The latest Dan Patrick news from The Texas Tribune.
President Donald Trump leads Democrat Joe Biden by 5 points in the race for president in Texas, but voters give the president mixed grades on his handling of the pandemic and the economy. They think Gov. Greg Abbott is doing a better job. Full Story
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GOP officials called it "tyranny" and "government overreach," taking issue in particular with the $1,000 fine associated with violating the mask requirement. Full Story
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The task force features some of the most prominent and politically powerful business executives in the state. They'll advise Abbott with the help of medical experts. Full Story
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Patrick went on Fox News on Monday evening to defend comments he made last month where he said he would rather die from the widely spreading coronavirus than see the economy destroyed for his children and grandchildren. Full Story
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Abbott’s approach has helped keep the peace across levels of government handling the response in Texas but has also raised questions about whether he’s being aggressive enough in responding to a virus that threatens thousands of lives. Full Story
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The threat to the economy is important, but it's also secondary. The worst of the new coronavirus has not yet been visited upon us. Full Story
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Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Fox News on Monday that he would rather perish from the new coronavirus than see the economy destroyed for his grandchildren by overreaction to the disease. Full Story
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Restaurant owners say that delaying sales tax payments could help them ride out the pandemic. State officials, however, say that those revenues help keep hospitals and emergency services running. Full Story
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McGinty, the CFO of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, will lead an embattled agency of nonpartisan budget analysts who have been without an executive director since October 2018. Full Story
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On paper, Texas senators have it better than their counterparts in the Texas House, but why would a Democrat want to work in a place where Republicans are fully and completely in control? Full Story
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It's not a new contradiction, but it's persistent: Texas voters think that property taxes are too high and that school spending is too low, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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A group of hardline grassroots activists has called on Patrick to be more outspoken on party priorities and worries that lines of communication appear to no longer be there. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he might adjust Senate rules if the GOP majority shrinks — the better to bring Republican legislation up for debate when Democrats object. What's so surprising about that? Full Story
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The lieutenant governor said Thursday he may decrease the threshold to a simple majority if Republicans lose one or two seats in November. Full Story
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A new commission had barely begun to study Texas' partisan judicial election system when the leader of the Texas Senate signaled skepticism of reform. Full Story
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The feud began when Bush was incorrectly accused of trying to erect a statue of Mexican dictator Santa Anna at the Alamo site. Full Story
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Republicans and Democrats are ready for the 2020 battle over the Texas House, with roughly 30 of the 150 seats seen as competitive for both parties. Full Story
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Two University of Texas/Texas Tribune pollsters say top state officials edging into slightly tighter gun control laws are taking their cues from the changing electoral climate — not from changing attitudes among voters. Full Story
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In this edition of the TribCast, Alex talks to Evan, Cassi and Shannon about the latest scandal to rock the Texas House, the receipts — or lack thereof — for Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s inauguration ceremony, and Julián Castro missing the fifth Democratic primary debate. Full Story
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When government officials want to spin a story about state finance, it helps to have control of the numbers — and to do the math properly. Full Story
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