Guest Column: Why "Loser Pays" is a Winner
Forget the hyperbolic editorial rhetoric. The Governor’s proposals for improving our civil justice system will help make lawsuits less expensive and less time consuming. Full Story
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House Approves Four Loko Ban
The Texas House passed a bill today on malt liquor drinks that contain caffeine, ginseng, taurine or guarana. The bill prohibits the sale, manufacture, import and possessing of alcoholic energy drinks, like the infamous Four Loko. Full Story
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Video: Outnumbered Democrats Struggle
This session, Texas Democrats are a frustrated bunch. From sanctuary cities to the state budget, they have so far lost every battle they've waged against the GOP. Texas Politics Project Director Jim Henson analyzes the struggle between the majority and the minority. Full Story
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"Pork Choppers" Soon to Be Open for Business
When state Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, introduced a bill last legislative session to allow licensed hunters to shoot feral hogs from helicopters, Texas lawmakers jokingly passed out “pork chopper” buttons. They're not laughing anymore. Full Story
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Lawmaking That Looks Like a Schoolyard Fight
It turns out you can do a lot of damage with nothing more than a rule book, which is hazardous in a place that often runs like a schoolyard: Conduct trumps content. Full Story
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House Finally Kills Class Size Bill
In what may be the Democrats' first concrete victory of the session, the House at last sent HB 400 to its grave when it failed to take up the controversial education legislation before its midnight deadline. Full Story
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Voter Bill Draws Familiar Fight
In keeping with Republican lawmakers' promises to strengthen state voting laws, the House today tentatively passed a bill that would make it a separate punishable offense for an illegal immigrant or non-citizen to vote or attempt to vote. Full Story
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K2 Closer to Being Outlawed
Synthetic pot, also known as K2, is one step closer to being outlawed in Texas. Full Story
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"Spanking" Bill Passes After Being Reconsidered
A controversial bill that would require parental permission before school administrators are allowed to paddle unruly public school children passed the House today after failing on Wednesday. Full Story
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Lawmakers' Actions Will Raise Utility Rates, Consumer Groups Say
Several bills working their way through the legislative process are likely to send Texans' utility bills up, consumer advocates say. But legislation that would make it easier for ratepayers to decide how to choose their electricity provider appears to be stalled. Full Story
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Fracking Bill Could Set National Standard
The House appears set to pass a bill that would compel companies to disclose substances they use in fracking, a process used to harvest natural gas. As Mose Buchele of KUT News reports, the bill could bring Texas a step closer to determining fracking’s environmental impact. Full Story
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House Tentatively OKs Anti-Cockfighting Bill
It would be illegal to watch a cockfight, to own cockfighting paraphernalia or to raise roosters for the purpose of fighting under a bill the Texas House tentatively approved tonight. Full Story
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Video: Cecile Richards Visits Capitol, Defends Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards, a native Texan and daughter of former Gov. Ann Richards, visited the Capitol on Wednesday to defend funding for womens' health services. Full Story
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House Says No to Parental Consent for Spanking
Texas lawmakers voted against parental approval for corporal punishment Wednesday, allowing schools to spank students with or without parents' say. Full Story
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More Disclosure for Payday Lenders
The Texas House took a step toward tougher regulation of payday lenders Wednesday, tentatively approving a bill that would require lenders to make more detailed disclosures to their borrowers. Full Story
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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
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Senate Approves "Pork Chopper" Bill
The newest competitive sport coming to Texas just might be pork choppering. Full Story
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Elderly, Disabled Fight Pay Cut to Service Providers
Advocates for the elderly and disabled are fighting a proposal in the Legislature that they say would reduce the wages of the personal care attendants who provide services through the Medicaid Community-Based Alternatives waiver program. Full Story
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Ellis Urges Lawmakers to Act on Innocence Bills
Charles Chatman and other former prisoners who have been exonerated of their crimes are joining state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, in urging House lawmakers to act quickly and pass bills intended to reduce wrongful convictions. Full Story
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More Debate, Same Result: House Passes Sanctuary Cities
In a last-ditch effort to tweak one of their most despised bills of the session, House Democrats tried — and failed — to adopt several amendments today to the “sanctuary cities” bill first passed by the House late Monday. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich
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