Liquor regulators partying on taxpayers' tab
Texas alcohol regulators know how to party: records show they've spent tens of thousands of dollars to travel to swanky resorts where liquor flows and industry lobbyists abound. Full Story
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![This graphic humorously references a trip that top state liquor regulators took to the National Conference of State Liquor Administrators in 2015 at a cost of more than $7,000 in taxpayer money. The illustration was created by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission during work hours on a state computer with input from top agency officials, records show. Pictured from left to right are TABC Director Sherry Cook, Licensing Director Amy Harrison, Analyst Jesse Valdez and then-TABC technology contractor Jim Andrews.]()
Credit: Illustration by TABC -
Analysis: Is this Texas state budget trick constitutional?
The Texas Senate is proposing a new accounting trick to balance its 2018-19 budget. The contrivance would work, mathematically speaking, but it raises constitutional questions and faces derision from the House. Full Story
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![Road crews were prolific in the Midland region in 2016 following an oil boom, when heavy truck traffic obliterated highways.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott to meet with President Trump at White House
Gov. Greg Abbott is set to meet with President Donald Trump on Friday at the White House. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott gave the opening speech at the state republican convention in Dallas, Texas on May 12, 2016.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Straus agrees with Patrick on their different audiences
In a radio interview Thursday, House Speaker Joe Straus said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has a different audience than he does. "He’s an entertainer, a talk show guy. And a statewide elected official. I’m not," Straus said. Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick at a Texas Legislative Budget Board meeting on December 1, 2016.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for the Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Can Abbott assemble an army for this session’s pre-K fight?
Gov. Greg Abbott has hit tough sledding with his call for more spending on early education in Texas. Lawmakers aren't warm to the idea, to say the least, and the governor hasn't assembled an army of supporters to back up his position. Full Story
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Senate panel OKs bill requiring schools to teach teens about interacting with police
The proposal, Senate Bill 30, is a bipartisan response to deadly encounters between law enforcement and civilians seen in recent years throughout the country. Full Story
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Credit: Otis Blank -
Texas Senate passes bill to cut franchise tax paid by businesses — later
The Texas Senate approved legislation Tuesday that aims to eventually slice — and possibly eliminate — the state’s franchise tax, a levy on businesses earnings that’s widely unpopular among the state’s Republican leadership. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Paul Hudson -
Abbott wants "broad-based law" that pre-empts local regulations
As local control battles rage at the Texas Capitol, Gov. Greg Abbott is voicing support for a much more sweeping approach to the issues that have captured headlines. Full Story
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![Gov. Abbott delivers the State of the State address at the Capitol on Jan. 31, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Senate passes property tax bill state leaders love, local officials oppose
The Senate voted 18-12 in favor of bill that would require an election if a local government entity wanted to increase some of its tax collections by 5 percent or more. Full Story
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Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Bill that would reduce handgun license fee headed to full Senate
A measure approved by a Senate committee would reduce the first-time fee for a license to carry a handgun from $140 to $40 and the annual renewal fee from $70 to $40. Full Story
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![Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, during a Sept. 15, 2016 Senate Finance Committee hearing.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
House Democrats try again for a minimum wage hike
Though the proposals are unlikely to get very far, House Democrats are again pushing for a minimum wage increase in Texas. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Antony Vance Clicks -
Report: Travis County released dozens of undocumented inmates wanted by feds
Travis County officials declined dozens of requests from federal immigration agents to hold inmates in the days leading up to the county's recent showdown with Gov. Greg Abbott over its new "sanctuary" policy. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott and Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera/Martin do Nascimento -
Stolen after Super Bowl in Houston, Tom Brady's jersey recovered in Mexico
After being stolen from the Patriots' locker room at NRG Stadium in Houston last month after the Super Bowl, quarterback Tom Brady's jersey was traced to Mexico, according to officials involved in the investigation. Full Story
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![New England Patriots' James White (R) scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Super Bowl LI in Houston, Texas, U.S., February 5, 2017.]()
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Analysis: Cutting the Texas budget, even with money on hand
If Texas legislators cut the state budget this year, it won't be because they didn't have the money. It'll be because they didn't want to spend the money they have. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Paul Hudson -
In Texas House, uncertain fate of bathroom bill could reverberate
The Texas “bathroom bill” has made it to the House but chamber leaders are hinting that the controversial legislation may never reach the chamber's floor for a vote. Full Story
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![With less than a week before lawmakers convene, preparations are underway to welcome members of the state House of Representatives for the 85th session of the Texas Legislature.]()
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Analysis: State boosts local accountability while eroding local control
At about the same time this week, one set of Texas lawmakers was working on ways to limit the growth of property taxes that fund local governments while another was considering legislation that could cost local governments a lot of money. Full Story
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Funding for Abbott's pre-K program flat lines in both chambers (video)
In the Texas Political Roundup: Both the House and Senate budget plans have zeroed out the funding for Governor Greg Abbott’s early education grant program. Plus, the “bathroom bill” advances in the Senate. And one lawmaker files a bill that would penalize men for masturbating. Full Story
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Universities face funding cuts of 6 percent to 10 percent in Senate plan
In an attempt to make major changes in how higher education is funded, the Senate Finance Committee is proposing major cuts to each state university. Full Story
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Senate gives approval to two abortion-related bills
The upper chamber gave final passage to a bill that would ban what opponents call "partial-birth" abortions and put restrictions on donating fetal tissue, and initial approval to one that would ban doctors from performing dilation and evacuation abortions. Full Story
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![A woman reflects quietly in the waiting room at Planned Parenthood of Gulf Coast's ambulatory surgical center in Houston Friday, August 2, 2013.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas bullet train firm calls provision added to budget a "job killer"
Officials with Texas Central Partners, the private firm developing the Houston-Dallas high-speed rail line, said the rider added to the state senate's proposed budget Wednesday would put their project at risk. Full Story
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![A high-speed Texas train is planned to run near railroad tracks along Hempstead Road in northwest Houston.]()
Credit: Brandon Formby for The Texas Tribune