The Bills That Got Away: Proposed Laws In The Texas Legislature That Never Got A Hearing keranews.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from keranews.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Lone Star State’s coronavirus response has been a lopsided battle between Gov. Greg Abbott who’s wielded his executive powers to issue a statewide mask mandate and business restrictions and local officials like Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who were blocked by the governor’s orders from putting tougher COVID restrictions in place.
But thanks to the fact that the Texas Legislature only meets in odd-numbered years, and because Abbott’s executive authority meant he didn’t have to summon the Texas House and Senate to Austin for a special session, Texas legislators were powerless to shape the state’s coronavirus response for most of the pandemic.
Texas lawmakers advance eight energy bills; send two for governor s signature spglobal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from spglobal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Texas utility oversight and reform legislation one step closer to governor’s desk
Texas utility oversight and reform legislation one step closer to governor’s desk
A House committee approved several grid reform bills Friday, including a measure that would reform the makeup of the PUC and ERCOT’s board of directors.
Arthur D Andrea, former chairman of the Public Utility Commission, was one of the commission s three members, all whom were forced to resign this spring after February s energy grid crisis. Friday, legislation advanced that would increase oversight and accountability for utilities agencies and increase the size of the commission from three members to five.(Courtesy of Public Utility Commission of Texas)
Here s where the big issues stand in the Texas Legislature s final stretch
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Seats were marked to keep people socially distanced during the convening of the 87th Texas Legislature in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021.Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer
It’s the stretch run of the Texas Legislature, with just over two weeks left until lawmakers will gavel out and go home.
While there has been hundreds of hours of debate and hearings on everything from gun control to abortion to dealing with the pandemic, very little of it has been resolved.
In a Republican-dominated Legislature, it’s no surprise that Democratic priorities have been sidelined, such as a push to expand Medicaid coverage to 1.3 million more Texans, the biggest-ever expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program and police reforms in the George Floyd Act.