INSIDER
Texas House approves $302.6 billion state budget with tax cuts and teacher and state employee raises
Read full article: Texas House approves $302.6 billion state budget with tax cuts and teacher and state employee raisesAfter a marathon debate, the bill will head to the Senate, where lawmakers have been crafting their own version of the spending plan.
Bills advance to close loophole allowing some lawmakers to increase their pay to $140,000
Read full article: Bills advance to close loophole allowing some lawmakers to increase their pay to $140,000Two bills that advanced in House and Senate committees on Wednesday both exempt any lawmaker who has already taken advantage of the benefit.
House panel advances new Texas budget with property tax cuts, teacher pay raises
Read full article: House panel advances new Texas budget with property tax cuts, teacher pay raisesThe proposal recommends spending billions on programs including property tax cuts, teacher pay raises, mental health services and border security. It leaves out requests for pay raises for retired state employees and funding for rent relief and childcare programs.
Lawmakers could use $5 billion of a record surplus for raises, flood prevention and border operations
Read full article: Lawmakers could use $5 billion of a record surplus for raises, flood prevention and border operationsBudget proposals would boost state spending for the current budget cycle for projects ranging from mental health hospitals to state pay raises. This would leave $27 billion in surplus for next two years.
Texas universities propose two-year tuition freeze in exchange for nearly $1 billion in additional state funding
Read full article: Texas universities propose two-year tuition freeze in exchange for nearly $1 billion in additional state fundingThe leaders of the state’s six biggest university systems are seeking the money to fund instruction, university operations and employee health insurance and to cover a free tuition program for veterans and their children.
Texas governor’s new mandate prevents employers, private businesses from requiring COVID-19 vaccine
Read full article: Texas governor’s new mandate prevents employers, private businesses from requiring COVID-19 vaccineTexas Gov. Greg Abbott's latest executive order prevents employers from mandating the COVID-19 vaccine.
Haitians on Texas border undeterred by US plan to expel them
Read full article: Haitians on Texas border undeterred by US plan to expel themU.S. President Joe Biden's administration is nearing a final plan to expel many of the thousands of Haitian migrants who have suddenly crossed into a Texas border city from Mexico and to fly them back to their Caribbean homeland.
Texas House advances bill to restore money to pay salaries for 2,100 state workers after Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed Legislature funding
Read full article: Texas House advances bill to restore money to pay salaries for 2,100 state workers after Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed Legislature fundingThe legislation will need another stamp of approval in the House before it heads to the Senate, which has not yet debated its version of the proposal on the floor.
Texas House approves additional $2 billion for border security as state moves to build border wall
Read full article: Texas House approves additional $2 billion for border security as state moves to build border wallThe bill would nearly triple border security funding from the last biennium. The legislation needs one more vote of approval from the House before moving to the Senate.
The Texas House will likely remain immobilized when the second special session begins Saturday as Democrats stay away
Read full article: The Texas House will likely remain immobilized when the second special session begins Saturday as Democrats stay awaySome of the more than 50 absent Texas House Democrats have begun returning home from Washington, D.C. But between those staying behind and those planning not to show up at the Capitol, there appears little chance the House will have enough members Saturday to conduct business.
Texas lawmakers take first steps to restore Legislature’s funding after Abbott’s veto
Read full article: Texas lawmakers take first steps to restore Legislature’s funding after Abbott’s vetoThe House Appropriations Committee voted on Friday 21-0 to move forward a bill that would reinstate the funding after Abbott vetoed it to punish House Democrats who broke quorum in the final days of the session to kill two of his priority bills.
Overhaul to Texas state government employees’ retirement accounts advanced by House
Read full article: Overhaul to Texas state government employees’ retirement accounts advanced by HouseSenate Bill 321 would enroll new state workers in a cash-balance plan — similar to a common 401(k) retirement account — rather than the defined-benefit pension plan that current employees have.
Texas House adds MLK and Frederick Douglass speeches to bill that would mandate teaching “informed American patriotism”
Read full article: Texas House adds MLK and Frederick Douglass speeches to bill that would mandate teaching “informed American patriotism”House Bill 4509 would mandate that students study documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist Papers. The bill's author added speeches from Black historical figures after criticism at a hearing last month.
Speaker Dade Phelan shakes up Texas House leadership with new chairs on key committees
Read full article: Speaker Dade Phelan shakes up Texas House leadership with new chairs on key committeesRepublican Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan shook up the chamber’s committee leadership Thursday, signaling who his top lieutenants will be during his first session overseeing the lower chamber. State Rep. Greg Bonnen, a Friendswood Republican, will now oversee the budget-planning House Appropriations Committee, replacing state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake. Dutton replaces state Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, the longtime chair who in 2019 helped pass massive reforms to the state’s school finance system. Hunter replaces state Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford. Meanwhile, state Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, replaces state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, as chair of the House Administration Committee; state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, replaces state Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo, as chair of the House Calendars Committee, and state Rep. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall, will serve as chair of the House State Affairs Committee, which Phelan oversaw during the 2019 session.