House Speaker Joe Straus leaned toward the familiar in filling open spots at the top of the chamber’s top-tier committees.
Dan Patrick
Posted in
Transportation
Patrick, Nichols: Put Car Sales Tax Toward Roads
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Senate Transportation Chairman Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, unveiled a plan Wednesday to boost transportation funding by dedicating some of the sales tax already collected on car sales to road work.
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Energy
The Brief: Feb. 4, 2015
The ability of Austin tech firm 21CT to secure a $20 million Medicaid fraud software contract through a no-bid program run by the state’s Department of Information Resources drew intense scrutiny from Senate budget writers on Tuesday.
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Politics
Inside Texas Politics: Rand Paul’s Recent Moves
On this week’s edition of WFAA-TV’s Inside Texas Politics with host Jason Whitely, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey talk about U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who’s showing all the signs that he’s gearing up for a presidential run.
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Politics
School Choice Supporters Rally at Capitol
UPDATED: State Sen. Donna Campbell and Land Commissioner George P. Bush were among the speakers who addressed a gathering of school choice supporters Friday just outside the Texas Capitol.
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Criminal Justice
Roundup: Perry, Guns and Protests at Muslim Event
In the Roundup: Rick Perry comments on the rejection of his bid to dismiss criminal charges, there was a moment of uncertainty surrounding open carry legislation in the Senate, and Texas Muslim Capitol Day draws loud protests.
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Energy
The Brief: Jan. 30, 2015
In a week where the news was driven to a large degree by rallies on the Capitol grounds — from open carry activists to anti-Muslim protesters — it’s perhaps fitting that the week closes with another one.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
McRaven: Campus Carry Would Create “Less Safe” Environment
Allowing concealed weapons to be carried on college and university campuses would create “less safe” environments, University of Texas System Chancellor William McRaven wrote in a letter to legislative leaders on Thursday.
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Health care
The Brief: Jan. 29, 2015
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gave the green light Wednesday on a push for open carry legislation in the Senate, a day after he indicated in a Texas Tribune interview that the votes weren’t there for passage.
Posted in
Politics
Open Carry Survives Despite Its Supporters
The session has barely begun, and the prospect of a new law allowing Texans to openly carry handguns first appeared to be inevitable, then dead, then alive again. Oddly, it’s the idea’s supporters who keep scrambling its political fate.
