UPDATED: Austin Democrat Jade Chang Sheppard said Wednesday that she will run for the Texas House seat that will open after Rep. Mark Strama’s current — and last — term in office next year.
Austin
Posted in
State Government
First Impressions
The Texas House is about to hold its first debate, and on a spending bill, to boot. It will pass, because it must. But watch how they work.
Posted inState Government
Inside Intelligence: About That Revolving Door…
For this week’s nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about officeholders who leave government and join the lobby, about what they should report and about whether they ought to sit out for a while first.
Posted in
Public Education
Battle Looms as Democrats Try to Restore Education Cuts
Democrats in the Texas House last week launched an effort to restore public education cuts, setting up a potential battle over an emergency supplemental appropriations bill.
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State Government
House Democrats Aiming to Get Back Into the Game
In 2011, Texas House Democrats were dejected, demoralized and badly outnumbered. Their numbers have improved. Now the question is whether they can move as a bloc.
Posted in
Politics
Texas Weekly Newsreel: Spending and Expanding
In this edition of the Texas Weekly Newsreel: The House is off and running with the first of several supplemental appropriations bills. The state might opt out of Medicaid expansion, but counties might take part. And Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson talks about why he’s running for office in 2014.
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Demographics
Early Into His Tenure, Villalba Makes His Stands
Freshman state Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, has been held up by some Republicans as a symbol of the party’s growing popularity with Hispanics. He says he is only motivated by the issues facing his constituents.
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Public Education
Straus on Priorities; More Campaign Woes for Dewhurst
The speaker of the House dampens expectations for vouchers, tax breaks and transportation without ruling any of those things out. And the lieutenant governor unpeels another layer of problems he says arose from a campaign manager’s embezzling.
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Public Education
Texas Weekly Newsreel: School Finance and the War Between the States
In this edition of the Texas Weekly Newsreel: The state’s school finance system is ruled unconstitutional, committee hearings kick off at the Capitol and California Gov. Jerry Brown dukes it out with Rick Perry.
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Bidness As Usual
Some Lawmakers and Lobbyists Tied by Blood
In a state capital where moving from the Legislature to the lobby — and, sometimes, the other way — is unremarkable, it’s also common to find the relatives of lawmakers lobbying the state government.
