set the rules and frame the arguments for the next election cycle.
86th Legislative Session
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas school safety measures expanded with House amendments to sweeping legislation
Tentative approval of the bill comes days after the one-year anniversary of a shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead and another 13 wounded.
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Texas Legislature 2019
This session’s biggest mental health bill got killed on a technicality — then resurrected
Senate Bill 10, focused on connecting children to mental health services, was knocked out of contention with a parliamentary maneuver Tuesday night but was revived as an amendment to another bill hours later. It’s one of several measures the state’s GOP leaders championed in the wake of the deadly shooting last year at Santa Fe High School.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas Senate passes bill to give more teachers access to guns in classrooms
The bill needs a final stamp of approval from the Senate before it can head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for his signature.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Did the Texas Legislature accidentally imperil billions of dollars in business taxes?
In their effort to make a future state income tax all but impossible, Texas lawmakers used terminology that experts believe could inadvertently gut the state’s franchise tax.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas House passes bill allowing handgun owners to carry weapons in church
Consideration of the bill comes more than a year after a gunman killed 26 in a Sutherland Springs church.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas House passes Senate bill seeking to ensure free speech on college campuses
Senate Bill 18 would require universities to create disciplinary sanctions for students who interfere with free speech activities. It would still allow universities to put restrictions on the time, place and manner of such activities.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Critics say bill moving through Texas Legislature designed to aid GOP reelection bids
Supporters of the bill say it would expand ballot access. But some critics argue that the real goal is to make it tougher for Libertarians to get on the ballot and easier for Green Party candidates to do so.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas House passes religious liberty bill amid LGBTQ Caucus’ objections
What started as a sweeping religious refusals bill has been significantly watered down as it moves through the Texas Legislature. But LGBTQ advocates still fiercely oppose it, saying it perpetuates hateful rhetoric.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Analysis: Welcome to Hell Week for the Texas Legislature
School finance, property taxes and the other priorities of the state’s top officials are still in play, but some issues are in peril as the Texas Legislature enters the final week of its 86th regular session.
