Senate adjourns Sine Die (for 40 minutes)
Four minutes after the Senate adjourned the 83rd Legislature, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said the special session would begin at 6 p.m. “Good news, bad news,” he said, before announcing the 40 minute...
View ArticlePerry announces special session on redistricting
Gov. Rick Perry today announced in an email that the special session will begin at 6 p.m. on redistricting. Below is the text of the letter: “We can all be proud of the responsible steps made this...
View ArticleSenate stands in recess until noon on Thursday
Come one! Come all! The Select Committee on Redistricting will hold its first meeting on Thursday at 9 a.m. in the extension auditorium. Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, is the chair of the committee and...
View ArticleFirst of the firearm bills filed for special session
Rekindling the Second Amendment fervor of the legislative session that ended Monday, Rep. Steve Toth filed the first gun bill of the special session. Called by opponents a solution in search of a...
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Senate leaders urge Perry to expand special session to include funding roads...
Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, right, speaks to reporters at end of 2009 session. His predecessor as Senate chief budget writer, Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, is at left. (AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)...
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Special session will drag on, Senate remap chief indicates
The Senate will take at least two weeks to vote out maps, its chief redistricting author said Thursday. That will draw out the special session. Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, said his Senate...
View ArticlePerry adds establishment of life sentence with possibility of parole for 17...
Governor Rick Perry added to the legislative special session call the establishment of a mandatory life sentence with the possibility of parole for 17-year-old offenders. Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashed...
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Ellis (D-Crazytown) urges Perry to “include priorities Texans care about”
Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, chats with Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, left, in January. (Deborah Cannon/Austin American-Statesman) Oh, that wild and crazy guy Sen. Rodney … [visit site to read more]
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Senate committee hears debate on special session anti-abortion bills
Shelby Alexander signs up to testify against the four abortion-related bills debated in a Senate committee Thursday. On the first day of public … [visit site to read more]
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House passes road-money measure, sets up confrontation with Senate
Speaker Joe Straus, earlier this month (AP Photo/Eric Gay) The House on Thursday approved a way to raise more money for highways. But it’s not the Senate’s way. Unless somebody yields, lawmakers could...
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Road negotiations: No white smoke, just more deadlock
Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, at left in 2011 photo, is leader of Senate's side in negotiations over road money. (Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman) House and … [visit site to read more]
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Texas lawmakers reach deal to raise road funding — if voters agree in ’14
Construction on US 75 in McKinney caused delays last year. The Texas Department of Transportation will run out of money for new highway construction after August 2015 unless lawmakers and voters...
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Leaders iron out final details of road funding deal
Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, at left in 2011 photo, is leader of Senate's side in negotiations over road money. (Ralph Barrera/Austin American-Statesman) House and Senate leaders reached final...
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Highway money deal: “… not to include toll roads”
Toll roads wouldn't be eligible for any of the $900 million a year of new state funds for transportation under a constitutional amendment scheduled for a vote by the Texas Legislature on Monday...
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Lawmakers add a little stick to their TxDOT largesse
TxDOT executive director Phil Wilson, shown during a 2011 tour of the Dallas Horseshoe Project (Ben Torres/Special contributor) Lawmakers may be about to serve up a cool … [visit site to read more]
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Senate floor is sparring ring for rivals Patrick, Dewhurst
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, center, confers with two Republican colleagues on Texas Senate floor Monday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Political junkies got a glimpse of the … [visit site to read more]
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House adjourns amid joshing over Perry’s “revelations”
Speaker Joe Straus, earlier this month (AP Photo/Eric Gay) The House maintained joviality about a dreaded third special session as it adjourned the second … [visit site to read more]
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Pickett: Big 3 need to meet, give the grunts some guidance
Rep. Joe Pickett, center, speaks to the Texas House on Monday. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Rep. Joe Pickett, a leading House transportation policy writer, says the … [visit site to read more]
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Senate moves same roads bill, though Straus warns it’s a loser
Speaker Joe Straus, shown on the final weekend of the regular session in May, when he had fewer gray hairs. (Louis DeLuca/Staff photographer) The Texas Senate jump-started … [visit site to read more]
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Patterson urges Perry to add campus carry to session agenda
Lieutenant governor candidate Jerry Patterson speaks at Guns Across America Rally at the Capitol in Austin in January. (Spencer Selvidge/The Texas Tribune) Land Commissioner … [visit site to read more]
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Big bidness: Other states seize on Texas’ inaction on roads
Bill Hammond, president of the Texas Association of Business (Courtesy photo) Big business groups urged lawmakers Monday to get a move on and send voters a road-funding measure they claimed is vital...
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Thompson decries “preferential treatment” for roads
Rep. Senfronia Thompson, center, D-Houston, takes the oath with fellow representatives during the opening session of the 83rd Texas Legislature, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric...
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