Government

News about politics and government.

State Leaders Call For Agencies To Cut Budgets By Four Percent

By • Jul 1, 2016
Ryan Poppe

Bracing for a tough budget next session, leaders at the state capitol are preemptively instructing state agencies to reduce their request for state funding, but those requested cuts do not apply to all state agencies.

With the oil and gas industry in Texas still struggling to get back on its feet, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and House Speaker Joe Straus have sent state agencies a directive asking that they reduce their proposed 2018-2019 budget by 4 percent way ahead of the 2017 session.

Texas Abortion Law Is Unconstitutional, SCOTUS Says

By & • Jun 27, 2016

From Texas Standard:

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that part of a 2013 Texas law restricting abortion procedures is "unconstitutional."

House Bill 2 required doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles. Each clinic also had to meet the standards of hospital surgical facilities. The law also banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and the abortion pill misoprostol.

The law garnered national attention during former Sen. Wendy Davis’s 11-hour filibuster in June 2013. The ensuing court case, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, asked whether these new admitting privileges and ambulatory surgical center requirements on abortion providers within the state posed an “undue burden” on women.

 


The Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Affirmative Action. Here's What it Means.

By • Jun 24, 2016

From Texas Standard:

The court upheld an affirmative action program at the University of Texas at Austin, ending a legal battle that started in 2008.

In Fisher v. the University of Texas, Abigail Fisher, a white student, sued the university for using race as a factor in college admissions. The decision sets a national precedent, at least for the time being.

The UK’s Brexit Rekindles Conversations About Texas’ Own Nationalist Movement

By • Jun 24, 2016
David Martin Davies

 

To secede or not to secede?  That’s the question leaders of the Texas Nationalist Movement have for state elected officials following the United Kingdom’s narrow vote to leave the European Union.  While the fringe issue has become more of a mainstream conversation, state party leaders from both sides of the political aisle are still very much against the idea.

 

 

Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of UT’s Affirmative Action Admissions Policy

By • Jun 23, 2016

Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court in a narrow decision on Thursday decided that UT-Austin’s “use of race” in deciding its college admissions was constitutional.  It's a ruling that will forever impact the lives of prospective college students and the future of college admissions policies.

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