Two bills that advanced in House and Senate committees on Wednesday both exempt any lawmaker who has already taken advantage of the benefit.
John Whitmire
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Texas Legislature 2023
Why three longtime Texas lawmakers are now eligible for an extra $140,000 a year
A few of Texas’ most veteran lawmakers may have seen their part-time legislative compensation skyrocket from $7,200 to nearly $150,000 annually, thanks to a law passed quietly at the end of the 2021 legislative session.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas senators seem open to major change in state’s public education funding formula
Senators in the finance committee asked questions Monday about the pros and cons of basing the amount of money that schools get per student on enrollment instead of attendance. Districts say the change could mean millions in additional funding.
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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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Politics
Former U.S. Senate candidate Amanda Edwards announces run for Houston mayor
Edwards joins a field that already includes two well-known names: veteran state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and Chris Hollins, the former Harris County clerk who oversaw election changes in 2020 that became a lightning rod for Republicans.
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Politics
State Sen. John Whitmire announces he will run for Houston mayor in 2023
Whitmire, the longest-serving member of the Texas Senate, will first run for reelection to the chamber in 2022 before his mayoral run the following year.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott prioritized changing how bail is set. He isn’t addressing people stuck behind bars because they can’t afford to pay.
Multiple federal courts have found Texas’ cash bail practices discriminatory against poor people. The governor has said his priority bill will instead focus on keeping “dangerous criminals” in jail before they’re convicted.
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Police brutality in Texas
The Texas lawmakers who led the Sandra Bland Act are pushing to reinstate the police reforms stripped from their original bill
The lawmakers said they are acting in response to the death of former Houston resident George Floyd.
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Texas 2020 Elections
Joe Biden wins endorsements from Beto O’Rourke, other former rivals in late Texas surge
The former vice president received big-name endorsements — including backing from former presidential candidates Beto O’Rourke, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar — as he campaigned in Dallas and Houston on the eve of Super Tuesday.
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Criminal Justice
As the Texas prison population shrinks, the state is closing two more lockups
The closures are expected in the coming months, as the state faces dangerous understaffing in its prisons.
