Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Fox News on Monday that he would rather perish from the new coronavirus than see the economy destroyed for his grandchildren by overreaction to the disease.
Dan Patrick
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas restaurants are asking for tax relief from the state. But officials say they need those revenues during the pandemic.
Restaurant owners say that delaying sales tax payments could help them ride out the pandemic. State officials, however, say that those revenues help keep hospitals and emergency services running.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Jerry McGinty to head troubled Legislative Budget Board
McGinty, the CFO of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, will lead an embattled agency of nonpartisan budget analysts who have been without an executive director since October 2018.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Analysis: Why would a Texas Democrat want a seat in the Republican state Senate?
On paper, Texas senators have it better than their counterparts in the Texas House, but why would a Democrat want to work in a place where Republicans are fully and completely in control?
Posted in
University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
Most Texans want lower property taxes and more school spending, UT/TT Poll finds
It’s not a new contradiction, but it’s persistent: Texas voters think that property taxes are too high and that school spending is too low, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll.
Posted inState Government
Conservative activists helped elect Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Now some say there’s a disconnect.
A group of hardline grassroots activists has called on Patrick to be more outspoken on party priorities and worries that lines of communication appear to no longer be there.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Analysis: The Texas Senate could become more democratic — for partisan reasons
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he might adjust Senate rules if the GOP majority shrinks — the better to bring Republican legislation up for debate when Democrats object. What’s so surprising about that?
Posted inState Government
With GOP supermajority at risk in 2020, Dan Patrick says Texas Senate may lower threshold to bring bills to the floor
The lieutenant governor said Thursday he may decrease the threshold to a simple majority if Republicans lose one or two seats in November.
Posted in
Politics
Advocates have long tried to change judicial selection in Texas. Is Dan Patrick their newest obstacle?
A new commission had barely begun to study Texas’ partisan judicial election system when the leader of the Texas Senate signaled skepticism of reform.
Posted in
Politics
The latest battle of the Alamo pits Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick against Land Commissioner George P. Bush
The feud began when Bush was incorrectly accused of trying to erect a statue of Mexican dictator Santa Anna at the Alamo site.
