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.
Texas State House Representative Matt Krause (R-Fort Worth) is going forward with a Religious Freedoms measure apparently abandoned by Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas). Krause’s bill proposes a constitutional amendment which would bar counties, cities, and homeowners associations from interfering “in any way a person’s free exercise of religion.” The amendment is intended to address ordinances passed in Houston, San Antonio, and Plano that target business owners who exercise their religious beliefs about sexual orientation.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick opened a press conference on education by saying that nearly 150,000 students were trapped in over two hundred schools that were failing their students and parents. His remarks came at the beginning of a conference that featured members of the Senate Education Committees and other Texas State Senators with education bills.
Texas Senator Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) filed two bills this week aimed at combating voter fraud in Texas elections.
Texas State Senator Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) announced this week that he had filed several bills for consideration during this legislative session that were in response to feedback he had received from constituents in his district, a mostly rural area containing Lubbock and San Angelo. The new bills are the latest among the ones that Perry has filed to address specific needs of his district.
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.
This article was authored and submitted to Breitbart Texas by Texas State Senator Charles Perry.
As we close out 2014, our first year of publishing at Breitbart Texas, we have a lot of reasons to be thankful. We thought it would be fun to collect a few New Year’s Resolutions from across the state and share them with our readers.
The following Christmas wishes were authored and provided to Breitbart Texas by Texas State Senator Charles Perry.
