TheRepublic.com - Texas state government News

Texas budget deal struck, but will Perry approve?

Fri, 17 May 2013 22:41:52 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - A deal on a Texas budget is finally done. Now the Legislature must withstand one final and furious week without sinking a compromise that restores nearly $4 billion to public schools and puts more water in the pipeline amid a historic drought.

House OKs state audit of Perry enterprise fund

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:46:47 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - Gov. Rick Perry's deal-closing Texas Enterprise Fund would receive a state audit under a bill close to clearing the state Legislature.

Lawmakers advance teacher residency program

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:18:04 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - Texas lawmakers are advancing a plan to create a residency training program for school teachers.

Budget deals keeps steroid testing program

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:51:04 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - Texas will keep testing public high school athletes for another two years under the state budget deal agreed to on Friday.

Texas Senate OKs 'Merry Christmas' bill

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:20:29 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - It's Christmas in May in the Texas Legislature.

Legislature approves South Texas medical school

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:57:38 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - The Legislature has approved opening a medical school in South Texas' Rio Grande Valley.

Texas Senate approves bill banning drones

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:57:21 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Senate has approved a bill criminalizing the use of drones and other unmanned aircraft to indiscriminately photograph or conduct surveillance on private property.

Texas House approves new beer distribution rules

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:13:41 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas House has approved new rules to help small brewers expand.

Senate votes to extend Texas Lottery

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:54:41 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Senate has voted to extend the life of the state lottery in a vote that was much less contentious than in the House, where some lawmakers tried to kill it off.

Lawmakers advance legalization of switchblades

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:22:01 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - A move to legalize switchblade knives is nearing success in Texas.

Travis sues to block DWI patrol car video release

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:22:25 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - Country music star Randy Travis has filed a lawsuit to prevent the release of patrol car video of his 2012 drunken-driving arrest in North Texas.

Texas Sen. Zaffirini casts 50,000th vote

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:20:31 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Senate honored Sen. Judith Zaffirini of Laredo after the veteran lawmaker cast her 50,000th consecutive record vote.

Veteran House lawmaker says Senate 'disrespectful'

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:08:05 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - A veteran House Democrat is leading a mini revolt against the Senate, saying he will use a parliamentary tactic to temporarily halt every local bill from the upper chamber because it's moving too slowly.

Texas House OKs much-watched charter school bill

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:11:48 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - The House on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a plan to expand the number of charter schools allowed to operate throughout Texas, shaking off long-held fears that doing so could hurt traditional classrooms.

Perry shrugs off claim he's derailing budget talks

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:59:52 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday shrugged off suggestions by top Democrats that his office is holding up delicate negotiations on the Texas budget by pressuring Republicans to steer money away from public education.

Bill would require flags in charter schools

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:07:04 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - Charter schools would be required to display state and U.S. flags under a proposal advancing in the Texas Legislature.

Texas senior, 18, bags 800-pound record alligator

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:19:04 -0400

HOUSTON - A Houston-area high school senior has bagged a 14-foot, 800 pound alligator - the heaviest ever certified in Texas - on his first alligator hunt.

Texas budget deal still elusive despite confidence

Wed, 15 May 2013 23:59:48 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - Compromise on a new Texas budget remained elusive late Wednesday as House and Senate negotiators worked deep into the night with no word of a deal after earlier confidence that one was imminent.

Ex-EMT in Texas pleads not guilty to charges

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:08:47 -0400

WACO, Texas - A first responder who helped evacuate people ahead of a deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a charge he possessed bomb-making materials.

Texas House defeats term limits referendum

Wed, 15 May 2013 20:25:35 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - A proposed constitutional amendment that would have let voters decide whether to limit statewide officeholders to two consecutive terms ran into a buzz saw in the Texas House late Wednesday, with lawmakers voting overwhelming to defeat it despite none voicing opposition from the floor.

Jail treatment possible for mentally ill suspects

Wed, 15 May 2013 18:19:52 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - Criminal suspects suffering from mental illness could stay in jail until they are competent to stand trial under a proposal in the Texas Legislature.

Hearing for woman on death row for Amarillo murder

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:08:48 -0400

HOUSTON - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has ordered a hearing to address allegations raised in an appeal from a woman sent to death row for the 1996 robbery and slaying of an 80-year-old Amarillo man at his apartment.

House sends donor disclosure bill to Gov. Perry

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:08:12 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - A proposal requiring politically active nonprofits to publicly disclose their major donors cleared the Texas Legislature on Tuesday, despite repeated attempts by conservative lawmakers to kill it and mounting pressure on Gov. Rick Perry to veto it.

Guns on campus bill heads to full Texas Senate

Tue, 14 May 2013 19:00:25 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - A bill to allow concealed handgun license holders to carry their weapons into Texas college buildings and classrooms got a significant boost in the state Senate on Tuesday, but it remains unclear if it has enough momentum to become law.

Texas Senate passes marriage ID bill

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:32:05 -0400

AUSTIN, Texas - Texans applying for a marriage license would have to present photo identification under a bill being advanced in the Legislature.