Tagged: 83rd Legislature

Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, who authored House Bill 160, which mandates Gov. Rick Perry pay back the state for travel and security expenses incurred during his presidential campaign, got his chance to talk to Perry about it face to face.  

The Texas House has passed House Bill 21, which sets up a statewide database to track the location of repeat offenders that have been convicted of family violence.  

The bill, which is authored by Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio, sets up a registry of anyone convicted three times on charges of family violence and/or child abuse. 

Two Senate lawmakers and the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court are asking the state to look into the possible disparity of minority children being criminally ticketed for misbehaving in the classroom. 

"An estimated 300,000 misdemeanor tickets are issued in our state’s schools each year," said Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson. "We are criminalizing our children for non-violent offenses."

Much like laws in the other states that ban restaurants and food eateries from using trans fats, Texas senators are now considering a similar measure in House Bill 1359.  

"The bill prohibits the use of any trans fats above .5 grams, and it doesn’t have any enforcement provisions in it, but it does allow the food inspection department to provide some grading on the restaurants using or not using trans fats," said Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso, who authored the bill.