Video: A Conversation With Joe Straus
Full video of my 6/9 conversation with state Rep. Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Full Story
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Despite Early Momentum, Energy Legislation Flames Out at End of Session
Who killed the House and Senate's top energy bills? Their autopsy evokes the names of T. Boone Pickens and Koch Industries and involves plenty of squabbling between the chambers. Full Story
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![A fueling station for vehicles powered by compressed natural gas sits in Austin. As of mid-March, Texas was home to 130 natural gas fueling stations, according to the Railroad Commission of Texas. Those 77 public stations and 63 private ones serve about 7,200 vehicles.]()
Credit: Stephen Spillman -
The Brief: June 4, 2015
Later this morning in Addison, Rick Perry is expected to announce that he plans to run again for the White House, testing whether GOP voters across the country believe in extending him a second act in presidential politics. Full Story
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![Former Gov. Rick Perry poses with cadets after delivering a foreign policy speech at The Citadel, South Carolina's military college, earlier this year.]()
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Straus Files for Another Term as Speaker
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus has filed the paperwork to officially seek another term presiding over the lower chamber. If he wins, it will be his fifth. Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus, right, with state Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, on June 1, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Analysis: A Conservative but Complicated 84th Texas Legislature
Voters sent a conservative pack of lawmakers to Austin and got conservative results. But it's more complicated than that. Full Story
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![State Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, shows off his Sine Die tie on the last day of the 84th Legislative session on June 1, 2015.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Analysis: Small Visions, Small Results in Session
Texas lawmakers started the legislative session without a list of big problems to solve or election mandates to fulfill. And they are ending it without the kinds of results that fill the history books. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol, May 15, 2015.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Effort to Tighten Spending Cap Dies With House, Senate Far Apart
The state’s constitutional spending cap will remain untouched this session, and House and Senate leaders are blaming each other for the lack of action on the arcane but politically important measure. Full Story
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![From left: Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick are shown on May 21, 2015.]()
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On Most Visible Budget Disputes, Senate Fared Better Than House
The $209.4 billion budget sent to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk includes hundreds of concessions made by the House and Senate. Yet on most of the high-profile disputes, the Senate won out. Full Story
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![Sen. Jane Nelson, the Senate finance chairwoman, and Rep. John Otto, the House appropriations chairman.]()
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The Brief: May 29, 2015
The Dallas Morning News takes a detailed look at the evolution of the deal on tax cuts this session and finds that at a few critical junctures, the deal almost derailed entirely. Full Story
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![House Ways and Means Chair Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, speaks with House Appropriations Chair John Otto, R-Dayton, and House Administration Chair Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, on the House floor on May 14, 2015.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
The Brief: May 27, 2015
Campus carry legislation lived to fight another day as a last-minute deal saved Senate Bill 11 just before a midnight deadline in the House to take initial votes on bills originating in the Senate. Full Story
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![House Parliamentarian Chris Griesel is handed another stack of bills during debate on S.B. 19 Tuesday evening May 26, 2015 in the Texas House.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Brief: May 22, 2015
Four large donors to the nonprofit currently documenting Texas lawmakers this session are well-known backers of conservative causes. Full Story
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Copy of Lawmaker Videos Given to Breitbart Texas
A copy of more than 800 hours of video secretly shot of Texas lawmakers by a group with conservative ties has been turned over to Breitbart Texas, the news organization’s managing director confirmed Sunday. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
House Passes $4.9B Tax Cut Plan That Includes Sales Tax Cut
The Texas House tentatively approved a $4.9 billion tax relief plan Tuesday that includes a cut to the state’s sales tax, marking a clear line in the sand against the Senate, which favors property tax cuts. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, celebrates passage of his tax cut measures during the House session April 28, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
A Look at the Priority Bills for Straus and Patrick
Here's an updated breakdown of House Bills 1-20 and Senate Bills 1-20, showing where House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick are placing their priorities for the 84th legislative session. Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus (left) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.]()
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The Brief: April 28, 2015
The House is set to consider its tax relief package today as the impasse between its approach emphasizing a cut to the sales tax rate and the Senate's recipe that relies on a property tax reduction shows no sign of resolution. Full Story
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![Texas House Ways and Means Chairman Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, talks over amendments to border security legislation on March 1, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Inside Texas Politics: Breakfast Blowup
On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics, host Jason Whitely, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey talk about last week's "breakfast blowup." Full Story
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![Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey talks to WFAA "Inside Texas Politics" host Jason Whitely on April 26, 2015.]()
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A Look at How House, Senate Budgets Compare
This week, the House and the Senate named the members of a conference committee that will resolve the differences between the two chambers' budget plans. Here’s a look at how the two proposals compare, with details on some areas where the plans diverge. Full Story
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The Brief: April 24, 2015
The House and Senate made some gestures of goodwill on Thursday designed to lower the tensions that had developed between the chambers this week. Full Story
![House Speaker Joe Straus (left) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.]()
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Grassroots Advisory Panel Creates Drama for Patrick
The panel of conservative activists that is advising Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is putting him in a tricky spot as he navigates leadership politics under the dome. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick during inaugural parade up Congress Ave. on January 20th, 2015]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
The Brief: April 23, 2015
The word of the day on Wednesday was tension, which infected the traditional weekly breakfast work meeting held by the state's top three leaders and later manifested itself on the House floor as members selected their budget negotiators. Full Story
![House Speaker Joe Straus (left) and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.]()