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Tag Archives: Texas Legislature

Celia Israel seeks to be a progressive voice for Austin

Celia Israel announced her run for mayor early, on January 11, almost a full 10 months before election day. She said her motivation to run was her desire to tackle the biggest issues facing Austin today: affordability and transportation. Israel…

Austin endorses tax exemption for menstrual products

City Council members approved a resolution Thursday endorsing the removal of sales tax for menstrual products and diapers. As the resolution states, “Menstrual products and diapers are necessary to daily life for millions of Texans, and these taxes create an…

Public education advocates sound alarm on 'broken' school financing system

Fighting the compounding pressures of the Covid pandemic and decreasing enrollment numbers, public education advocates have been working hard to address the impact of Texas’ financing system on the chronically underfunded Austin Independent School District. Texas School Coalition Executive Director…

Texas schools won’t lose funding for attendance drops during the pandemic

Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency announced Tuesday that public school districts may not lose funding because of low attendance rates caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. In Texas, schools are funded based on the number of students enrolled…

Austin ISD paid hundreds of millions more than other districts in Texas' 'recapture' program

Lee esta historia en español. The Austin Independent School District is sending more taxpayer dollars than any other school system to the state’s so-called recapture program, a new study finds. The decades-old system, known commonly as Robin Hood, is meant to balance…

Researchers at Dell Med are studying psychedelics as treatment for severe depression, anxiety and PTSD

The Dell Medical School at UT Austin is launching a research center focused on studying the therapeutic effects of psychedelics, which are drugs that affect an individual’s state of consciousness, including psilocybin, MDMA, ibogaine and ayahuasca. Researchers say the center’s…

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Texas Railroad Commission takes a step toward safeguarding some energy infrastructure

On Tuesday, one day before a state-mandated deadline, regulators at the Railroad Commission of Texas approved a rule outlining which Texas natural gas suppliers need to be ready to operate during energy emergencies. The vote begins to address a weak…

EMS union joins firefighters in opposing Prop A

The political action committee for the Austin EMS employees union has voted to join the Austin Firefighters Association PAC and AFSCME Local 1624, the civilian employees union, in opposing Proposition A on the November ballot. Save Austin Now, the PAC…

Legislation addresses fire safety at kennels

A Williamson County lawmaker has filed a bill that would require all Texas kennel operators to have a fire-safety system in place to prevent another tragedy like the one that occurred last month at a Georgetown pet boarding facility. Seventy-five…

In the face of statewide abortion ban, Council affirms support for reproductive rights

In 2019, the city of Austin made headlines for being one of the first cities in the nation to allocate funds to help women access abortions. Now, with the recent passage of Texas’ Senate Bill 8, the most restrictive abortion ban…

New supermajority law for historic districts now in effect

The already tough task of creating historic districts in Austin just got a little harder, thanks to new state laws.  In 2019, the Texas Legislature changed the rules governing the designation of historic landmarks by requiring a supermajority of the Historic…

Last year Austin cut its police budget by millions. A new state law means it'll likely reverse that move this week.

The same day Austin City Council members voted to reduce the police budget by roughly $150 million, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pledged to make it so cities could never do it again. “Austin’s decision puts the brave men and women of the…

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