Statewide elected officials would no longer be required to live in Austin under a constitutional amendment that could be headed to voters on a general election ballot. The House tentatively backed the measure on Monday.
Texas Senate
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State Government
Senate Approves State Employee Pension Funding Plan
The Texas Senate on Friday voted to beef up the state’s underfunded retirement system for state employees by adding about $440 million to the program, a plan that has received mixed reviews from state employee advocacy groups.
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Politics
Analysis: Conservatives See Payroll Deduction Bill as Key on Two Fronts
A Senate bill that arrived in the House less than two weeks ago would let Republicans put the hurt on unions and on Democrats, if it can move through the legislative gauntlet this late in the legislative session.
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State Government
Senate Wants Property Tax Cut This Year; House Wants to Delay It
The House and Senate negotiations over a tax cut deal have narrowed to a single sticking point: when a proposed property tax cut should go into effect.
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Criminal Justice
House Backs Senate Bill Making Execution Drug Providers Secret
Legislation that would keep the names of execution drug providers secret is headed to the governor’s office after the Texas House gave final approval on Tuesday to a Senate measure.
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State Government
Senate’s Procedural Change Has an Impact, but Not a Dramatic One
When the Texas Senate changed requirements on bringing legislation up for debate, Democrats said a process intended to encourage compromise would suffer. Several bills have been unblocked, but the conservative steamroller that Democrats feared hasn’t emerged.
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State Government
Analysis: Ethics Reform Placed at Center Stage, but Hurting for Attention
In February, Gov. Greg Abbott asked lawmakers to dedicate this legislative session to ethics reform. With only two weeks left, he’s still waiting.
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Politics
State Leaders Juggle Deals on Five Key Issues
Top state leaders were negotiating intensely — and optimistically — Thursday afternoon on a master settlement on tax cuts, restraints on local property tax increases, border security, prosecutions of state ethics cases and open carry of handguns.
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State Government
Analysis: Making a Deal on Tax Cuts That Voters Might Not Care About
As they try to agree on tax cuts that are the major obstacle to a state budget, lawmakers could find themselves wishing the cuts they deliver are as big as they sounded to the public.
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Politics
Senate OKs Bill Allowing Pastors to Refuse to Marry Same-Sex Couples
The so-called Pastor Protection Act — a bill that clarifies clergy members’ right to refuse to marry same-sex couples — tentatively passed the Texas Senate on Monday.
