The latest 82nd Legislative Session news from The Texas Tribune.
The Texas Legislature is faced with a budget challenge that pits the Republican majority’s desire to cut government spending against a vulnerable target: the frail and the elderly covered by Medicaid and housed in nursing homes. Full Story
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The Texas Legislature is faced with a budget challenge that has pitted the Republican majority’s desire to cut government spending against a vulnerable faction: nursing homes. Full Story
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Hours after the state Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would merge the state's two juvenile criminal justice agencies, a House committee passed a similar bill. Full Story
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A bill that would regulate so-called puppy mills, and has dog breeders and animal rights groups at each other's throats, got derailed from the fast-track to passage in the Texas House today. Full Story
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The latest player in Texas' immigration debate? God. Citing passages from the Bible they say teach that immigrants should be shown compassion, a group of religious leaders congregated Wednesday to denounce a House sanctuary cities bill. Full Story
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Another bill on Gov. Rick Perry's emergency items list — eminent domain — tentatively passed in the House today, and it could further curb the government's right to take private property. Full Story
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The Texas Youth Commission and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission would be combined into a new Texas Juvenile Justice Department under a bill the Texas Senate approved today. Full Story
The so-called puppy mill bill that has dog breeders and animal rights groups in Texas squared off in a war of words, HB 1451 by state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, will be up for a vote on the House floor tomorrow. Full Story
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The Big Men on Campus in the school known as the Texas Legislature have the unenviable job of finding money that might alleviate the massive cuts outlined in House Bill 1, the general appropriations bill for the next biennium. Full Story
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A House committee is set to consider a bill requiring cities with populations of more than 500,000 to have single-member city council districts. As Ryland Barton of KUT News and ReportingTexas.com reports, the bill's supporters say it would more effectively incorporate minorities and less densely populated areas. Full Story
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Families and doctors testified Tuesday on the grief and tough decisions surrounding Texas' advance directives law, which allows hospitals to cease treating terminally ill patients after a 10-day waiting period if an ethics panel agrees there is no hope for recovery. Full Story
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State jail officials would get a clearer picture of potential problems in county lockups under a bill a Senate panel considered on Tuesday that would require counties to report the monthly turnover rate among jailers. Full Story
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For the first time in decades, first-time drunken-driving offenders could get deferred adjudication under a bill the Senate Criminal Justice Committee considered Tuesday. Full Story
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The House Ways & Means Committee is considering several bills that have the same mission: to make permanent the franchise tax exemption for businesses that report $1 million or less in gross revenue. Full Story
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A panel of senators today discussed an abortion sonogram carve-out that would allow women in remote communities to wait just two hours after a sonogram to have an abortion, instead of 24 hours. Full Story
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At last Thursday's TribLive conversation, I interviewed state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, about the maps they and their colleagues will draw for the state's House, Senate and congressional districts. Full Story
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At last Thursday's TribLive, state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, the chairs of the Senate and House redistricting committees, respectively, talked about their approach to redrawing Texas congressional district lines. Full Story
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At last Thursday's TribLive, state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, the chairs of the Senate and House redistricting committees, respectively, talked about their approach to redrawing Texas House district lines. Full Story
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State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, the chairs of the Senate and House redistricting committees, respectively, were our guests at TribLive on April 7. Full Story
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At last Thursday's TribLive, state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, the chairs of the Senate and House redistricting committees, respectively, talked about their approach to redrawing Texas Senate district lines. Full Story
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