Bill that would reduce handgun license fee headed to full Senate
A measure approved by a Senate committee would reduce the first-time fee for a license to carry a handgun from $140 to $40 and the annual renewal fee from $70 to $40. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/15/7C2A5183.jpg)
-
![Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, during a Sept. 15, 2016 Senate Finance Committee hearing.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
House Democrats try again for a minimum wage hike
Though the proposals are unlikely to get very far, House Democrats are again pushing for a minimum wage increase in Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/08/14/CampaignFinance-PavedWithMoney.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Antony Vance Clicks -
Report: Travis County released dozens of undocumented inmates wanted by feds
Travis County officials declined dozens of requests from federal immigration agents to hold inmates in the days leading up to the county's recent showdown with Gov. Greg Abbott over its new "sanctuary" policy. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/01/23/Abbott_Hernandez.png)
![Gov. Greg Abbott and Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera/Martin do Nascimento -
Stolen after Super Bowl in Houston, Tom Brady's jersey recovered in Mexico
After being stolen from the Patriots' locker room at NRG Stadium in Houston last month after the Super Bowl, quarterback Tom Brady's jersey was traced to Mexico, according to officials involved in the investigation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/02/06/SuperBowl-NRG.jpg)
![New England Patriots' James White (R) scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Super Bowl LI in Houston, Texas, U.S., February 5, 2017.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Adrees Latif -
Analysis: Cutting the Texas budget, even with money on hand
If Texas legislators cut the state budget this year, it won't be because they didn't have the money. It'll be because they didn't want to spend the money they have. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/04/02/ExpandingBudget-MoneyBagInCapitol.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Paul Hudson -
In Texas House, uncertain fate of bathroom bill could reverberate
The Texas “bathroom bill” has made it to the House but chamber leaders are hinting that the controversial legislation may never reach the chamber's floor for a vote. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/01/04/Texas_House_pre_85.jpg)
![With less than a week before lawmakers convene, preparations are underway to welcome members of the state House of Representatives for the 85th session of the Texas Legislature.]()
Credit: John Jordan -
Funding for Abbott's pre-K program flat lines in both chambers (video)
In the Texas Political Roundup: Both the House and Senate budget plans have zeroed out the funding for Governor Greg Abbott’s early education grant program. Plus, the “bathroom bill” advances in the Senate. And one lawmaker files a bill that would penalize men for masturbating. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/031617_Still.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Analysis: State boosts local accountability while eroding local control
At about the same time this week, one set of Texas lawmakers was working on ways to limit the growth of property taxes that fund local governments while another was considering legislation that could cost local governments a lot of money. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Handcuffs.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Universities face funding cuts of 6 percent to 10 percent in Senate plan
In an attempt to make major changes in how higher education is funded, the Senate Finance Committee is proposing major cuts to each state university. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/University_Tuition_Money.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Senate gives approval to two abortion-related bills
The upper chamber gave final passage to a bill that would ban what opponents call "partial-birth" abortions and put restrictions on donating fetal tissue, and initial approval to one that would ban doctors from performing dilation and evacuation abortions. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/12/14/CLINCS3596.jpg)
![A woman reflects quietly in the waiting room at Planned Parenthood of Gulf Coast's ambulatory surgical center in Houston Friday, August 2, 2013.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas bullet train firm calls provision added to budget a "job killer"
Officials with Texas Central Partners, the private firm developing the Houston-Dallas high-speed rail line, said the rider added to the state senate's proposed budget Wednesday would put their project at risk. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/03/15/HSR_08.jpg)
![A high-speed Texas train is planned to run near railroad tracks along Hempstead Road in northwest Houston.]()
Credit: Brandon Formby for The Texas Tribune -
Watch as Texas House committee debates anti-"sanctuary" bill
The Texas House State Affairs Committee is set to debate a bill that would gut funding from local and state entities that don’t enforce immigration laws. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/02/02/UP9A0041.jpg)
![Critics of Senate Bill 4, a bill banning sanctuary cities, protest at the Texas Capitol as the bill is scheduled to be debated before the Senate State Affairs committee on Feb. 2, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Patrick: Straus "out of touch with the voters" on bathroom bill
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Wednesday that House Speaker Joe Straus is "out of touch with the voters" for opposing the so-called bathroom bill that passed the Texas Senate a day earlier. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/03/09/Straus_and_Patrick_Dec_2016.jpg)
![House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick at a Texas Legislative Budget Board meeting on December 1, 2016.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for the Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate tentatively approves "bathroom bill"
After several hours of debate, the Texas Senate on Tuesday tentatively signed off on the “bathroom bill” on a 21-10 vote. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/03/14/__BDP4415_PatrickCMS.JPG)
![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick confers with State Sens. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, Royce West, D-Dallas, on March 14, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Legislator: Some Republican men tried to retaliate over “masturbation bill”
After state Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, filed a bill that would fine men $100 for masturbating, some Republican men in the Texas House, she said, tried to derail a separate and unrelated bill of hers Tuesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/08/15/StateAffairs0494TT_.JPG)
![State Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, questions Health & Human Services chief Charles Smith regarding state contracts for health clinics during a State Affairs Committee interim hearing on Aug. 15, 2016.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Senators grill one another in tense hearing on property tax bill
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt's attempt to limit when cities and counties can increase property tax collections without an election drew bipartisan opposition Tuesday. But many supporters also came to the bill's defense. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/03/14/Bettencourt_SB2_MKC_TT.jpg)
![State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, listens to testimony on SB2 at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on March 14, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Watch as Texas Senate debates "bathroom bill"
A week after a marathon hearing, the Texas Senate debated the "bathroom bill" on the floor Tuesday afternoon. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/02/07/_BDD6327_Patrick.jpg)
![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick looks around the Senate Chamber on Feb. 7, 2017 prior to bringing up SB 4 sanctuary city bill for debate.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Here’s what the revised Texas bathroom bill means in plain English
State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, the author of the so-called "bathroom bill," last week unveiled a revised version of Senate Bill 6. We've updated our plain English annotation of the bill to explain how it would impact communities across Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/01/16/UT-Bathroom-002.jpg)
![An all-gender restroom at The University of Texas at Austin.]()
Credit: Qiling Wang / The Texas Tribune -
Advocates hope to end policy in Texas of jailing poor for unpaid fines
Thousands of Texans are at risk of being arrested at any given moment for not paying fines often related to traffic offenses or other city ordinance violations, according to a recent report. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-MentalPrisonCuts-TW310.jpg)
![Inmates in the Harris County Jail in 2011.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
Will Senate bill provide tax relief or hamstring local governments?
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt says Texans are tired of seeing their property tax bills increase dramatically year after year. But local government officials say his Senate Bill 2 would limit their abilities to raise necessary revenues. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/02/24/PropertyTax-DollarSigns.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman