The Texas Senate Select Committee on Property Tax Reform and Relief was in Houston on Tuesday taking testimony from Texans affected by the strain of rising property taxes and the burdensome appraisal process.
On December 29, actor James Woods reacted to newly released details of the heinous November 10 murder of Amanda Blackburn by urging Americans to “buy more guns and learn how to use them.”
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.
A police body camera bill passed in the Texas Senate on Thursday by a split vote of 22-8, but faces the Texas State House which has two of its own bills. The bill does not mandate that Texas peace officers use body cams, but mandates uniformity of policies by those using the cameras provided by a grant. The eight Senators that voted against the bill were all Republicans.
The Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 4 (SB 4), the tax credit scholarship bill that will allow low income and special needs families who are in failing public schools to get assistance to pay for private tuition. SB 4 was authored by State Senator Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood) and passed with bipartisan support. The final vote of 18-12 was taken on Tuesday, April 21.
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick opened a press conference on education by saying that nearly 150,000 students were trapped in over two hundred schools that were failing their students and parents. His remarks came at the beginning of a conference that featured members of the Senate Education Committees and other Texas State Senators with education bills.
State Senator Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood) was appointed by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick as the new Chairman of the Senate Public Education Committee in Austin on January 23, 2015.
