The Texas Senate Select Committee on Property Tax Reform and Relief was in Houston on Tuesday taking testimony from Texans affected by the strain of rising property taxes and the burdensome appraisal process.
The Texas Senate passed a bill on Tuesday which would protect the rights of certain religious organizations and pastors to refuse participation in marriage ceremonies which violate their sincerely-held religious beliefs. The Governor said he will sign a bill that offers such protection to pastors and ministers.
The Texas State Senate has voted in favor a bill that would ban insurance coverage for abortion. The ban applies to private health insurance plans, including qualified plans offered through health benefit exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”).
The Texas State Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would give Texas law enforcement officers jurisdiction to enforce federal laws intended to – in the words of the bill’s author – “stop illegal alien criminals at the border.”
The Texas State Senate has passed a bill that would establish a sales tax holiday for firearms and ammunition. Senate Bill 228, authored by Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), would create the sales tax holiday on the last weekend in August before hunting season, beginning at 12:01 a.m. on that Friday, and lasting until midnight on the following Sunday.
A bill passed by the Texas Senate on Thursday would take redistricting and school finance lawsuits out of the sole hands of judges in Travis County. The bill, S.B. 455, provides that the Texas Attorney General may petition for the formation of a three-judge panel to hear school finance and redistricting cases.
The Texas State Senate on Tuesday passed an omnibus bill including many of the initiatives from Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s emergency item on ethics reform. In his State of the State Address in February, the Governor repeated a campaign promise to address transparency and ethics in Texas government. Tuesday marked delivery on that promise.
The Texas Senate takes up the issue of repealing in-state tuition benefits for the children of illegal immigrants living in the Lone Star State. DREAMers and their supporters were on the Texas Capitol steps early this morning in preparation for lobbying legislators on S.B. 1819. They are in Austin to speak to the Texas Senate’s Sub-Committee on Border Security. The sub-committee is part of the Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs and Military Installations. The bill would remove in-state tuition eligibility for certain children who came to America illegally.
A heated debate erupted over a proposed bill that would decriminalize truancy for minors in Texas. The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice hearing room was standing room only as legislators prepared to hear public testimony on the matter. Senate Bill
The Texas Senate has passed a package of bills that include substantial reforms to the state’s franchise tax, a tax on a business’ gross margins. Conservatives are cheering the news, and turning a hopeful eye toward the House, where the fate of these reforms now rests.
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate has officially passed SB 11, the “campus carry” legislation that would expand the state’s concealed handgun license (CHL) rights to allow CHL holders to also carry their guns into certain buildings on Texas’ public colleges and universities. The bill passed its third and final reading on Thursday in the Senate, a move that was cheered by Senate Republicans, who are hopeful that their colleagues in the House will pass the bill as well.
Texas State Senator Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) told Breitbart Texas he expects franchise tax relief bills to pass in the Senate. Multiple bills proposing changes to Texas’ franchise tax have been filed in both chambers of the Texas Legislature, and multiple elected officials have told Breitbart Texas that they are hopeful that the 84th Legislative Session will see substantive changes to the tax, ultimately resulting in it being abolished. Creighton spoke to Breitbart Texas about a package of four bills that he had filed.
The leader of a pro-gun control group made several statements that were easily proven to be false during her testimony before the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee last Thursday, when she joined hundreds of other members of the public who came to the Texas Capitol to share their opinions about two bills under consideration by the committee, SB 11, the “campus carry” bill, and SB 17, the “open carry” bill. As Breitbart Texas reported, both bills passed the committee and are headed to the Senate for consideration.
After a long day of debate and passionate public testimony from both sides, the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee has voted to recommend that the Texas Senate pass both SB 11, the “campus carry” bill, and SB 17, the “open carry” bill. Both bills now head to the full Texas Senate for consideration. The vote came just before 6:00 pm Central Time on Thursday.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (R) has referred two bills expanding the open carry of guns to committee, a crucial step needed before the legislation can reach the floor for debate and a vote. The move was announced Monday afternoon, a week after Patrick had made comments in an interview casting doubt about whether there was sufficient support for a bill allowing the open carry of handguns this session.
On Wednesday, the Texas Senate voted on mostly partisan lines to throw out a nearly 70 year old rule that made it easier for Democrats to block bills in the Republican controlled chamber. Under the “Two-Thirds Rule,” bills could not be brought up for debate without the votes of two-thirds of the Senators, or 21 out of the 31 Senators. Republicans currently have a 20 to 11 majority, leaving them still needing the vote of at least one Democrat to advance legislation.
Two Texas Legislators are proposing to amend the Texas Constitution to protect the “Right to Hunt and Fish.” Resolutions to create the amendment have been authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) and Rep. Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin). If passed, the proposal would place the issue on the ballot for voter approval in November 2015.
AUSTIN, Texas — As Texas’ new elected officials are sworn into office this month, they will be leading a state ranked among the top ten most pro-life states in the nation, according to a ranking released by Americans United for Life (AUL), a pro-life legal organization.
