With full state coffers and bipartisan support, Texas teachers are hopeful theyโll get a raise this year
The COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and burnout have pummeled teachers in the last few years. Lawmakers from both parties agree they should get a pay bump โ but it wonโt happen without some negotiation.
Texas House selects Rep. Dade Phelan as speaker for another legislative session
Phelan defeated Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, for the House leadership position in a vote, 145-3. In cruising to victory, Phelan secured the support of Democrats as well as the most conservative members of his party.
Delayed: Mandatory maternal mortality rate data wonโt be ready for Texas lawmakers in time for 2023 session
Lawmakers say they need the latest pregnancy-related death data to more precisely address the problem during the legislative session. But delays means they wonโt see it until after the session ends.
Texas House speaker pitches spending more than $100 million for mental health, school safety programs
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had asked House leaders to support his push for arming school police officers with bulletproof shields after the Uvalde shooting. House Speaker Dade Phelan is also asking for more money for mental health and school safety programs.
State GOP leaders win big in Texas legislative primaries
Almost all the preferred candidates of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan nabbed enough votes to head into the November general election. And nearly all sitting House and Senate members seeking to return to the Texas Capitol kept their seats.
Texas voters will decide whether to lower their property tax payments after Legislature completes last-minute Hail Mary
If voters approve the measure next year, it will raise the stateโs homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000 for school district property taxes, netting the average homeowner about $176 in savings.
Texas bill restricting transgender student athletesโ sports participation has enough votes to pass, House Speaker Dade Phelan says
Three times this year โ in the regular session and in two subsequent special sessions โ legislation targeting transgender student athletes sailed through the Senate only to falter in the House.
Texasโ second special session of the year is over. Here are five things you need to know.
Lawmakers will return to Austin at least one more time this year to redraw the state's political maps. Only Gov. Greg Abbott knows when that will be and if there will be additional special sessions beyond that.
Texas House speaker says โabsolutely no deals madeโ to bring back absent Democrats
Navigating the quorum break, Speaker Dade Phelan said he was especially mindful of not doing โun-repairable harmโ to the chamber, indicating that could have happened if members were physically detained and brought to the chamber.
Analysis: Texas lawmakers have two contentious voting fights ahead โ if they can stay in the same room
After a standoff that lasted more than a month, the Texas House appears to have enough state representatives in Austin to conduct business. The divisions are deep, relationships are frayed and redistricting lies ahead.
The threats of state troopers arresting House Democrats have yet to materialize
As of Wednesday, there were no known cases of absent Democrats being arrested, and the chamber was still shy of the 100 members it needs for a quorum to conduct official business. That is despite its Aug. 10 vote to proceed with the arrests.
Texas Supreme Court says House Democrats can be arrested and brought to the Capitol, siding with Republicans trying to secure a quorum
In a bid to block a voting restrictions bill, House Democrats for weeks have denied the lower chamber the number of present members needed to pass legislation. House Speaker Dade Phelan has already signed dozens of civil arrest warrants.
Signed warrants produce no arrests of Texas Democrats for now, but perhaps a hardened resolve to stay away
Itโs unclear how far Republican leadership plans to take the arrests, and there remains debate about the limits of law enforcementโs authority to detain lawmakers who are not accused of committing crimes.
Texas House, just shy of a quorum, issues order to lock members inside the chamber
This is the second time in recent weeks the majority Republican House has voted to issue a โcall of the House,โ though members on Monday did not offer or debate a motion to enable law enforcement to track down members still missing from the chamber.
Speaker Dade Phelan signs civil arrest warrant for Texas House Democrat who returned to Washington
The warrant to apprehend state Rep. Philip Cortez is the first one signed by the speaker since more than 50 House Democrats left the state to block Republicans from having the quorum needed to pass legislation during the special legislative session.
Texas House rallies behind Speaker Dade Phelan, even as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick blames him for GOP legislative failures
Phelan has touted a list of conservative wins in his first session as House leader, such as passing legislation to let Texans carry handguns without a license and approving some of the strictest restrictions on abortion in the country.
Texasโ GOP leadership already at odds over plans for special legislative session
Since House Democrats staged a walkout that killed Republicansโ priority elections bill for the regular session, the governor and the leaders of the state House and Senate have diverged notably in interviews about how they are approaching the overtime round.
House Speaker Dade Phelan says Gov. Greg Abbott could hurt staffers and legislative agencies if he tries to block lawmaker salaries
Abbottโs vow came after a Democratic walkout in the House late Sunday night blocked passage of Senate Bill 7, his priority elections bill that would overhaul voting rights in Texas.
A false date rape drugging accusation against a lobbyist exposed claims of his role in the Texas Capitolโs culture of sexual harassment
HillCo lobbyist Rick Dennis did not slip GHB into the drinks of two legislative staffers, an investigation found. But a history of complaints against him for inappropriate behavior raises questions about how seriously the Legislature takes misconduct.
Speaker Dade Phelan once criticized anti-LGBTQ efforts. Now heโs signaling support for a bill targeting transgender Texans.
Democrats supported Phelan for House speaker, reassured he would avoid controversial social issues that target LGBTQ Texans. They say theyโre disappointed he is now signaling support for bill targeting transgender student athletes.
Texas lawmakers split over how long to extend Medicaid health coverage for new mothers
Maternal health advocates said the bill โ originally pitched as a one-year extension โ could reduce the stateโs maternal mortality rate and offer vital help to mothers grappling with conditions like postpartum depression or health complications in the months after giving birth.
Texas GOPโs bills targeting transgender children have exacted a mental health toll, even if they donโt become law
As the clock ticks on this year's legislative session, the House scheduled a Tuesday floor debate for a bill that would limit transgender children's sports team participation. Other GOP bills that would restrict or punish transition-related health care, like puberty blockers, missed a key Sunday deadline to advance.
Priority bills imperiled as end-of-session tensions rise between Texas House and Senate
House lawmakers expressed frustration on Thursday that some of their priority legislation had not moved in the upper chamber, including a package of health care and criminal justice reform bills pushed by House Speaker Dade Phelan.