Battle over sports betting intensifies in Austin with bipartisan push
A competitive match-up in Austin is heating up around mobile sports betting in Texas.The business of sports betting through a mobile device in the Lone Star State has been viewed as an underdog by many, but it is very much alive according to key players in Austin.
Paxton whistleblowers urge lawmakers not to oppose settlement that will be paid with taxpayer dollars
In a statement, the attorneys for the four former top deputies who accused Attorney General Ken Paxton of crimes said state employees โcannot be expected to report government corruption in the future if they know the Legislature wonโt back their rights.โ
More than half of the Texas House wants to stop the execution of Melissa Lucio, convicted of killing her toddler
Despite substantive doubts surrounding the cause of her childโs death and a suspect โconfessionโ obtained after hours of interrogation, Lucio is set to be executed next month for killing her 2-year-old daughter.
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.
Companies could be shielded from liability after commercial vehicle crashes under Texas House bill
HB 19โs sponsors say the bill will prevent excessive lawsuits against companies, but road safety advocates say the bill would make Texas roads more dangerous and prevent victims of crashes from receiving justice.
Another Texas GOP lawmaker is attempting to make abortion punishable by the death penalty
A Texas lawmaker has filed a bill that would abolish and criminalize abortions, leaving women and physicians who perform the procedure to face criminal charges that could carry the death penalty. The legislation, filed Tuesday by state Rep. Bryan Slaton, does not include exceptions for rape or incest. All my bill does, is say that an unborn child is the same as a born child and should be treated the same by the laws.โLt. Gov. Dan Patrick has identified two abortion bills that will be priority items during the legislative session that started in January. One would ban nearly all abortions if the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision or otherwise altered abortion laws.
Collin County is the center of a political storm as the Texas suburbs become more competitive for Democrats
Republicans have dominated Collin County for years. Six years ago, Collin County was so solidly Republican that many of its representatives in Austin and Washington didnโt even draw Democratic opponents. Collin County was among the first Texas counties this week to exceed its 2016 turnout, and 62% of its voters had already voted as of Wednesday. At the same time, Democrats also see opportunity in injecting the president into the Texas House races in Collin County. โWhatโs happening in Collin County is whatโs happening all across the country,โ Leach said.
Fundraising in Texas House races signals a wildly competitive contest for control of the chamber
Democrats need to gain nine seats to win control of the Texas House. Taken together, the reports point to a wildly competitive battle for control of the lower chamber, where Democrats are nine seats away from the majority. Republicans held $9.9 million cash on hand across the 34 districts, while Democrats had $6.2 million. Furthermore, in the four open seats that Democrats are trying to flip, all the GOP nominees were outraised. The Republican State Leadership Committee, the main national GOP group focused on state legislative races, is also playing big in Texas.
Two Texas House incumbents, Dan Flynn and J.D. Sheffield, fall behind early in primary runoff results
Two Republican Texas House incumbents were considerably behind their primary runoff opponents as early election results came in Tuesday. State Rep. Dan Flynn of Canton trailed Bryan Slaton 37% to 62%. State Rep. J.D. The winner will face off against Republican Lacey Hull in November after state Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, opted against seeking reelection. No matter what happens in the general election, House members will have a new speaker for the 2021 legislative session.
Texas lawmakers calling for STAAR test to be canceled
A bipartisan group of state lawmakers is calling for the state to cancel the upcoming April STAAR test โ as more public school districts suspend classes in the wake of heightened concern over coronavirus. State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, sent a letter to the governor Friday asking that โany and all requirements and mandates related to the provision of the 2020 STAAR testโ be canceled, since area school districts have โsubstantially limitedโ classroom instruction. The federal government is already considering waivers from testing requirements for areas heavily impacted by the COVID-19 disease. "The University is working closely with Tarrant County health officials and assisting in identifying individuals who may have had contact with the individual." The school announced last week it was extending spring break and switching to online classes "until further notice" beginning on March 23.
Book a bubble: Glamp under the stars at this West Texas retreat
The bubbles windows open to the east, providing a view of the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park. Basecamp owner Jeff Leach says he first discovered the concept when he stayed in a bubble lodging at the Campera Hotel in Baja California. Inspired, he brought two bubbles to Terlingua, making Basecamp the first bubble hotel in the country. The popularity of the bubbles led Basecamp to introduce a new lodging, Bubble X, available to book starting Dec. 1, 2019. According to the National Park Service, Big Bend traffic jumped 13 percent from 388,290 visitors in 2016 to 440,276 in 2017.