Gov. Greg Abbott names school finance, property tax reform emergency items
The governor focused on bread-and-butter policy in a forum that has often featured a lot of red meat. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott addresses members of the Texas legislature and judiciary at his State of the State address in the House chambers at the Capitol on Feb. 5, 2019.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Watch Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's State of the State address
Abbott stayed on message about education and taxes, and touched on school safety, disaster response and mental health programs. 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 -
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking more power this session to prosecute voter fraud and abortion-related crimes
Paxton's office has asked lawmakers for millions more in funding and expanded jurisdiction to go after certain crimes. Critics say the requests are aimed at political gains. Full Story
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![Ken Paxton at the inauguration ceremony of Judge Michelle Slaughter at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 11, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas optometrists "just roll our eyes" over treatment restrictions in the state
Amid what some call an eye care crisis, Texas optometrists are hoping the Legislature will give them more power to help patients without needing other doctors. But ophthalmologists say allowing optometrists more power would put patients' vision at risk. Full Story
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![Dr. Noor Abushagur uses a slit lamp, a microscope used to examine the inner and outer structures of the eye, to make sure Eliecer Arce's retina looks normal. He originally came in with severe swelling, unable to see and was diagnosed with Vogt Koyanagi Harada (VKH), an auto immune condition. Dec 4, 2018.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson for The Texas Tribune -
Naturalized citizen flagged in Texas voter citizenship review joins lawsuit against state
Atascosa County resident Julie Hilberg — a naturalized citizen whose registration was flagged by the state — is joining a lawsuit against top Texas officials. Full Story
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Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas leaders want voters to OK property tax revenue growth over 2.5 percent. They couldn't get 4 percent in 2017.
The leaders of both legislative chambers say they will be united this year — even if cities and counties push back — and that local officials should come to Austin with solutions in hand if they don't like new proposals. Full Story
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![From left: Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston; Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick; Gov. Greg Abbott; House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton; and Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, speak at a Jan 31, 2019, news conference addressing property tax reform.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Former Texas Republican Party chair leaving White House to work on John Cornyn's campaign
Steve Munisteri is headed home to help Texas' senior U.S. senator in his 2020 re-election bid. Full Story
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![Steve Munisteri, chairman of the Republican Party of Texas, speaks to the press. Jan. 30, 2015.]()
Credit: Justin Dehn/The Texas Tribune -
Despite beer and lobby ties, Speaker Dennis Bonnen sees no need for recusals or new disclosures
Bonnen, who married into a beer distributing family, says he doesn't need to recuse himself on alcohol issues and won't name the lobbyists who own a piece of his bank — a list that is much longer than previously reported. Full Story
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![Opening Day of the 86th session of the Texas Legislature with action in the Texas House
Election of Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, by unanimous vote.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for 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 -
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 -
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 -
As it ponders where to put a Confederate plaque, a Texas state board faces backlash for removing it
The State Preservation Board heard complaints Friday that it was erasing history by removing the factually inaccurate plaque. Full Story
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![Dr. Alma Arredondo addresses the State Preservation Board at the Capitol on Jan. 25, 2019. Arredondo argued the state erred in removing a Confederate plaque that said the Civil War wasn’t over slavery.]()
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 -
State Rep. Eric Johnson declares candidacy for Dallas mayor
Johnson enters a race that includes at least eight other candidates, from Republican former state Rep. Jason Villalba to City Council member Scott Griggs and Dallas schools trustee Miguel Solis. Full Story
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![State Rep. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, speaks with a colleague on the House floor in Austin on May 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera 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
![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 -
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.]()
Credit: Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribune -
Federal appeals court lifts order blocking Texas from kicking Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid
Texas moved to exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid years ago after a highly-edited video from an anti-abortion group suggested abortion providers sold fetal tissue. Full Story
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![Group of Planned Parenthood supporters outside the Texas Capitol on July 29, 2015 on the morning when the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services was being held]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Travis County court says Austin must allow guns in its city hall, siding with Ken Paxton
The court ordered Austin to pay a fine to the state for each day it prevented investigators from the attorney general's office from carrying their firearms. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Texas Federation of Republican Women Convention in Dallas on Oct. 19, 2017.]()
Credit: Laura Buckman 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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