During dueling speeches to a conservative think tank in Austin, state House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who have a history of animus, split over property tax relief, criminal justice reform and school choice.
Dan Patrick
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas House’s property tax bill calls for $17 billion in cuts, tighter appraisal cap
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan’s proposal reveals the different roads the Texas House and Senate want to take on property taxes — and the fight that might emerge between the two chambers this session.
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LGBTQ+ Texans
Republican Texas lawmakers rally around bill restricting the college sports teams transgender athletes can join
Seventy-seven Texas House Republicans signed on as co-authors to state Rep. Valoree Swanson’s bill extending restrictions on transgender athletes to college sports. Gov. Greg Abbott has expressed support for the legislation, which is also a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas lawmakers take first step to restoring felony penalty for illegal voting
Republican lawmakers — backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — are working to reverse a change to state law they approved two years ago as part of a sweeping overhaul to Texas election law that included downgrading illegal voting to a misdemeanor.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas will revamp economic development program after property tax incentive expires
Abbott told business leaders in Arlington on Wednesday that Texas is already suffering from the end of the tax-break program, recently losing a “massive” computer chip factory to New York.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Gov. Greg Abbott promises to be “heavily involved” in push for education savings accounts
In an interview with the Tribune, the governor also backed criminalizing some health care treatments for transgender kids and shrugged off the idea that he’s in a conservative policy rivalry with Ron DeSantis.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priority bills signal another swing at pushing Texas to the right
Speaking in December, Patrick was less out front about conservative priorities like school book bans and restrictions to rights for transgender people. His priority bill list made clear those are a major part of his focus.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texans brace for the end of nearly three years of pandemic Medicaid coverage
Millions of Texans — mostly children, young adults and new moms — stayed on Medicaid for the duration of the pandemic. The state will soon start reevaluating eligibility.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Sports-betting advocates return to Capitol with narrower bill, new Republican author
The Texas Sports Betting Alliance threw its weight behind new legislation Monday to let voters decided whether to legalize online sports betting.
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Texas 2022 Elections
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick calls for new election in Harris County after voting problems in November
A spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office said only a court order could force a redo of elections.
