Spring Poker House

Table Of Content

• How Republican-led states far from the US-Mexico border are rushing to pass tough immigration laws
• MORE: More than 2 dozen reported tornadoes in 3 states amid outbreak in the Plains
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• By tradition, the minority party gets to chair some Texas House committees. Some in the GOP want to end that.

The overwhelming majority of local regulations that business groups and Republican lawmakers usually object to come from Texas’ four largest metropolitan areas — Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio-New Braunfels and Austin — which account for nearly 70% of the state’s economic output. With Democrats vastly outnumbered and few procedural rules to slow the GOP agenda, Republican lawmakers will have relatively easy glide paths for their legislation during the session. Patrick has given a rough outline of his legislative priorities that include reducing property taxes, securing the border and increasing the resiliency of the electric grid by increasing the production of natural gas in the state. The final rule will restore and extend the right to overtime pay to many salaried workers, including workers who historically were entitled to overtime pay under the FLSA because of their lower pay or the type of work they performed. Our southern border is on fire due to the Biden administration’s willful refusal to obey the law and Americans like Laken Riley are dying as a consequence.

How Republican-led states far from the US-Mexico border are rushing to pass tough immigration laws

At the other end of the Democratic ideological spectrum are 19 Democrats whose Lib-Con Scores are significantly less liberal than that of more than one-half of their fellow Democrats. They range from Peña Raymond, who is significantly less liberal than 61 of his 63 (97%) Democratic colleagues, to Mary Ann Perez of Houston, who is significantly less liberal than 32 of her 63 (51%) fellow Democrats. With respect to Ukraine, I support its effort to defeat Putin but cannot support sending $60 billion in additional unpaid-for funding, much of which fails to go to lethal aid, without both a clear mission and the policy changes necessary to force the securing of our own border. The Biden administration has still failed to outline a clear mission for U.S. involvement in Ukraine, despite having sent the country $113 billion previously, from which only $47 billion went to lethal aid, and another supplemental funding request is all but inevitable. Damaging winds, huge hail, and long-track tornadoes are all in the cards, especially in Kansas, Oklahoma and northeast Texas. Overall, there is a severe weather threat stretching across the central U.S. from Canada to Mexico.

MORE: More than 2 dozen reported tornadoes in 3 states amid outbreak in the Plains

We are adding $1 trillion to the debt every 100 days due to unbridled federal spending and inflation is still eating away at American paychecks. In the face of that, Republicans inexplicably choose to advance a package representing more of the same uniparty legislating that got us in this situation. As a matter of policy and principle, I strongly support providing aid to our friend and ally Israel to support them generally, and particularly in the wake of Hamas’ barbaric terror attack and Iran’s recent strike. I was proud to pass Israel funding in November, fully paid for – and was prepared to advance an Israel-only bill now to stand with Israel. However, the Israel aid package was paired to gain Democrat support with over $9 billion in humanitarian aid to Gaza and other areas, which will certainly and inevitably find its way into the hands of Hamas — effectively funding both sides of the war and undermining Israel.

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This is because heavy downpours may dump significant rainfall in a short time and lead to dangerous flash flooding. One tornado emergency was issued for Knox City, Texas, where a large and damaging tornado was reported near the town. "For that big of a storm, to have the property damage that was so extensive, without the loss of life," Douglas County Emergency Management Paul Johnson said at the press briefing. Severe damage was also reported across eastern Nebraska, including Douglas County, where hundreds of homes were damaged in the Omaha area Friday. The city of Minden was the hardest hit area in Friday's storms, according to the county.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan and his Republican primary runoff challenger, David Covey, are both accusing each other of avoiding a date on the debate stage ahead of the marquee state House election next month. Burrows argued that, historically, it hasn’t been the local government’s role to address problems like heat stress on workers. City officials say the full scope of the legislation advanced Tuesday is still unclear, but it would limit their ability to issue worker protections, water restrictions and more.

Lawmakers passed new laws banning almost all abortions and allowing permitless carry of handguns. Texas House of Representatives members on Tuesday voted to elect state Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, to a second term as speaker — the most powerful position in the lower chamber. Overall, of the dozen most centrist representatives (six Democrats and six Republicans) in the Texas House, nine hail from South Texas, a region that only has 14 representatives in the Texas House all together. Or put another way, a region that accounts for 9% of the members of the Texas House provides 75% of its most centrist members. The 85 members of the Republican House delegation reflect a wide range of ideological positions. The conservative end of the Texas House GOP Caucus is anchored by Jared Patterson of Frisco, Briscoe Cain of Deer Park, Cody Vasut of Angleton, Steve Toth of The Woodlands, Shelby Slawson of Stephenville and Tony Tinderholt of Arlington.

They have also championed bills to bar cities and counties from enacting tenant protections against eviction, regulating short-term rentals and hiring lobbyists to represent them at the Capitol. One bill would kneecap an ongoing legal battle by cities like Houston, Austin and Dallas to recoup money they say they’re owed by streaming giants like Disney, Hulu and Netflix. HB 2127 is one of several bills that Republicans filed this session to prevent cities and counties from enacting new progressive policies. For example, the bill would block local ordinances designed to provide more benefits to workers such as mandatory paid sick leave — though the state’s courts have already halted such city rules — and eliminate mandated water breaks for construction workers in Austin and Dallas. 2 that stripped E-Verify and added $9.5 billion in funding to support border states like Texas. In a major escalation of Republicans’ efforts to weaken the state’s bluer cities and counties, lawmakers in the Texas Legislature are advancing a pair of bills that would seize control of local regulations that could range from worker protections to water restrictions during droughts.

Texas’ economic growth and jobs are overwhelmingly concentrated in the state’s urban areas. He touted lawmakers’ restrained spending of state dollars and business-friendly policies as reasons for the budget surplus. Importantly, the surplus also stems from an influx of federal funds given to the state to navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in sales tax revenue that comes from Texans having to spend more because of rising inflation in the country.

Ducking or dodging? No political debate set for Phelan, Covey ahead of runoff

“At some point, we need to realize we’re settling for just enough wins to get reelected,” Slaton said. The majority of House Democrats (36 of 64, or 56%) occupy the middle ground. The median House Democrats in 2023, who represent the absolute center of the 64-member Democratic House caucus, are Sheryl Cole of Austin and Rhetta Bowers of Rowlett.

Ten of these 14 South Texas representatives are Democrats and four are Republicans. Within the Republican delegation, three distinct blocs of representatives appear in the data. The Speaker pro tempore is primarily a ceremonial position, but does, by long-standing tradition, preside over the House during its consideration of local and consent bills. The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. The employee primarily performs executive, administrative or professional duties.

Gov. Greg Abbott endorses U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales amid primary runoff attacks that he's a RINO - The Texas Tribune

Gov. Greg Abbott endorses U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales amid primary runoff attacks that he's a RINO.

Posted: Wed, 24 Apr 2024 16:39:25 GMT [source]

In his nominating speech for Tinderholt, Slaton said the tradition in the House of selecting some minority party members — in Texas, Democrats — for committee chair positions is an overly generous “consolation prize” for losing an election. He said Phelan’s adherence to that tradition means Republicans can pass only some conservative legislative priorities each session while ignoring others. Phelan also cited recent reporting by The Texas Tribune about an increase in rural hospitals no longer delivering babies and committed to reversing that trend.