Is There a Boys Club Under the Pink Dome?
The flap in the House and Senate this week over a political flyer showing an infant nursing at a bare breast has rekindled an age-old discussion: Is there sexism in the Texas Capitol? Full Story
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What Happens if There's No School Finance Bill?
Nobody wanted to think about it in January. But as the middle of May approaches, with little more than two weeks left in the 82nd legislative session, a growing chorus of voices is asking: What happens if lawmakers can’t agree on school finance reform? Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
New Senate District Maps Proposed
Travis County would get two new out-of-town senators, and Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, would be squeezed into a district designed for a Republican, in political maps proposed by Senate Redistricting Chairman Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Wentworth Gets a Win for Campus Carry
Sen. Jeff Wentworth is relentless with campus carry, and today, the San Antonio Republican got his way. Full Story
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Senate Approves Rape Kit Testing Bill
Some of the thousands of untested rape kits lining evidence storage room shelves statewide would finally get testing under a bill the Texas Senate approved today. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Abortion Sonogram Bill Clears Another Hurdle
Senate lawmakers tentatively passed a controversial measure to require women seeking abortions to receive sonograms — and have the details of the fetus described to them — prior to the procedure. Full Story
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![Sen. Dan Patrick (l), R-Houston, listens to an amendment by Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, during the debate on HB15 on May 2, 2011.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Bill to Test Rape Kits Comes With Big Price Tag
Thousands of untested rape kits could be examined for DNA evidence, but a bill considered today by a Senate panel carries a hefty price tag. The result could be that the boxes remain stacked on shelves in police storage rooms across the state. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Guest Column: Don't Mess With My District!
Partisan redistricting aimed to protect or harm politicians only hurts the voters and their ability to participate in the political process. At its core, this is not about me or my party affiliation. It's about the people of Senate District 10. Full Story
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Senate Passes Reforms on How Police May Restrain Mentally, Physically Disabled
Two bills passed the state Senate today that would change the way mentally and physically disabled people and children are restrained and cared for by law enforcement officers. Full Story
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Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Committee Passes Bill That Would Protect Veterans Fund
A Senate committee on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill that would prevent the Texas Veterans Commission — which faces a proposed 20 percent budget cut — from dipping into a fund it is barred from using for administrative purposes. Full Story
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Senators Take Up Bullying Bills
At Tuesday's Senate Education Committee hearing on a trio of anti-bullying bills, the parents of children who committed suicide after being picked on by classmates asked lawmakers to fix a system they say failed their families. Full Story
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![Asher Brown took his own life on Sept. 23, 2010 after bullies at school tormented him. He was 13 years old.]()
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Anglo Democratic Lawmakers: From Endangered to Protected Species?
Anglo Democrats — an endangered species when the political mapmakers were working in 2001 — might be a protected species this year. Many of them represent districts full of minority voters they say are protected from disruptive redistricting. Full Story
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SBOE: Now With Two-Thirds Approval?
State Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, filed a bill today that would require two-thirds of the State Board of Education to reject recommendations from experts during the approval process for curriculum standards and textbooks. Full Story
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Senators Debate Productivity Center, Class Size
During Tuesday's Senate Education Committee meeting, senators considered legislation that could dramatically change the way school districts operate — including two bills that target the dreaded "unfunded mandates." Full Story
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![State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, on July 20, 2010.]()
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Tribune Directory Updated to Include 2011 Lege Staffers
We've updated our elected officials directory this week to include the names and e-mail addresses of legislative staffers in the 82nd session now that the House Research Organization has released a complete list. Full Story
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Senators Try to Buy Time for Teachers
With major state funding cuts looming, for many school districts, it's not a question of if — but how and when — teacher layoffs will occur. A new bipartisan bill from education leaders in the state Senate could temporarily change how schools go about that. Full Story
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Battle Brewing Over Mandatory Meningitis Vaccine
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling this week that vaccine manufacturers are protected from lawsuits by parents who believe that vaccines harmed their children is sure to energize anti-immunization advocates working to thwart attempts to expand meningococcal vaccine requirements for college students. Full Story
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Senate Committee Targets Payday Lending
If a set of bills filed by Sens. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, and Royce West, D-Dallas, passes this session, consumers who take out short-term, high-interest loans could be protected from exorbitant interest rate charges. Full Story
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Senators Call Tuition Set-Aside Theft, Secret Tax
One state senator calls it "a 20 percent backdoor secret tax" on those paying for college. Another argues that eliminating it would help create a Texas with a "have-and-have-not culture." And some students say the the tuition set-aside program mandated by the state in 2003 is just plain theft. Full Story
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Texas Democrats Blame Republicans for Budget Blues
Gov. Rick Perry's State of the State speech on Tuesday was part pep rally, part budget proposal, with a dash of national politics. And, as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, Democrats weren't charmed. Full Story
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![State Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Ft. Worth at the 2010 Texas Democratic convention in Corpus Christi, Tex. on June 26.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge
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