Law enforcement officers who serve on Operation Lone Star get a $500,000 death benefit for their survivors if they die on duty. But National Guard troops on the same mission don’t get a dime from the state for their families if they die.
Joan Huffman
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas bill requiring 10-year prison sentences for gun felonies faces opposition from criminal justice and firearm advocates
Under Senate Bill 23, all felonies involving a gun would incur a mandatory 10-year prison sentence. It’s meant to curb crime, despite the lack of correlation between harsher sentences and crime rates.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Lawmakers could no longer “double dip” into pension funds under newly filed bill
State Sen. Joan Huffman filed a bill that would repeal a provision that allowed longtime lawmakers to increase their yearly take-home income by $140,000 by collecting pension payments without retiring.
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Higher Education
Texas Tech reviews its hiring practices as efforts to promote diversity come under fire
Texas Tech’s review comes as Gov. Greg Abbott has instructed state agencies and public universities that “forbidden DEI initiatives” violate federal and state employment discrimination laws.
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Politics
Texas Senate leaders signal intent to spend big on border security
The state has spent $4 billion on border initiatives in the past two years, including $40 million to bus migrants out of Texas into Democrat-led cities.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick unveils committee assignments with one Democratic chair
Conservative activists have pushed for legislative leaders to ban Democrats from leading committees.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas Senate votes to take up redistricting again
The redistricting process this year is mostly procedural and is not expected to produce very different results from the most recent process completed in 2021.
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Health care
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott joins other key Republicans in supporting repealing the “tampon tax”
Advocates have previously called for repealing the sales tax on products like tampons, sanitary pads and pantyliners. Menstrual products are already tax-free in 24 states.
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Redistricting Texas
Texas Senate approves congressional map that draws no new Black or Hispanic districts even as people of color fueled population growth
Texas gained two new seats in Congress based on population growth fueled by people of color. But the Senate’s proposal provides no new majority-Black or majority-Hispanic districts to reflect that growth.
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Redistricting Texas
Senate approves map cementing GOP dominance in upper chamber, dividing up Tarrant county’s voters of color
Democrats criticized Republicans for “targeting” a North Texas district that had been trending Democratic and for not drawing any new districts where people of color would represent a majority of eligible voters.