Tag Archives: Dan Patrick
The GOP Failed to Ban Paid Sick Leave and the Business Lobby is Livid
Texas businesses are growing increasingly disgruntled that Dan Patrick appears unable to stop poisoning their political agenda with right-wing social warfare.
One of the the biggest priorities for Texas Republicans this session appears to be on the verge of legislative death. A series of bills that would broadly prohi...Read More
Loon Star: Thanks for the Little People
And their sales taxes.
Ben Sargent To see more political cartoons from Ben Sargent, visit our Loon Star State section, or find Observer political reporting here....Read More
Texas House Votes to Significantly Expand Medical Marijuana Law
The proposal, which still must pass the more-conservative Senate, would allow doctors to prescribe cannabis to patients who suffer from cancer, autism, PTSD, severe pain and other conditions.
Christy and Mark Zartler consider cannabis to be their daughter’s “rescue medicine.” Kara, 19, has severe autism and cerebral palsy, and has hurt ...Read More
GOP Leadership’s Tax Swap Tests the Limits of the Texas Trickle-Down
Abbott, Patrick and Bonnen are doubling down on a proposal that raises taxes on the majority of Texans and help only a rarified few. Even Republicans are spooked.
Dan Patrick’s face said it all. At a Friday afternoon press conference in the Texas Capitol, the lieutenant governor looked downright sullen as Governor Greg ...Read More
In Historic Vote, Texas House OKs Bill to Soften Penalties for Marijuana Possession
Despite approval in the House, a powerful Senate Democrat, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Governor Greg Abbott could still stand in the way of the proposal becoming law.
UPDATE: On Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said on Twitter that House Bill 63 is “dead in the Texas Senate,” further confirming what Democr...Read More
Governor Abbott’s Sales Tax Ploy Diverts from the Real Problem: Huge Tax Breaks for Corporations
The Big Three’s proposed sales tax hike obscures the real culprit behind the state’s broken property tax system: corporate plunder.
Homeowners are getting smothered by skyrocketing property tax bills. Republicans would have you believe this is because big cities and school districts are led ...Read More
Texas Republicans’ Push for a Religious ‘License to Discriminate’ is Depressingly Familiar
Today’s targets of religious discrimination are members of the LGBTQ community. Not long ago they were African Americans and women.
One of the landmark constitutional questions of our day is being fought at the Texas Capitol: Does the right to religious freedom give people license to discr...Read More
‘License to Discriminate’: Texas Senate Advances Anti-LGBTQ Bill
Doctors, child care providers, counselors and other state-licensed workers who refuse to provide services based on “a sincerely held religious belief” would be protected under Senate Bill 17.
The Texas Senate on Tuesday gave its initial OK to a bill that civil rights advocates say would give state-licensed workers — including doctors, child care pr...Read More
‘We’re Not Stupid’: Texas Teachers Take on Dan Patrick and the Legislature over Dismal Education Funding
After years of cuts and attacks, educators are on the offensive this legislative session. But will lawmakers do enough, and what will teachers do if they don’t?
In 2018, teachers led a wave of strikes and walkouts in red states around the country, demanding not just better pay but more public school funding after years ...Read More