The Judge Julie Kocurek Judicial and Courthouse Security Act of 2017 passed the chamber Tuesday.
Texas Legislature
Posted in
Health care
House approves bill focused on mental health insurance benefits
Texas House members approved a bill that would prevent health insurance companies from offering mental health benefits differently from medical benefits.
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State Government
House budget amendments seek to ignite controversial topics
House lawmakers seek to force debate on controversial topics such as transgender rights, bathroom use, border security and abortion when the state’s proposed two-year budget comes up on the House floor on Thursday.
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State Government
House committee considers bill that would allow lottery winners to remain anonymous
On Monday, the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee considered House Bill 59, which would allow lottery winners of $1 million or more to remain anonymous.
Posted in
Health care
Houston foster child death spurs concerns over placement shortages
The death of a 15-year-old girl who ran away from a Houston Child Protective Services office on Sunday has advocates and legislators grappling with the worst-case scenario of the state’s shortage of homes for abused and neglected children.
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State Government
Bills that would regulate powdered alcohol sent to House floor
Despite pushback from some opponents, a House committee approved two bills Monday that would regulate the sale of powdered alcohol in Texas.
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State Government
Analysis: At the Texas Capitol, a bill is merely dead, not sincerely dead
You might rejoice or bewail the death of a piece of legislation, but remember this time-proven adage: Nothing is really dead while the Texas Legislature is still in Austin.
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State Government
Texas lawmakers consider declaring fantasy sports legal
In a hearing Monday, Texas lawmakers will weigh whether to proclaim fantasy sports are legal. This comes after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton equated them to illegal gambling.
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State Government
Austin bar ends battle with TABC after agency returns crowler machine
A local Austin coffee bar has been fighting the TABC since 2015 for the right to sell crowlers, aluminum cans filled with draft beer and sealed with a pull tab lid. Legislators are trying to prevent similar conflicts in the future.
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State Government
Thompson and White on CPS, public ed, mass incarceration (video)
Full video of Evan Smith’s 3/31 conversation with state Reps. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, and James White, R-Hillister.
