Monthly Archives: May 2019
Texas state Rep. Jonathan Stickland resigns from hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus
State Rep. Jonathan Stickland, one of the most vocal members of the Texas House, has left the hardline conservative Freedom Caucus.
The Bedford Republican, who...
Feds will visit six Texas school districts this week to monitor special education
Federal officials will give Texas' special education programs another round of scrutiny this week, with visits planned to monitor how six school districts are...
Gov. Greg Abbott, legislative leaders assert confidence as deadline nears to cut property taxes
Showing their usual united front, the state’s “Big Three” political leaders on Friday tried to remake their case for why the Texas Legislature should...
Reform Austin Explains: Special Sessions of the Texas Legislature
Starting on the second Tuesday of January in every odd-numbered year, the Texas Legislature holds what is called a Regular Session to consider legislation...
How First-Term Legislators Are Using Instagram
Ninth in an ongoing series
Over the past two weeks, Reform Austin has compared the social media use of freshmen Texas Legislators. This week we...
Change in tax bill would let many cities and counties raise property tax levies...
After revisions made in the Texas House, more than a thousand smaller taxing units may not have to abide by a key provision in...
Paid Sick Leave Ban Gets Contentious Hearing in the House
AUSTIN, TX - Following nearly 7 hours of contentious testimony, the House Committee on State Affairs left pending an anti-sick leave bill by Senator Brandon...
From Property Taxes to Teacher Pay, Here's How the Texas House and Senate Compare...
Behind closed doors at the Texas Capitol, a panel of House and Senate budget writers is negotiating which public programs will receive state funding...
SB2 Passes the Texas House
AUSTIN, TX - After several weeks of postponing debate and waiting for the Senate to pass their plan, the Texas House passed a sweeping...
Texas Senate Rushes to Advance School Finance Bill, Passes it Out of Committee
The Senate Education Committee held a hastily arranged hearing Wednesday morning to vote out comprehensive school finance reform legislation — accelerating the bill's journey...
