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TribTalk: The 2019 Texas House, from right to left

The Texas Legislature’s 2019 regular session is over, the votes on bills have been cast, and we have everything we need to rank Texas House members along the political spectrum from red to blue. Political scientists have for decades used roll-call votes cast by members of the U.S. Congress to plot them on the Liberal-Conservative

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Austin Business Journal: Shot clock’ bill resets development review time

Shot clock’ bill resets development review time   As Austin city leaders had their attention focused on the 3.5 percent tax cap that moved through the Texas Legislature, legislators were busy approving a bill that could have a serious impact on the city’s efforts to regulate development. The Home Builders Association of Greater Austin, which

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The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: 86th Legislative Recap

The Legislature adjourned sine die (not another day) one month ago, and the veto period for Gov. Abbott has come and gone.  It was one of the busiest sessions and yet fewer bills passed than have passed since the late 1800s – not necessarily a bad thing! Below are some articles of interest from the

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The Living & the Dead

Budget HB 1: Sent to Abbott on May 26 The state’s two-year budget plan calls for spending roughly $250 billion on priorities including public school funding, teacher salaries and early childhood intervention programs. Read more Property tax reform SB 2: Sent to Abbott on May 25 This bill, a top priority of Texas’ three main political leaders, would require voter

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As debate rages on border wall funding, construction is already beginning

As expected, President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he’s declaring a national emergency over constructing his long-promised border wall. Meanwhile, federal contractors have already started to clear land for what’s seen as the first phase of that border barrier in South Texas, as the Tribune’s Arya Sundaram reports.    

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Last week’s Legislative recap…property taxes and other news you can use

Texas Secretary of State has finally apologized for issuing a premature press release saying 96,000 Texas voters were registered illegally.  However,  The Texas Tribune reports that though he regrets the way in which he launched the review, he still intends to investigate potential voter fraud.  His confirmation vote in the Senate Nominations Committee, which was set for

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