The Latest Breaking News from Dan Patrick

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants to eliminate tenure, but his attempts have impacted the institute he helped create.

The Texas Senate wants to ban tenure. The House gave initial approval Monday to a bill that would instead enshrine tenure policies in state law. After final passage, the two chambers have a week left to come to a compromise.

Seeking to avoid a special session, the state leaders discuss school choice, property taxes and grid reform.

With one week left in the Texas legislative session, top leaders are making their final push to get their somewhat disparate agendas approved.

Whether it’s supporting a rape exception for abortion or opposing school choice, Nichols has gone his own way on certain GOP priorities.

Priority bills that died include a 10-year minimum sentencing for gun-related crimes, a ban on “critical race theory” at public universities and LGBTQ-related legislation. While the bills may be dead, lawmakers have a limited time to attach their ideas to legislation that is still alive.

The bill no longer targets drag performers, but LGBTQ advocates say the legislation’s vague language could still be used to criminalize such shows.

House lawmakers added a significant boost to the Senate’s proposed homestead exemption and tacked on a contentious idea to lower the state’s appraisal cap.

The Senate wants to eliminate tenure altogether while the House seeks to enshrine it in state law. The two chambers have until May 26 to come to an agreement.

Although the lower chamber backed the Senate’s action on gender-affirming care, it has been less accepting of school choice and attempts to rein in higher education.

Both the House and the Senate’s proposals on property tax cuts would give modest savings to the typical Texas homeowner, but critics say the House plan could create vast inequities and disproportionately benefit wealthy homeowners.