
The Texas Senate Health and Human Services committee began their investigation on aborted baby body part sales and questioned witnesses at the state Capitol for over four hours on Wednesday. The committee met to examine the business practices and regulatory structure of Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas, and to investigate whether state or federal laws were broken with regard to the donation and/or sale of fetal tissue.
by Lana Shadwick30 Jul 2015, 2:06 AM PST0

The Texas Senate passed a bill on Tuesday which would protect the rights of certain religious organizations and pastors to refuse participation in marriage ceremonies which violate their sincerely-held religious beliefs. The Governor said he will sign a bill that offers such protection to pastors and ministers.
by Lana Shadwick12 May 2015, 3:22 PM PST0

The Texas State Senate has voted in favor a bill that would ban insurance coverage for abortion. The ban applies to private health insurance plans, including qualified plans offered through health benefit exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”).
by Lana Shadwick12 May 2015, 6:42 AM PST0

The Texas State Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would give Texas law enforcement officers jurisdiction to enforce federal laws intended to – in the words of the bill’s author – “stop illegal alien criminals at the border.”
by Lana Shadwick7 May 2015, 7:51 AM PST0

The Texas State Senate on Tuesday passed an omnibus bill including many of the initiatives from Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s emergency item on ethics reform. In his State of the State Address in February, the Governor repeated a campaign promise to address transparency and ethics in Texas government. Tuesday marked delivery on that promise.
by Lana Shadwick29 Apr 2015, 6:28 AM PST0

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.
by Lana Shadwick16 Mar 2015, 5:43 AM PST0

As his first piece of legislation, state Senator Van Taylor (R-Plano), introduced Senate Bill 296 or the “School Calendar Choice Act,” which would toss out the state’s requirement that school districts begin their school year following the fourth Monday in
by Merrill Hope24 Jan 2015, 7:06 AM PST0