The general rule is that new legislators are supposed to be seen and not heard — especially, as it turns out, when the subject is legislative ethics.
Austin
Posted in
University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
Newsreel: UT/TT Poll, Bill Filing Deadline
This week in the Newsreel: Highlights from the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, lawmakers work toward completion of the first supplemental appropriations bill and Sylvia Garcia wins the SD-6 special election.
Posted in
State Government
Video: Lawmakers Again Pushing for TWIA Overhaul
After months of planning, state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, and Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, filed bills on Tuesday to overhaul the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and rein in rate hikes on coastal residents.
Posted in
Health care
Video: At Rally, Texans Urge Lawmakers to Expand Medicaid
Texans rallied at the Capitol on Tuesday, hoping to persuade Gov. Rick Perry and other Texas lawmakers to expand Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act.
Posted inState Government
DPS Changes Security Policy at Governor’s Mansion After Lawmakers Complain
Calling the old policy “stupid,” the head of the Department of Public Safety said Tuesday that congressional and state elected officials will no longer have to endure a background check to access the Governor’s Mansion.
Posted in
Health care
Texas Weekly Newsreel: Voting Rights, Medicaid, Sequestration
In this week’s Newsreel: The Supreme Court heard arguments in a voting rights case that could have a big impact on Texas, Republican legislators side with Gov. Rick Perry on Medicaid expansion, and voters will decide on Saturday who will represent Senate District 6.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Video: Bill Increases Punishment in Hit-and-Run Cases
A bill in the Texas Senate would make the penalty for failing to stop and render aid in certain hit-and-run cases equal to that of intoxication manslaughter. It’s a move lawmakers and law enforcement hope causes more drivers to do the right thing and stay put.
Posted inState Government
Lawmakers Protest Security Policy at Governor’s Mansion
At least three Texas state representatives opted not to attend a reception at the Governor’s Mansion this week rather than submit to new security procedures requiring that even legislators submit to background checks to gain access.
Posted in
Demographics
Video: Texas Democrats Defend Section 5
At a news conference leading up to Wednesday’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, some Democratic lawmakers said the issue at hand — whether to uphold Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act — deals with a statute that has helped propel minorities to more equal ground in a state with a history of racial discrimination.
Posted in
Health care
Texas Weekly Newsreel: Medicaid, Higher Ed and Voting Rights
In this edition of the Newsreel: The Texas budget battle is finally under way (quietly), Medicaid expansion may be taking shape and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst tells the regents of the University of Texas System to lay off the administration at UT-Austin.
