The latest Joan Huffman news from The Texas Tribune.
A Senate bill that arrived in the House less than two weeks ago would let Republicans put the hurt on unions and on Democrats, if it can move through the legislative gauntlet this late in the legislative session. Full Story
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Legislation that would keep the names of execution drug providers secret is headed to the governor’s office after the Texas House gave final approval on Tuesday to a Senate measure. Full Story
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Lawmakers are quick to say that the incident that left nine biker gang members dead wasn't relevant to the discussion of open carry despite some committee witnesses who attempted to draw a connection. Full Story
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The long hours this week are a direct result of one of the first big end-of-session deadlines that hits today. The House has until the end of today to take initial action on any bill or resolution coming out of that chamber. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has named the Senate lineup of budget negotiators who will meet with House counterparts and hash out a final version of the two-year state budget. Full Story
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Two bills aimed at disclosure of lobbyist wining and dining are on the verge of being snuffed out in a Senate committee, according to the sponsor of the measures. That's despite Greg Abbott’s vow to “dedicate this session to ethics reform." Full Story
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The Texas Senate has preliminarily passed a bill that would move the state’s public integrity unit from the Travis County district attorney’s office to the Texas Rangers. Full Story
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Lawmakers are talking about giving taxpayers billions in tax relief this session. But in a state with 27 million residents, it turns out that even $4.5 billion doesn't stretch as far as the politicians would like it to. Full Story
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The blowback experienced by Indiana over its religious freedom law has Texas' largest business organization worried about efforts this session to update this state's law on the subject. Full Story
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Business interests told Senate budget writers on Wednesday that a tax relief plan focused on making changes to the business margins tax prioritized the wrong issue. Full Story
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Texans in this month's University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll made clear that the property tax is their least favorite. The only other tax to be disliked by voters more than it is liked is the business margins tax. Full Story
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State Sen. Joan Huffman acknowledges that a lobby firm with ties to casino interests helped her draft a GOP caucus letter blasting a proposal to allow expanded gambling at horse tracks. Now a major proponent of the tracks is crying foul. Full Story
Senate budget writers on Wednesday lit into Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek, a former senator himself, in a hearing that concluded with another call for him to resign. Full Story
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The ability of Austin tech firm 21CT to secure a $20 million Medicaid fraud software contract through a no-bid program run by the state's Department of Information Resources drew intense scrutiny from Senate budget writers on Tuesday. Full Story
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The head of the state's public integrity unit told Senate lawmakers on Monday that Gov. Rick Perry’s veto of its funding in 2013 forced the division — which investigates public corruption — to lay off staff and give up cases. Full Story
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At our 1/12 conversation, state Sens. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and Kirk Watson, D-Austin — the chairs of the Senate Republican and Democratic caucuses — talked about what kind of lieutenant governor Dan Patrick will be. Full Story
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At our 1/12 conversation, state Sens. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and Kirk Watson, D-Austin — the chairs of the Senate Republican and Democratic caucuses — talked about proposed gun legislation in the 84th session. Full Story
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At our 1/12 conversation, state Sens. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and Kirk Watson, D-Austin — the chairs of the Senate Republican and Democratic caucuses — talked about the likely fate of the two-thirds rule. Full Story
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Full video of my 1/12 conversation with state Sens. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and Kirk Watson, D-Austin — the chairs of the Senate Republican and Democratic caucuses. Full Story
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We're liveblogging the sessions from the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival's Health Care track. The sessions include panels on mental health, the Affordable Care Act, medical education and women's health. Full Story
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