Gov & Politics
Straus Needles Texas Senate on Public Education Funding, ‘Bathroom Bill’
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Speaking to educators ahead of a special session full of education bills, House Speaker Straus chastised the Senate for underfunding school finance reform.
Gov & Politics
Will Straus Become Texas’ Longest-Serving House Speaker? 7 Things to Keep in Mind
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San Antonio Republican Joe Straus defied threats of a special session and stood his ground on the GOP’s battles over bathroom legislation and property tax elections. Now, he’s eyeing a sixth term leading the lower chamber.
Commentary
Analysis: The Eyes of Texas Reveal a Legislative Opening for Social Conservatives
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Making politicians attach their names to their positions can be a powerful thing. The “sanctuary cities” bill tested that theory.
Gov & Politics
Analysis: As the Legislative Session Winds Down, Who Will be King of the Hill?
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As the Legislature grinds its way through the final three weeks of the regular session, the state’s top three leaders are pushing and shoving, figuratively speaking, to the finale and beyond — to the 2018 elections.
Gov & Politics
Senate Budget ‘Unambiguously’ Unconstitutional, House Leadership Says
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At issue is a controversial accounting maneuver intended by the Senate to free up $2.5 billion by strategically delaying a payment to the state’s highway fund.
Commentary
Under Straus, Bipartisan House Rejects Senate Extremism
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The proposed House budget offers the first glimpse of a bipartisan conviction that it is time to rise above politics to address education issues in Texas.
Gov & Politics
Texas Republicans Defend ‘Bathroom Bill’ as North Carolina Tweaks Its Law
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As North Carolina lawmakers voted Thursday to revise that state’s “bathroom bill,” Texas Republicans said they are not backing away from their proposal.
Gov & Politics
Texas Senate Accounting Maneuver Finds $2.5B in Budget; Straus Calls it ‘Cooking the Books’
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By delaying a diversion of sales tax money for transportation projects, Texas Senate leaders said they had an extra $2.5 billion to spend on other needs.
cartoon
Someone is Losing His Touch…
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Though the bill has made it to the House, chamber leaders have hinted that the controversial legislation may never reach the chamber’s floor for a vote.
Commentary
Analysis: The Party in Power in Texas Acts More Like Two Parties at War
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The leadership battles in the Texas Legislature are often attributed to personalities — or to traditional House-Senate rivalries. But there’s another factor: The Republicans in power are from different factions of their party.