In the first session since Hurricane Harvey, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and three top senators are pushing a legislative package aimed at preparing the state for natural disasters.
Texas Senate
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Texas Legislature 2019
Democrat Christina Morales wins Texas House seat formerly held by Alvarado
Carol Alvarado gave up the seat in December after winning a promotion to the Texas Senate.
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Texas Voting Rights
Gov. Greg Abbott blames DPS for voter roll snafu. But the story behind the citizenship review is complicated.
A miscommunication and an ignored warning led to the questioning of thousands of citizens’ voting rights.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Analysis: How the Texas Senate handles David Whitley could reverberate for years
David Whitley’s tortured path to Senate confirmation as the Texas Secretary of State — whether or not he is confirmed at all — could play out in the state’s next round of redistricting in 2021.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Analysis: Where control of the next Texas Legislature will be decided
One-fifth of the incumbents in the Texas House serve in districts where less than 10 percentage points separated average Democrats from average Republicans in statewide races. That’s more than enough contested turf to put control within reach of either party.
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Politics
All 12 Senate Democrats oppose Texas Secretary of State David Whitley. That’s more than enough to block his nomination.
If all 12 lawmakers are on the Senate floor when Whitley’s nomination comes, he doesn’t have the votes to be confirmed.
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TribCast
TribCast: Property taxes, school finance, data centers and a state senator’s bid to redefine a crime
On this week’s TribCast, Ross talks to Emma, Aliyya and Edgar about Sen. Angela Paxton’s controversial bill that could impact her husband, efforts to get property tax legislation passed, a status check on the promised school finance bill and bidding out the state’s data storage to private companies.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Analysis: Skirting the rules in the Texas Senate — but doing it by the book
Sometimes, the way around the established traditions of the Texas Senate is to be found in the least obvious place: the Senate’s own rulebook.
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Texas Legislature 2019
In 2012, there were 19 Republican women in the Texas House. Now, there are six.
In addition to the six House members, there are six female Republicans in the state Senate. Republican lawmakers and political operatives are hoping to make moves now to get those numbers up after the 2020 election.
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Texas Legislature 2019
This Texas program lands poor people in jail. Getting rid of it has been too complicated — but that might be changing.
Lawmakers in both chambers and parties want to fix the controversial Driver Responsibility Program, but the program funds state trauma centers. Where will they find $144 million to fill the gap?
