Lege gets to work in fourth special session
Lege gets to work in fourth special session
Special session likely to end with no voucher deal
As the clock ran down on the Legislature’s third special session, Texas House and Senate leaders exchanged barbs over Gov. Greg Abbott’s school choice bill and border security proposals, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Abbott, House deadlocked over school choice, teacher pay
Gov. Gregg Abbott and the Texas House are at loggerheads over which will come first – vouchers for parents to pay for private school tuition, or funneling more money to public schools, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Early voting now underway
Early voting is now underway for the Nov. 7 general election. Voters will decide the fate of 14 proposed amendments, including measures to provide property tax relief and raise the homestead exemption to $100,000.
A nonpartisan explanation of what each proposition entails has been produced by the Texas Legislative Council and can be found at this link: https://tinyurl.com/5n946d32.
Abbott ties voucher passage to teacher pay, school funding
Gov. Greg Abbott, just hours after the Senate initially approved a school voucher measure, said he would add teacher raises and increased public school funding to the ongoing special session agenda if the Texas Legislature passes his voucher plan, the Texas Tribune reported.
Texas employment at historic high, but jobless rate is up
For the 30th consecutive month Texas showed job growth, reaching just under 14 million jobs and outpacing the nation in its annual rate of employment growth, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
Special session to begin on Oct. 9
Gov. Greg Abbott issued a letter to legislative leaders indicating a special session will begin on Oct. 9 dealing with what he has called “school choice” but is more widely known as vouchers.
Another special session slated for October
Gov. Greg Abbott has called a third special session, this time about school choice, for next month. He is promising retribution for lawmakers who oppose his move to enact school vouchers in Texas, the Texas Tribune reported.
Paxton acquitted on all impeachment counts
Ken Paxton has been reinstated as Texas Attorney General after the Texas Senate on Saturday acquitted him of charges of bribery and misuse of office. Only two Republican senators joined the 12 Democrats in voting to convict him of some of the 16 charges heard by the Senate, with four other charges dismissed by the Senate, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Paxton trial completes first week
The first week of suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial in the Senate ended with his former lead law enforcement officer testifying an Austin developer alleged to have bribed Paxton constructed a “conspiracy theory” that federal officials altered a search warrant for his property, the Austin American-Statesman reported.