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April 25, 2025      1:12 PM

House insurgents kill the vast majority of the Friday L&C Calendar

Representatives Tinderholt, Hopper, and others are demanding RPT priorities start moving in the House or Democratic bills will continue to be popped on L&C. L&C committee voted to send all remaining bills they had back to the committees where they were first referred

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April 24, 2025      3:42 PM

Texas Senate votes 19 to 12 to concur on House changes to school vouchers and send the proposal to Gov. Abbott

"School choice has come to Texas," declared Lt. Gov. Patrick, who earlier had scolded senators for making political statements on the Senate floor

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April 24, 2025      1:06 PM

Texas Senate votes 21 to 10 to advance SB39, trucking liability

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April 24, 2025      11:35 AM

Lt. Gov. Patrick amazingly secures endorsements of all GOP state senators

“I am truly honored to have all 20 Republican Senators come forward to join my reelection campaign. I have the pleasure to work with these 20 great men and women every day. They are super smart, hardworking, and passionate about representing the conservative majority in Texas as well as all Texans," a humbled Patrick said

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April 24, 2025      11:08 AM

Democrats in array holding their blockade of constitutional amendments in the Texas House

Rep. Noble postponed third reading consideration of HJR72 after it received only 90 votes yesterday

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April 23, 2025      4:03 PM

War on squatters concerns tenants rights advocates who argue legislation moving in the Texas Legislature casts too wide a net

Apartment owners want an expedited process but opponents say “squatting is a false flag” and that legal aid groups “will simply cease to assist tenants in the evictions process."

A bill with bipartisan support making its way through the Legislature has tenants’ rights advocates, legal aid organizations, and even some law enforcement officials saying it would make it easier to evict renters and tenants.

Senate Bill 38 by Local Government Chair Paul Bettencourt, dubbed the “Secure Texas Against Squatters Act” and a top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and companion HB 32 by Trade, Workforce and Economic Development Chair Angie Chen Button, creates a streamlined process for removing so-called squatters. It passed out of the Senate 21-8, with Sens. Juan Chuy Hinojosa and Cesar Blanco, one of the bill’s co-authors, voting with the majority.

Black's Law Dictionary defines a squatter as “a person who settles on property without any legal claim or title.” But it's also a term associated with a new cause célèbres of some conservatives wrapping concerns about landlords’ rights and crime around a bill expediting the eviction process.

The rest of the story, subscribers only

By James Russell

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April 23, 2025      2:42 PM

Operation White Light starts as more than 50 Texas House Democrats PNV on HJR 72

A constitutional amendment fails to get 100 on the Texas House floor 90 to 51. 6 were absent. Texas House Democrats showing their teeth now, denying 100 votes for a constitutional amendment. Could still pass it later, but even conservative Ds stuck with leadership after GOP leaders rolled them on school vouchers last week.

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April 23, 2025      12:46 PM

Texas Senate votes 30 to 1 to allow Texans to vote on pushing homestead exemption up to $200k for seniors

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April 22, 2025      4:07 PM

With productivity threatened and the workforce strained, DOGE Chair Capriglione pushes forward with ideas for remote work for state employees

Vast majority of state agencies report that flexible work schedules have improved productivity, reduced costs, and strengthened recruitment efforts; Gov. Abbott’s return to office order could cause more turnover, increase burnout and has already caused chaos with employees complaining hours wasted hours in Austin traffic could’ve been used instead for work

Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced workers to work remotely, many agencies have implemented telework arrangements.

According to a 2024 Legislative Budget Board study, of the 96 agencies surveyed about their remote work policies, the benefits are non-exhaustive.

29 agencies reported positive fiscal impacts, including reduced office space needs, fewer consumables and furniture needs. Only the Texas Medical Board and 10th Court of Appeals reported negative fiscal impacts, citing higher supply, phone and Internet costs.

80 agencies reported having remote work and hybrid policies were better for recruitment and retention. 46 agencies reported an increase in productivity. 40 reported no change in productivity.

Yet Gov. Greg Abbott’s return to office order could cause turnover, increase burnout and has already caused chaos with employees complaining the hours wasted hours in Austin traffic could’ve been used instead for work and returning to cramped and overcapacity spaces while they struggle to find parking.

DOGE Committee Chairman Gio Capriglione’s House Bill 5196, which was heard in the committee last week, would create a framework for agencies to restart remote work for government employees.

The rest of the story, subscribers only

By James Russell

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April 22, 2025      3:56 PM

Texas Senate State Affairs votes to advance SB 31, the abortion clarification bill

There was unanimous passage in committee so it's recommended for local & uncontested

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April 22, 2025      11:51 AM

Constitutional amendments that had again been on the calendar are postponed until next week in the Texas House

That follows reports that Democrats would deny votes on constitutional amendments after all proposed changes were tabled on the floor during the voucher debate last week

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April 21, 2025      4:38 PM

Texas Lottery Director Ryan Mindell resigns

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April 21, 2025      3:00 PM

Consultant Jeff Roe reportedly complicating Paxton relationship with Trump in bid for US Senate

All politics is personal for Donald Trump, and never more so than when it comes to Jeff Roe—the Republican mega-consultant whose once-massively successful political firm, Axiom Strategies, was effectively blacklisted by the president for, among many other things, having the temerity to work on Ron DeSantis’s 2024 campaign.

After Trump’s triumph in the G.O.P. primary, Roe went radio silent for the remainder of the cycle to protect his clients. In a post-primary conversation with Puck, he acknowledged that it had been “a mistake to run against a four-time indicted former president who was pretty well-liked.”

So it was somewhat baffling when Ken Paxton, the controversial right-wing Texas attorney general, hired Roe earlier this month to help launch his Senate primary campaign against John Cornyn, a four-term Republican incumbent. Paxton is a more vociferous Trump ally, and the president has offered kind words in return. But in hiring Roe, Paxton may have jeopardized Trump’s support in what is expected to be a nasty and personal primary, according to multiple people close to the White House.

“This certainly has not strengthened Ken Paxton’s hand,” one of them said. “Jeff Roe’s involvement will hurt Ken Paxton more than help him for numerous reasons,” said another.

Full report here (requires subscription)

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April 21, 2025      2:50 PM

Watch: An unprecedented pressure campaign at the Texas Capitol

Quorum Report Editor Scott Braddock and KVUE News Anchor Ashley Goudeau talked about how the voucher vote unfolded, the screaming match over a memorial resolution for Cecile Richards, and more

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April 21, 2025      2:48 PM

Sen. Hancock does not dismiss talk of an appointment as Texas Comptroller

Hancock was asked about it on NBC 5 in Dallas and said, in part, "Right now we have roughly 40 days left in session and that's the job I was hired to do...we'll see what happens after that."

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