Texting while driving ban initially passes in House
The House gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a statewide ban on texting while driving.HB 80 was approved with a 102–40 vote. The bill would ban text-based communication while driving in the state....
View ArticleCampus carry bill sent to House floor for review
The House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee approved its campus carry bill Tuesday for review on the House floor. HB 937 would allow licensed hand gun carriers to carry concealed handguns...
View ArticleHouse discusses proposed $210 billion state budget
The Texas House of Representatives started its discussion Tuesday of an approximately $210 billion budget.At print time, the discussion over HB 1, which lays out the House’s proposed state budget, was...
View ArticleProposed bills would fix adolescent imprisonment
One week ago, the Legislature’s Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Subcommittee heard three bills that propose to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction in criminal cases from from 17 to 18. Though the...
View ArticleStudents testify in opposition of senate bill that could repeal Texas Dream Act
Authors of the original Texas Dream Act, HB 1403, gathered at the Capitol on Monday to advocate for the policy — originally passed in 2001.The bill, which is at risk of removal this session, gives...
View ArticleTexas House gives initial approval to open carry bill
The open carry of handguns state-wide is one step closer to being legal.The Texas House gave initial approval to its version of the open carry bill, HB 910, on Friday. The Texas Senate approved its...
View ArticleStudents for Sensible Drug Policy support decriminalization with...
Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) are contacting their state representatives through a letter campaign in support of four bills up for debate during this legislative session. The students are...
View ArticleHB 733 would make voting more accessible to UT students
In 2011, Texas implemented legislation that required a registered citizen to bring one of seven forms of photo ID to the polls in order to vote. It is estimated that this requirement could prevent...
View ArticleTexas lawmakers rightly challenge restrictions on marijuana use
Last week, the State House's Criminal Jurisprudence Committee voted 5-2 to fully legalize recreational marijuana for adults. Yeah, you read that right. In doing so, they became the first subset of a...
View ArticleSenate committee sends open carry bill to Senate floor
A Texas Senate committee voted Monday to send the House’s open carry bill to the Senate floor for consideration.HB 910, which Rep. Larry Phillips (R-Sherman) authored, would allow licensed gun owners...
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