The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, wants to make cities and counties ask voters for permission to enact tax rates that allow overall property tax revenue from existing homes and businesses to rise more than 6 percent. Full Story
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As the House and Senate engage in what state Sen. Kevin Eltife calls "a bidding war" over cuts to sales and property taxes, the Tyler Republican is sticking to his guns: He thinks lawmakers should look at neglected projects before they cut taxes. Full Story
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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