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January 25, 2021 1:13 PM
It will be broadcast on Nextstar stations around the state
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Copyright January 25, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 25, 2021 1:02 PM
Via Pete Williams at
NBC News:
The U.S. Supreme
Court on Monday handed a victory to advocates of abortion rights,
wiping lower court rulings off the books that had upheld a Texas order banning
nearly all abortions in the state during the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Greg Abbot
ordered a halt to nonessential medical procedures in late March of last year to
conserve hospital resources and personal protective equipment. Attorney General
Ken Paxton then said the order applied to "any type of
abortions," including medical abortions that do not involve surgery. A
federal judge in Texas declared the order too broad and lifted the ban. But the
5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans put it back in place. In
public health emergencies, the appeals court said, a state can restrict
constitutional rights including, "one's right to
peaceably assemble, to publicly worship, to travel, and even to leave one's
home. The right to abortion is no exception."
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Copyright January 25, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 25, 2021 8:50 AM
The city risks losing the ability to plot its own course if local officials fail to act quickly, Bresnen argues
Amid growing tension between
state government and the City of Austin over the city’s
homelessness policy – and following an admission from Mayor Steve Adler
that current policy is not working – Texas Capitol veteran Steve
Bresnen on Monday released a detailed proposal for immediate solutions
aimed at setting the table for a new long-term policy.
The plan, billed as Part 1
of a broader proposal, outlines specifics including an immediately available shelter
for those struggling with homelessness and ways to offer services currently
unavailable to those camping along roadways, trails, and other public spaces.
The city risks losing the ability
to plot its own course if local officials fail to act quickly, Bresnen argued.
“Unless the City of Austin
sends the message that it can act NOW to responsibly change course, it is clear
that the Governor expects the Texas Legislature to take actions that will have
long-term negative effects on Austin's autonomy,” Bresnen wrote. “In addition,
despite much talk and huge appropriations of money, the Council's actions are
not helping to protect homeless people and are making them mere pawns in a
community dispute that is not serving the homeless or the City well.”
Bresnen’s full proposal can be downloaded
here.
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Copyright January 25, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 23, 2021 7:16 PM
Spiller faces Craig Carter in runoff to be determined by Gov. Greg Abbott
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Copyright January 23, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 22, 2021 1:01 PM
Key staff moves, lobby hires, and a new trade group
It is a little slow out
there, but there is activity. The House and Senate
offered up budget proposals that are strikingly similar this week. As one
former veteran legislator said, “that’s bad,” meaning there may not be much
chance for a real debate between the two chambers about the priorities of the
state.
“What’s the point of a
conference committee?” asked one veteran observer. It may be that leadership
has already largely ironed out any big differences to cut down on facetime for negotiations
during a pandemic. Where does this end up? We’ll all
find out together.
Meantime, there are a few
notable career moves to let you know about. The Texas
Capitol community is always interested, so let everyone know by sending
the news to ksbraddock@gmail.com.
Please use POTM in the subject line. Thanks much.
Here’s the latest edition of People on the Move.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright January 22, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 21, 2021 4:42 PM
Looking at all articles, all funds, almost every article of the state budget is proposed to be cut, minus K12 education
State budget proposals out
of the Texas House and Texas Senate on Thursday
looked strikingly similar in many ways and both contained the same question
mark: an unexplained extra $7 billion in the column under available general
revenue.
Both budgets – one
released by Finance Chair Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower
Mound, and the other by Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont – start with
general revenue levels set at $119.7 billion, which Phelan points out is a 3
percent decrease when the numbers are adjusted for inflation and population.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Kimberly Reeves
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Copyright January 21, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 21, 2021 3:37 PM
"We will convene on Tuesday, January 26 at 1 PM and plan to convene on Wednesday, January 27 at 10 AM. It is our intention to adjourn until the following Tuesday, February 2." - the Office of the Speaker
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Copyright January 21, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 21, 2021 2:44 PM
State intervention into
local government – from all indications -- continues to be a top legislative
priority for the Republican-led Texas Legislature this session.
Gov. Greg Abbott
touched on it this morning in Austin during a roundtable about law enforcement,
where he said the state will move to make it "fiscally impossible"
for cities to "defund police." Over the last few days, Abbott once
again took the City of Austin to task for allowing the homeless
to camp along streets.
“If Austin doesn't
reinstate the ban on homeless camping the state will do it for them,” Abbott
tweeted on Wednesday. “Contrary to what Austin leaders think no one has a right
to urinate & defecate wherever they want,” he said. “Homelessness promoted
by Austin has also endangered public safety.”
And last week at the Texas
Public Policy Foundation’s Policy Orientation, Abbott blasted local
governments and of course found a friendly audience.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Kimberly Reeves
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Copyright January 21, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 21, 2021 12:00 PM
Meantime, Hannah Roe Beck is appointed Interim Executive Director and Luke Warford is appointed Chief Strategy Officer
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Copyright January 21, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 21, 2021 11:59 AM
Speaker Phelan said it “prioritizes the needs of Texans during this consequential moment in our state's history and advances the Legislature's commitment to the historic public education and school finance and property tax reforms passed last session.”
The Texas House
base budget summary
is here. Full text
here.
More coverage to come…
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Copyright January 21, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 21, 2021 10:28 AM
"SB 1 funds essential services, keeps up with growth and meets our obligations to vulnerable citizens...We have many tools available to balance this budget, which will
require us to re-establish our priorities, stretch every dollar and find more efficient ways to deliver services," Chair Nelson said
Here’s what Senate Finance Committee Chair
Jane Nelson’s office is saying about the base budget.
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Copyright January 21, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 20, 2021 1:58 PM
The fine, originally levied after a 2014 Ethics Commission formal hearing, has been tied up in the courts for years
A state district court
judge in Austin has ordered Empower Texans spokesman Michael
Quinn Sullivan to pay $10,000 in fines after dismissing a suit he filed
against the Texas Ethics Commission.
This is the case dealing
with Sullivan's illegal lobbying at the Texas Capitol, without
registering as required by law, back in 2010 and 2011.
As Quorum Report
readers who have followed this will recall, this case led to a rare public
formal hearing of the TEC in which Sullivan refused to testify, citing his First
Amendment right not to speak. After that hearing in 2014, the commission
fined the maximum $10,000 for the violations.
Sullivan sued and it has
been tied up in the courts ever since.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright January 20, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 20, 2021 12:33 PM
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Copyright January 20, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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January 19, 2021 3:42 PM
Cooke County dominates House District 68 in population, but Jack County turnout could be key factor
In the lightning-fast race
for the open seat in the Texas House recently vacated by Sen. Drew
Springer, R-Muenster, the five Republicans and one Democrat running have likely
put as many miles on their cars as dollars they have raised. Election day is
this coming Saturday, January 23.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By James Russell
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Copyright January 19, 2021, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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