The latest Dan Patrick news from The Texas Tribune.
The Texas attorney general is being investigated for professional misconduct for his filing of a lawsuit challenging the 2020 presidential elections in battleground states. Fellow Republicans say the probe encroaches on Paxton’s executive branch authority. Full Story
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The news comes less than a month after Paddie, who has represented House District 9 since 2013, announced he would run for reelection. Full Story
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Provost Sharon Wood attempted to reassure faculty that the new institute is an investment in politics, philosophy and economics to attract new faculty. But some professors said they’re concerned UT-Austin is allowing the Legislature to politicize the university with the new center. Full Story
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The Republican-dominated, 15-member board determines what millions of public school students in the state are taught in classrooms. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas was stepping up to do the federal government’s job after Biden’s immigration policies had “opened the floodgates” to illegal immigration and crime. Full Story
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Abbott vetoed the funding earlier this year as retribution for the House Democrats’ walkout to block the GOP elections bill at the end of the regular session. Full Story
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State Sen. Bryan Hughes authored the six-week abortion ban and the elections bill and carried other conservative priorities that grabbed national attention. Full Story
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Patrick’s comments mirrored a far-right theory that says political elites are replacing white populations through mass migration and demographic changes. He called the increase of migrants at the border an “invasion.” Full Story
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Lawmakers will return to Austin at least one more time this year to redraw the state's political maps. Only Gov. Greg Abbott knows when that will be and if there will be additional special sessions beyond that. Full Story
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Texas’ new near-total abortion ban, one of the most restrictive in the nation, punctuated a week that brought into stunning relief just how far the state’s political pendulum has swung to the right since the 2020 election. Full Story
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The legislation will need another stamp of approval in the House before it heads to the Senate, which has not yet debated its version of the proposal on the floor. Full Story
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The committee action came less than 24 hours after Dutton had taunted Patrick, threatening to hold his prized legislation back amid rumors that the Senate was stalling a bill to restore funding to the Legislature. Full Story
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Proposals obtained by The Texas Tribune indicate the institute would be “dedicated to the study and teaching of individual liberty, limited government, private enterprise and free markets.” Full Story
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Navigating the quorum break, Speaker Dade Phelan said he was especially mindful of not doing “un-repairable harm” to the chamber, indicating that could have happened if members were physically detained and brought to the chamber. Full Story
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After a standoff that lasted more than a month, the Texas House appears to have enough state representatives in Austin to conduct business. The divisions are deep, relationships are frayed and redistricting lies ahead. Full Story
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In Texas, the vaccination rate among Black people is low compared with other racial and ethnic groups, but in terms of raw numbers, the biggest group of the unvaccinated is white people. Full Story
As of Wednesday, there were no known cases of absent Democrats being arrested, and the chamber was still shy of the 100 members it needs for a quorum to conduct official business. That is despite its Aug. 10 vote to proceed with the arrests. Full Story
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This is the second time in recent weeks the majority Republican House has voted to issue a “call of the House,” though members on Monday did not offer or debate a motion to enable law enforcement to track down members still missing from the chamber. Full Story
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Abbott vetoed a section of the state budget that funds the Legislature — including salaries and benefits of 2,100 employees — as punishment for House Democrats' May walkout to prevent passage of a controversial voting bill. Full Story
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Funds amounting to at least $12.6 million will be transferred from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to the Senate, the House, and legislative agencies such as the LBB, the Legislative Council and the Legislative Reference Library. Full Story
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