Early Education Bill Wins Final Approval in House
The Texas House gave final approval Thursday to an early education bill backed by Gov. Greg Abbott, sending it to the upper chamber on a vote of 128-17. Full Story
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![Rep. Dan Huberty R-Humble, votes on one of the 165 amendments to House Bill 5 on March 26, 2013.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Background Checks Drive Uber Debate
One week after an Uber driver in Houston was charged with sexually assaulting a passenger, a panel of Texas lawmakers on Thursday considered a bill critics say will open the door for more criminals to slip past driver background checks. Full Story
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![Uber and Lyft, two San Francisco-based transportation networking companies, have launched services in several Texas cities.]()
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Video: Eltife on Whether He's Running Again
At our 4/9 conversation, state Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, the chairman of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee, talked about whether he plans to run again in 2016. Full Story
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Video: Eltife on In-State Tuition
At our 4/9 conversation, state Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, the chairman of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee, explained why he supports allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates at public universities. Full Story
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Video: Eltife on What's Conservative
At our 4/9 conversation, state Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, the chairman of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee, pushed back against the suggestion that he's insufficiently conservative. Full Story
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Video: A Conversation With Kevin Eltife
Full video of my 4/9 conversation with state Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, the chairman of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee. Full Story
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Senate Bill Targeting Bullet Train Project Advances
On a 5-4 vote, the Senate Transportation Committee approved a bill Wednesday that would hobble a private company’s plan to build a $12 billion high-speed rail line from Dallas to Houston. Full Story
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![The Japanese Shinkansen is a high-speed trail used by JR Central in Japan. A private company is planning to build a rail line between Dallas and Houston using the same trains.]()
Credit: Norihiro Kataoka -
Senate Committee Moves $211.4 Billion Budget Forward
Senate Finance Chairwoman Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said she expected the Senate version of the budget to be debated by the full Senate next week, “probably Tuesday.” Full Story
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![Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, lays out the property tax relief portion of Senate Bill 1 for final passage in the Senate on March 25, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Sales Tax Cut a Key Piece in Bonnen's $4.9 Billion Tax Cut Plan
House Ways and Means Chairman Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, laid out a $4.9 billion tax cut plan Wednesday featuring cuts in sales taxes and business taxes. The Senate's plan cuts business taxes and property taxes. Full Story
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![Ways and Means chair State Rep.Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, while debating State Rep. Sylvester Turner on HB11 border security bill March 18, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Video: The Fight to Decriminalize Truancy
In Texas, children who miss a certain number of school days can be sent to truancy court, where they could face a Class C misdemeanor punishable by up to $500. Advocates are pushing to make truancy a civil, rather than criminal, offense. Full Story
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Don't Fear the Reefer: House Mulls Lower Pot Penalties
Three bills up for House committee hearings Wednesday would lower the penalties for possessing small amounts of pot in Texas. A fourth would decriminalize pot entirely. Full Story
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Analysis: When It Comes to Tax Cuts, Does Size Really Matter?
The House and Senate have some differences over which taxes to cut, but their plans have one thing in common: When they trickle down to average taxpayers, the benefits are small. Full Story
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Report: State Lawmaker Threatened Paxton's DPS Detail
State Rep. Borris Miles threatened to "beat up" a plainclothes DPS trooper while the lawman was guarding Attorney General Ken Paxton during a meeting at an Austin steakhouse, according to a report obtained by the Tribune. Full Story
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House Democrats Push Minimum Wage Hike
A handful of Democrats on Tuesday asked the House Business and Industry Committee to support a package of bills that would increase the minimum wage in Texas. Full Story
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Asked About In-State Tuition Law, Perry Defers to Legislators
Former Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday deferred to state lawmakers on whether they want to repeal Texas' in-state tuition law, a measure he signed into law in 2001 and has defended to varying degrees ever since. Full Story
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![Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry in a video interview in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, 2015.]()
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House Panel Weighs Property, Gun Rights
UPDATED: Business groups are weighing in on gun legislation, trying to preserve a business owner's rights to ban guns from private property. A House committee took up the question up Tuesday. Full Story
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Lawmaker's Bill Aims to Prevent Another Fertilizer Plant Blast
State Rep. Kyle Kacal has introduced legislation that he hopes would prevent another accident like the explosion of a West fertilizer plant in 2013 that killed 15 and injured more than 200. Full Story
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![A vehicle near the remains of a fertilizer plant burning after an explosion in West, Texas, near Waco.]()
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Video: Nichols and Pickett on High-Speed Rail
At our 4/7 conversation, state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, and state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso — the chairmen, respectively, of the Senate and House Transportation Committees — took a dim view of the prospects for high-speed rail. Full Story
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Video: Nichols and Pickett on Road Funding
At our 4/7 conversation, state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, and state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso — the chairmen, respectively, of the Senate and House Transportation Committees — talked about their preferred methods of transportation funding. Full Story
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Video: Nichols and Pickett on Tolls
At our 4/7 conversation, state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, and state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso — the chairmen, respectively, of the Senate and House Transportation Committees — discussed the state's reliance on toll roads. Full Story
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