Voters to pick replacements for former state Reps. Carol Alvarado, Joe Pickett
There are special elections Tuesday in House District 145 and House District 79. Full Story
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![State Sen. -elect Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, and outgoing state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Political hardball, committee assignments spark joy and drama alike in the Texas Legislature
In this episode of our documentary series "Under the Dome," House and Senate leaders make their highly anticipated committee assignments — and one longtime lawmaker ends up in the doghouse. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman / The Texas Tribune -
In the Texas House, they're seen as lobbyists. In the Senate, they sit at the press table.
Two employees of the influential conservative group Empower Texans have been granted media credentials in the upper chamber. In the past — and in the House — they were rejected. Full Story
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![Destin Sensky and Brandon Waltens, two employees of Texas Scorecard, a product of the influential political group Empower Texans, sit at the end of the Texas Senate press table on Jan. 16, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers want to fix wait times at driver's license offices. Will they agree on a solution?
The Texas House wants to pump $200 million into the state's driver's license program — and possibly move it to a new agency — to alleviate what have become all-day waits for some Texans at Department of Public Safety offices. Full Story
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![A line begins to form outside the DPS office in Northwest Austin shortly before it opens at 8 a.m. on Jan. 24, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A Texas senator’s reputation, in a word
What began as a lieutenant governor's unusual admonishment of a state senator has turned into something else: a smear campaign. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (right) swears in state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, as president pro tempore of the Senate on opening day of the 85th Texas Legislature on Jan. 10, 2017. Looking on are Seliger's sons Matthew (left) and Jonathan (hidden) and wife Nancy.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The Texas comptroller’s new "pesky chart"
In a new report, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar says the state should cover 40 percent of the cost of public education — and should cover the costs of inflation, too. Full Story
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![Comptroller Glenn Hegar discusses the Biennial Revenue Estimate for the 2020-21 biennium at the state Capitol on Jan. 7, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
After Hurricane Harvey, Texas senator eyes using state's savings for flood control
State Sen. Charles Perry, chairman of the Senate Committee on Water and Rural Affairs, has a package of bills that could create Texas' first statewide flood plan. He says coastal Texans aren't the only ones at risk of property loss. Full Story
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![Record rainfall in Llano and Burnet counties in the Texas Hill Country cause major flooding in Marble Falls on Oct. 16, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Most members of the Texas Legislature are white men — and so are the committee chairs
Four out of every five committee chairs this session are men, and 72 percent of chairs are white. Full Story
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![A view of the house floor during the second day of the 86th legislative session. Jan. 9, 2019.]()
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Analysis: Dan Patrick sends a message to Kel Seliger — and 30 other Texas senators
A Republican senator criticized by an aide to the lieutenant governor came back with a rebuke — a jab that cost him his best committee assignment. There's a lesson in that for the other 30 senators, and a new landscape in the Senate. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick meets privately with Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, on the dais during a break in Senate proceedings Jan. 21, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pulls Sen. Kel Seliger’s chairmanship after Seliger suggested Patrick aide kiss his “back end”
Patrick cited a "lewd comment" by Seliger in explaining the move. The two have been tussling over committee assignments in recent days. Full Story
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![Senator Kel Seliger, Chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee listens to testimony from Chancellors of Texas Universities, including Lee Jackson, Chancellor of the University of North Texas System.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Unfunded state mandates have a new enemy — the governor of Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott and his partners in office want to impose limits on the size of local property tax increases, and the governor has added a twist those local governments might like: He has targeted unfunded state mandates. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott addresses attendees at the Oath of Office Ceremony on the state Capitol grounds on Jan. 15, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Dennis Bonnen says he doesn't support linking standardized tests to school finance, but declines to offer other specifics
The new House speaker discussed school finance in an interview with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith in Lake Jackson. Full Story
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![Newly-elected state House Speaker Dennis Bonnen speaks with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith at a Tribune event at Brazosport College in Lake Jackson on Jan. 18, 2019.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for the Texas Tribune -
Dan Patrick announces Senate committee assignments, making a few noticeable shifts
Two Democrats and 14 Republicans will chair the upper chamber's committees. Full Story
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![The Texas Senate during the 86th legislative session. Jan. 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
Texas House, Senate budget plans tens of millions apart on prisoner health care
The Texas House wants to give the state prison system $160 million more to help care for inmates. The Senate wants to cut funding. Full Story
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![Inmates walk down a hallway at Brazoria County's Darrington prison in July 2017.]()
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Analysis: Property taxes in Texas are high. Don’t expect the Legislature to change that.
Texas leaders are promising property tax relief during this year's legislative session. It's unlikely that will lower your taxes, but it might slow future increases. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen hold a joint press conference on the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion on Jan. 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
Watch: A conversation with Dennis Bonnen, speaker of the Texas House
We're livestreaming our conversation with House Speaker Dennis Bonnen in Lake Jackson. Full Story
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Will Texas' attempt to shake up school finance lead to higher stakes for standardized tests?
The idea of tying a portion of funding to test scores appeals to some who want to improve student performance, but it enrages educators who say it will encourage teaching to the test. Full Story
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![Commission member Todd Williams of Dallas, left, meets with TEA Commissioner Mike Morath and State Sen. Royce West at the Texas Commission on Public School Finance on Jan. 23, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Watch: A conversation with four new members of the Texas Senate
Meet the 86th: Watch our interview with new state Sens. Carol Alvarado, Pete Flores, Nathan Johnson and Beverly Powell, moderated by Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith. Full Story
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How will the Texas Legislature address school shootings? Likely not with gun control.
State leaders have promised to tackle school safety this session, and lawmakers are expected to push bills that would beef up mental health screening programs and make it easier to arm teachers. Full Story
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![Police tape in front of Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, on May 20, 2018.]()
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As presumptive House speaker, Dennis Bonnen raised $4 million in a month
In July, Bonnen was a House member with $707,000 in his war chest. After he announced for House Speaker and became the favorite to succeed Joe Straus, he was getting more than $150,000 in donations per day. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, speaks after being elected Speaker of the House on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune