Texas Republicans say if Roe falls, they’ll focus on adoptions and preventing women from seeking abortions elsewhere
State leaders say expanding a social safety net for children and prosecuting abortion funders are among their priorities. “We’ll continue to do our best to make abortion not just outlawed, but unthinkable,” said state Rep. Briscoe Cain.
Greg Abbott, Dan Patrick urge Texas Supreme Court to take up Ken Paxton’s appeal to whistleblower lawsuit
The two Republican state officials filed friend of the court briefs asking that the high court take up the case because it is relevant to statewide governance and to the powers of an executive office under the Texas Constitution.
Analysis: The Texas Legislature’s 2023 session has already started
The next session of the Texas Legislature is months away, but by the time it actually starts, a lot of the work will already be done. Lawmakers are working on early versions of their legislation right now — before some of them have even been elected.
Hinojosa reappointed to powerful state finance committee
Dan Patrick announced Wednesday that he once again appointed Hinojosa as vice chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which allocates the state’s budget. Governor Patrick has entrusted me with the important responsibility of serving on the Senate Finance Committee as vice chair,” Hinojosa said Wednesday. Eddie Lucio has dedicated his life to public service,” Hinojosa said when Lucio announced his retirement. Patrick, himself, pointed to Lucio’s willingness to break party lines when Lucio announced his retirement. As vice chair, Hinojosa will help craft the budget for the ninth largest economy in the world.
myrgv.comEnding Tenure For College Faculty: Texas Lt. Gov. to Target New Public Hires
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pledged to end tenure for new faculty hires at the state’s public universities and colleges when the Texas Legislature reconvenes next year. Patrick’s Feb. 18 attack on tenured college professors came days after the University of Texas at Austin Faculty Council passed a resolution Feb. 14 defending professors’ academic freedom, particularly […]
news.yahoo.comFighting care for transgender kids shifts from a fringe issue to a litmus test for Texas Republicans
The issue is no longer contained to just the party’s fringes — and it is unlikely to go away any time soon as the national fervor grows, Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive faces legal challenges and it factors prominently into a slew of GOP primary runoffs.
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.
TribCast: Texas politicians make their final push ahead of March 1 primary
On this week’s episode, Patrick Svitek and Kate McGee discuss the last push in some of the most interesting primary races on the ballot. But first, we discuss Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s proposal targeting tenure at public universities.
UT Austin President Jay Hartzell defends faculty tenure after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proposes to end it at all public universities
Patrick’s suggestion to end tenure at public universities received swift criticism from faculty and higher education experts who said it would negatively impact the reputation of Texas’ colleges and universities.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Trump’s man in Texas, has quietly amassed influence — to the detriment of fellow Republicans
Patrick urged former Gov. Rick Perry to mount a challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seeking a third term. He’s taken the already considerable power concentrated in the state’s No. 2 job to another level, forcing opponents from races and tightening his grip on the Senate.
Partisan tactic by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s campaign delays thousands of requests for mail-in ballots from Texas voters
Patrick’s mass mailing urging voters to apply for mail-in ballots included return envelopes addressed to the Texas secretary of state’s office. The applications are supposed to be sent to local offices, but Patrick’s campaign says voters don’t trust election officials in Democratic counties.
Republican incumbents hold big leads in statewide March primary races, UT poll says
The poll shows Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have a significant advantage over their primary opponents. Democratic respondents heavily support Beto O’Rourke for governor but don’t know enough about the party’s candidates in other races.
Texas Republicans pressure court to reverse decision blocking attorney general from prosecuting election cases
Republicans from Gov. Greg Abbott on down are pressuring the all-GOP Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse a December ruling that gutted the attorney general’s power to go after election cases on his own.
Abbott, other Texas Republicans urge court to reverse ruling on voter fraud prosecutions
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) and state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) have urged the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse its ruling that Paxton cannot unilaterally prosecute voter fraud.Both Abbott and Patrick issued separate statements on Tuesday criticizing the court for undermining their push for "election integrity," a move that critics have called voter suppression for minorities who tend to vote Democratic,...
news.yahoo.comValley native to serve on state’s new broadband board
A Rio Grande Valley native has been appointed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to serve on a board that will oversee the state’s broadband efforts and decide which communities qualify for financial assistance. Sergio Contreras, president and CEO of the Rio Grande Valley Partnership, was appointed to the Broadband Office Board of Advisors, state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, announced Monday. Governor Patrick appointing Sergio Contreras to the Broadband Office Board of Advisors,” Hinojosa said in the news release. He is a lifelong resident of the Rio Grande Valley and understands the needs of our communities.”Hinojosa added that Contreras’ nearly 20 years of working for AT&T familiarized him with broadband issues.
myrgv.comRepublicans want fourth special session to pass vaccine mandate ban
Another Abbott priority — increasing the penalty for illegal voting — also did not pass in the last special session. VaccinesWhile Patrick’s push for another special session last month focused on those elections-related issues, other Republicans in recent weeks have rallied largely around banning vaccine mandates. Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Texas, which last month called for a fourth special session, is campaigning on a “Four-Day 4th,” referring to a four-day special session. “When this was put on the special session call during the last special session, the issue was fairly new — people weren’t facing imminent threat of being fired at the time,” Rinaldi said. The last time a governor convened a fourth special session was in 2004, when then-Gov.
sanantonioreport.orgA growing number of Texas Republicans want a fourth special session to pass COVID-19 vaccine mandate ban
It remains unclear whether Gov. Greg Abbott — the only official with the power to convene special sessions — will order state lawmakers back to Austin, or what issues he would include on the agenda.
Texas GOP Lt. Gov. Patrick offered $25,000 for election-fraud tips. The first payout was for a Republican’s illegal vote.
After the 2020 election, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, said he would pay rewards to tipsters who found voter fraud. The first reward went to a Democratic poll watcher.
washingtonpost.comTexas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick paid out his first voter fraud bounty to a progressive poll worker in Pennsylvania who caught a Republican voting illegally
The poll worker who received the prize said he was told he only received the minimum reward as larger ones were reserved for "bigger fish."
news.yahoo.comBill to block COVID-19 vaccine mandates for employers failed in Texas Legislature
Bills intended to block any Texas entity, including hospitals and private businesses, from mandating COVID-19 vaccines for employees failed to pass the Texas Legislature before lawmakers adjourned the third special legislative session early Tuesday morning.
myrgv.comTexas legislators pass most — but not all — of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priority measures in final flurry of lawmaking
The Texas Legislature adjourned from its third special session of the year early Tuesday morning after a final flurry of activity that included agreeing on how to spend billions in federal COVID-19 re[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]
sanmarcosrecord.comLawmakers pass most but not all Abbott priorities
The Texas Legislature adjourned from its third special session of the year early Tuesday morning after a final flurry of activity that included agreeing on how to spend billions in federal COVID-19 relief funds, approving a negotiated new congressional map and signing off on a last-minute proposal that will put to voters whether to increase the homestead property tax exemption.
myrgv.com