Capital Highlights (5.26.23)
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…
Capital Highlights – 5.19.23
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…
Capital Highlights 5.12.23
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…
Capital Highlights (5/5/23)
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…
Capital Highlights (4/14/23)
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 —…
Capital Highlights (4/7/23)
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…
CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS 3/31/23
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…
CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS (3/24/23)
Bill would require fentanyl education The death of a Leander High School graduate from a fentanyl overdose has prompted state Rep. Terry Wilson, R-Georgetown, to file a bill that would…
Capital Highlights
Street takeover spurs governor’s action Gov. Greg Abbott has created a statewide task force after several “street takeovers” recently took place in Austin in which motorists obstructed intersections, shot off…
Capital Highlights
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…
Capital Highlights
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…
Capitol Highlights
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…
Capitol Highlights
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…
Absent lawmakers stymie special session
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…
Legislature returns for special session
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…
Heat wave prompts conservation call
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…
Capitol Highlights
Gary Borders/ Texas Press Association The Texas Legislature sent a $248 billion two-year state budget to Gov. Greg Abbott after the House approved the measure last Thursday.The 140-day legislative session…
Capitol Updates: Deaths of Unbuckled Texas Spike
By Gary Borders, Texas Press Association The number of traffic accidents decreased in 2020, but the number of Texans killed while not wearing a seat belt increased by 16%, according…
Early voting underway across state
Gary Borders/Texas Press Association Early voting began Monday for May 1 elections in county, city and school district elections. Secretary of State Ruth R. Hughs encourages all eligible voters to…
Jimplecute is now the 4th oldest newspaper in the State of Texas
The Jefferson Jimplecute is moving up in the world! The Jimplecute has been known as the 5th oldest newspaper in Texas for decades. Well, that’s not longer accurate. Now the…