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Capitol Highlights

by Gary Borders

House lawmakers defy Abbott on vouchers

House lawmakers defy Abbott on vouchers

A key House education committee adjourned last week without voting on a school voucher bill that is Gov. Greg Abbott’s top priority this session, the Houston Chronicle reported. Barring some unforeseen maneuver in the last week of the regular legislative session, the bill is effectively dead…

Fort Hood Renamed After Korean, Vietnam War Hero

It’s official. Fort Hood, named for a high-ranking Confederate officer in the Civil War, has been renamed Fort Cavazos, in honor of native Texan Richard E. Cavazos, the country’s first Hispanic four-star general.

Clock ticking on moving bills

The clock is ticking on getting bills out of the House and to the Texas Senate, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick warned last week in a story in the Austin American-Statesman. Patrick presides over the Senate and is worried many bills that have made it out of House committees but have not gone before the…

House OKs $4.5 billion for teacher pay raises

The Texas House last Thursday passed two education-related bills, one that allocates $4.5 billion for teacher pay raises and another to increase the annual per-student base funding from $6,160 to $6,300 – a 2.3% increase.

Senate, House begin budget reconciliation process

The Texas Senate unanimously approved a $308 billion two-year budget last week, the Austin American-Statesman reported. The next step is to reconcile that budget with one passed earlier by the Texas House.