Articles

All other own and external articles except newsletters.

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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Property Tax Debate

From today’s “The Brief” on The Texas Tribune: Roughly three weeks ago, top GOP leaders unveiled their vision for a property tax reform proposal. But now, as yours truly and the Tribune’s Emma Platoff reports, few of those same leaders seem married to the bill’s pitch to cut the rollback rate to 2.5 percent. There …

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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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On Hurricane Harvey Relief

How will Texas help Harvey-ravaged communities? By Kiah Collier February 13, 2019   In September 2017, weeks after the remnants of Hurricane Harvey ravaged his city, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner sparked what became a high-profile spat with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Facing mounting clean-up costs, Turner — a Democrat and former longtime state lawmaker — …

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