Tax-relief plan headed to governor Proponents are calling it the “biggest property tax cut in Texas history.” Both chambers of the Texas Legislature passed an $18 billion package during the second special session, the Austin American-Statesman reported. If signed as expected by Gov. Greg Abbott, the bill raises the homesteadContinue Reading
House Democrats’ tax plan would help renters Texas House Democrats unveiled a $20.9 billion plan for property tax relief that drops tax rates, increases the homestead exemption, gives annual rebates to renters, and includes pay raises for teachers, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The newest proposal comes as the Legislature continuesContinue Reading
House defies Abbott A key House education committee adjourned last week without voting on a school voucher bill that is Gov. Greg Abbott’s top priority this session, the Houston Chronicle reported. Barring some unforeseen maneuver in the last week of the regular legislative session, the bill is effectively dead forContinue Reading
Fort Hood renamed after Korean,Vietnam war hero It’s official. Fort Hood, named for a high-ranking Confederate officer in the Civil War, has been renamed Fort Cavazos, in honor of native Texan Richard E. Cavazos, the country’s first Hispanic four-star general. Fort Cavazos is the Army’s largest armored, active-duty military installation,Continue Reading
Clock ticking on moving bills The clock is ticking on getting bills out of the House and to the Texas Senate, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick warned last week in a story in the Austin American-Statesman. Patrick presides over the Senate and is worried many bills that have made it out ofContinue Reading
House OKs $4.5B for teacher pay raises The Texas House last Thursday passed two education-related bills, one that allocates $4.5 billion for teacher pay raises and another to increase the annual per-student base funding from $6,160 to $6,300 – a 2.3% increase. The Austin American-Statesman reported the bill would create minimum salariesContinue Reading
House OKs $302 billion budget The Texas House approved a $302 billion budget last week that included an amendment prohibiting the use of state money on private school tuition — a major setback to Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to establish a school voucher system. The Austin American-Statesman reported that more than 20Continue Reading
Texas leads nation in jobs added The Lone Star State continues to lead the nation in jobs added with 58,200 new positions in February, bringing the state to nearly 14 million total non-farm jobs, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. February also marked two full years of uninterrupted job growth inContinue Reading
Senate passes tax cut package The Texas Senate last week unanimously approved a $16.5 billion package to lower property taxes and inject billions of dollars into public schools. As reported by the Texas Tribune, the three separate bills require the state to send at least $5.38 billion to public schoolsContinue Reading
Ice storm wreakshavoc in much of state Residents in Central and Northeast Texas are still cleaning up after a winter storm last week snapped power lines and tree limbs, causing widespread power outages, canceled flights and damage to homes and vehicles. At its peak, nearly 400,000 Texas households were withoutContinue Reading
Lawmakers push $15K teacher raises A group of House Democrats is proposing a $15,000 raise for the state’s teachers and a 25% raise for other state employees by using some of the state’s record budget surplus. State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, announced the bill last week and was joined byContinue Reading
Border security, tax relief and raises top list For the Texas House and Senate, there is not much daylight between each chamber’s priorities in this year’s legislative session. Leaders say the focus will be on property tax relief, border security and employee raises. Preliminary budgets from both chambers were releasedContinue Reading
Gary Borders/Texas Press Association Speaker open to resort-style casinos in state House Spaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, told The Dallas Morning News and other media outlets that he is open to bringing resort-style casinos to Texas. But don’t expect to find slot machines in 7-Eleven stores if casino gambling is legalized. “WhatContinue Reading
Meetings MLK Activities Annual Parade The MCDCSCO is preparing a slate of activities in honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday next week. The fun will kick-off Sunday, January 15 with the annual MLK Day Parade. The public is encourage to bring cars, trucks, wagons, horses, bicycles, floatsContinue Reading
Early voting begins Oct. 24 Early voting in the Nov. 8 general election begins Oct. 24 and runs through Nov. 4. Applications for voting by mail must be received by Oct. 28, according to the secretary of state’s office. Texans are eligible to vote by mail if they are 65 or older; sick or disabled; are expected to give birthContinue Reading
Mail-in ballot applications rejected at high rate Mail-in ballot applications for the March 1 primary are being rejected by almost 40% — largely because of a missing ID number, which is now required after a new voting bill passed the Legislature last year.The Houston Chronicle reported that nearly four in 10 HarrisContinue Reading
Texas Press, Capital Highlights The Texas Workforce Commission released June employment figures that showed Texas employers added nearly 56,000 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate dropped to 6.5%.“The Texas economy is booming,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. “Businesses are investing in the Lone Star State at a record paceContinue Reading
Gary Borders/ Texas Press Association Nearly 60 Texas House Democrats left the state last Monday for Washington, D.C. in an effort to stop passage of a Republican-led elections bill. This in effect blocks all legislation since the House doesn’t have a quorum present. As the Austin American Statesman and otherContinue Reading
Gary Borders/Texas Press Association The Texas Legislature convened in special session last Thursday and GOP legislators introduced a fresh set of voting bills after Democrats blocked an earlier attempt during the regular session by walking out in May, preventing a quorum. HB3 and SB 1 don’t include some of theContinue Reading
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas urged Texans to cut back on power usage last week when an unusually large number of power plants shut down for unexpected repairs as temperatures soared. ERCOT officials announced Friday that Texans could resume normal levels of electricity use, however. ERCOT came under fireContinue Reading