From Harvey Kronberg's Quorum Report: Texas PTA Council President Sharon Goldblatt quotes one of her members when it comes to their advocacy to preserve school funding this session. “We hope that they use a scalpel and not a buzz saw,” Goldblatt quipped. The Texas PTA has a legislative agenda ... Keep Reading
Archives for 2011
A wide majority of Texans support a statewide law to make workplaces smoke free and to protect workers from exposure to second hand smoke. Read more here... ... Keep Reading
Due to the mandates, a federal judge has found the federal government's recent health care reform bill to be unconstitutional. The Texas Tribune reports: A federal judge in Florida has ruled that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — the federal health care reform that was signed into law ... Keep Reading
From Texas Monthly's Burka Blog: Mid-way through a day of bleak testimony in Senate finance about impending cuts in the $10 billion range to public education, Sen. Florence Shapiro lamented that “the stars” are completely un-aligned with regards to Texas schools: state general revenue has dropped, ... Keep Reading
Items of Interest Compiled by Arnold Public Affairs While the 82nd Session is just getting underway, the political season is never over. Debate on the Voter ID bill took center stage this week, which passed the Senate in just two days after regular committee hearings were skipped and rules were ... Keep Reading
I have done political training sessions for both Egyptian political parties and for Tunisian women activists in the last several years. To watch what is going on in these two countries now is fascinating. It makes me wonder if any of the people in those training sessions are involved in the ... Keep Reading
From The Texas Tribune: The voter ID legislation passed by the Texas Senate on Wednesday night may be controversial, but it’s a familiar debate, as is the issue of “sanctuary cities.” Gov. Rick Perry has declared both to be “emergency items” that demand immediate attention by the Legislature. Less ... Keep Reading
From Texas Monthly's Burka Blog: Senate Finance chair Steve Ogden says that Senate leaders are considering naming a subcommittee of Finance to review tax exemptions. “In order to get to 21 votes, I’ve got to look at everything — including cuts, using the Rainy Day Fund and finding non-tax ... Keep Reading
From Harvey Kronberg's Quorum Report: Rule suspension today opens the door Today’s Voter ID bill discussion opened the floodgate for Senate committees to start meeting on bills prior to the conclusion of the first month of session. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst named the Senate Finance Committee earlier ... Keep Reading
Jay Arnold of Arnold Public Affairs and other Austin insiders gave The Texas Tribune their thoughts on the 2012 Senate race to fill U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's seat. Read more here. ... Keep Reading