Lawmakers are trying hard to come up with an agreement on how to replace an embattled 20-year tax abatement program for big companies that expired in December.
Economy
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas House’s weekend off means key Senate bills die after missing a legislative deadline
Priority bills that died include a 10-year minimum sentencing for gun-related crimes, a ban on “critical race theory” at public universities and LGBTQ-related legislation. While the bills may be dead, lawmakers have a limited time to attach their ideas to legislation that is still alive.
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Economy
Here’s how the fire that killed nearly 18,000 Texas cows got started
Investigators say the fire was an accident and started with an engine fire in a manure vacuum truck.
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Economy
Texas leaders want a new way to attract businesses here. But they can’t agree on how to do it.
The two chambers have 10 days to cut a deal before the end of the legislative session, and they are miles apart on some of the very foundations of a corporate tax-abatement bill considered to be a priority for Republican state leaders.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas House approves property tax bill with changes the Senate might not like
House lawmakers added a significant boost to the Senate’s proposed homestead exemption and tacked on a contentious idea to lower the state’s appraisal cap.
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Climate Change in Texas
Texas cotton farmers leading the charge for more government insurance to cover climate, inflation challenges
The federal Farm Bill is must-pass legislation that Congress debates every five years. It includes billions of dollars in farm subsidies and pays for food assistance programs.
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Texas Legislature 2023
$5 billion for broadband advances in Texas Legislature after Senate OKs bill
An estimated 7 million Texans don’t have access to high-speed broadband internet access.
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Texas Legislature 2023
House advances bill that could provide billions of dollars for new water projects and fixing aging infrastructure
The bill aims to create a water supply four times the size of Lake Livingston, one of the state’s largest reservoirs. But it may still be a “drop in the bucket” compared to the state’s needs.
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Texas Legislature 2023
State budget leaders adopt some spending plans for 2024-25 but still no compromise on property taxes, power plants
With two weeks to go before the legislative session adjourns, chief budget writers still have not announced compromises on some of the largest fights facing the Texas Legislature.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Why tax policy experts fear the Texas House plan to lower property taxes could have dire ripple effects
Both the House and the Senate’s proposals on property tax cuts would give modest savings to the typical Texas homeowner, but critics say the House plan could create vast inequities and disproportionately benefit wealthy homeowners.