An amendment about waste facility fees was added to a widely supported domestic violence bill. Will it stick?
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst's office said Saturday that she "is still evaluating all options available to save SB 1804." Full Story
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![Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, at a state Senate Committee on Nominations hearing for Texas Secretary of State David Whitley on Feb. 7, 2019. Whitley was appointed to the job by Gov. Greg Abbott, but Whitley must first clear the committee, then win a two-thirds vote in the full Texas Senate.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
Texas passes bill banning cities from partnering with Planned Parenthood on any services
The bill would prohibit such partnerships, even for services not related to abortions. Abortion rights advocates worry that the bill's broad language could even halt privately funded programs held on government property. Full Story
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![Planned Parenthood advocates rally outside of the Capitol on April 11, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Here's what we know about the Legislature's final property tax reform bill
The final version of the bill is expected to require cities, counties and emergency service districts to hold an election before raising 3.5% more property tax revenue than the previous year. Community colleges and hospital districts would need to do so at 8%. Full Story
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![State Capitol in the late afternoon on June 12, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
“I’m still doing penance”: How Kel Seliger handles life in the Texas Senate dog house
After opposing leadership — and mouthing off — the second-most senior Republican in the Texas Senate is the only senator who was not recognized to bring up a bill for a vote on the floor. Full Story
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![State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, in the Senate chamber on April 11, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Lawmaker grills Department of Public Safety over disclosure of Sandra Bland cellphone video
State Rep. Garnet Coleman suggested that the newly released video showing some of Bland's confrontation with a state trooper before her death may have been buried in a “data dump” of information given to lawyers and lawmakers. Full Story
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![Memorial for Sandra Bland in Prairie View, the town where she was arrested. Bland was later found dead in her jail cell. The street has been re-named in her honor.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
The Texas Republican Party platform supports some marijuana expansions. So why doesn’t Dan Patrick?
Earlier this month, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said a bill that decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana was "dead on arrival" in the Senate. But his party's platform supports marijuana decriminalization. So what gives? Full Story
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![The Texas Republican Convention at the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center in San Antonio. Bob Parks salutes the flag from the front row on June 14, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas picklers get a victory from the Legislature
A proposal on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott would make it easier for pickled beets, carrots and other produce to be sold at farmers markets alongside pickled cucumbers. Full Story
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![Anita McHaney displays a photo of her beets and carrots. She and her husband stopped farming after learning that they could not sell pickled beets.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Watch Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Speaker Dennis Bonnen announce school finance deal
The "Big Three" spoke to news outlets as the Texas legislative session neared its end. 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 -
Point of Order: Kum-bye-a
In the latest episode of our podcast about the 86th Legislature, Evan Smith talks to state Reps. Ina Minjarez and Matt Krause about the issues that have divided an otherwise unified House in the last weeks of the session, including abortion and religious liberty. Full Story
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Paid sick-leave ordinances likely survived the Texas Legislature. But businesses still want to kill them.
Angry that the Legislature failed to overrule local ordinances requiring private employers to offer paid sick leave, many business groups are hoping the courts will finish the job for them. Full Story
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![The Justices of the Texas Supreme Court hear the Texas Department of Criminal Justice v. Maurie Levin, et al. case on Jan. 23, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver for The Texas Tribune -
The Driver Responsibility Program may soon be dead. But reform is unlikely for a similar program.
A bill to kill one program that critics say traps low-income drivers in a cycle of debt, is nearing the governor's desk, but bills to reform the similar Omni program look all but dead as the legislative session winds down. Full Story
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![Law enforcement officials, at a traffic stop, filmed during a Peaceful Streets Project cop watch on West 6th Street in Austin, TX on Apr. 24, 2015.]()
Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez for The Texas Tribune -
Senate moves to let breweries sell beer to go, make it easier to own several liquor stores
The upper chamber added those changes to a broader bill that must pass for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to continue functioning. The House has already signaled it would let breweries sell beer to go. Full Story
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![Oskar Blues Brewery on Friday June 2, 2017.]()
Credit: Erika Rich for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to better protect landowners during land condemnations passes Texas House
Although it cut some provisions from the Senate version, the House committee substitute to Senate Bill 421 keeps public meeting requirements and protects against low-ball offers for landowners facing eminent domain actions. Full Story
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![A warning sign indicates where the Exxon Mobile Pegasus pipeline cuts through the Harbor Point Estates neighborhood and into the Cedar Creek Reservoir in Gun Barrel City on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013.]()
Credit: Laura Buckman for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Stickland's bomb-throwing, O'Rourke's reboot
On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Ross, Emma and Patrick about the Texas House's resident bomb-thrower, the most controversial bills still moving in the Legislature and Beto O'Rourke's attempted presidential reboot. Full Story
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![State Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, on the House floor on May 21, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Texas expansion of medical cannabis nears finish line after Senate approval
If the House approves changes made by the upper chamber, the bill will head to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. Full Story
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Texas Senate passes bill to give more teachers access to guns in classrooms
The bill needs a final stamp of approval from the Senate before it can head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for his signature. Full Story
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![On The Mark Enhanced Tactical Training CEO Ray Dunn inside the Harrold ISD K-12 school where he teaches a gun training class for educators. The North Texas ISD was the first in the nation to arm teachers in 2007.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas school safety measures expanded with House amendments to sweeping legislation
Tentative approval of the bill comes days after the one-year anniversary of a shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead and another 13 wounded. Full Story
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![Mock weapons used to train educators in Harrold, Texas. The North Texas school district was the first to allow educators to carry guns on school grounds in 2007.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Did the Texas Legislature accidentally imperil billions of dollars in business taxes?
In their effort to make a future state income tax all but impossible, Texas lawmakers used terminology that experts believe could inadvertently gut the state’s franchise tax. Full Story
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![State Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper, on the Senate floor on April 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House passes bill allowing handgun owners to carry weapons in church
Consideration of the bill comes more than a year after a gunman killed 26 in a Sutherland Springs church. Full Story
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![The interior of St. Mary Cathedral in downtown Austin on Jan. 30, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Critics say bill moving through Texas Legislature designed to aid GOP reelection bids
Supporters of the bill say it would expand ballot access. But some critics argue that the real goal is to make it tougher for Libertarians to get on the ballot and easier for Green Party candidates to do so. Full Story
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![Early voting at the Acres Home Multiservice Center in Houston on Oct. 26, 2014.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune