Austin, TX
Texas House has new rules in place for session
Texas legislature: Floor debate was about setting rules
The floor debate was about setting rules for the session in the state House.
AUSTIN, Texas – The first big floor debate in the Texas House happened on Thursday afternoon. It wasn’t about school choice or funding for border security, but the outcome will have an impact on both.
The floor debate was about setting rules for the session in the State House. Rules for debates as well as who gets committee leadership positions.
Setting rules for session in the Texas House
The backstory:
On Thursday, as the chamber debated rules for the 89th regular session.
Arlington republican Tony Tinderholt made a motion to delay the vote for a day. He questioned who would benefit from new sections drafted by Corpus Christi Republican Todd Hunter.
“Mr. Chairman, do you think its fair to members and our Constituents to cram a rules package through with what appears to be of Democrats, when I read it, it appears they get more power,” asked Rep. Tinderholt.
Hunter responded by saying he didn’t think they were cramming anything.
What is House Resolution 4?
The backstory:
House Resolution 4 contains more than 200 pages, but according to Hunter, only 19% is filled with new language.
A key part is the requirement that the GOP House Caucus demanded. Committee Chairs are to be members from the majority party in the House, currently Republican. But the rules state that Vice Chairs are to be members of the minority party, currently Democrats. HR 4 also requires the two leadership positions to work together.
HR 4 would eliminate six House committees:
- Business and Industry
- County Affairs
- Defense and Veteran’s Affairs
- Juvenile Justice
- Resolution Calendar
- Urban Affairs
In the end, several subcommittees were created. Hunter believes that will help more bills get a hearing. The rules eventually won adoption: 116 Ayes, 23 Nos, 1 NV, and 10 absences.
After the vote, House Democrats were optimistic their voices would be heard this session.
What they’re saying:
“What’s wrong with that? It doesn’t mean that you can stop the chair of the committee. It’s really an encouragement when we elect those 150 people to represent the state of Texas. So our role is let’s get something done,” said Rep. Hunter.
Houston Democrat Harold Dutton was not convinced bi-partisanship would be encouraged.
“This is Texas. This is not Washington, D.C. and yet I, I wonder if anybody gave any consideration to the fact that we are moving in the direction of being just like Washington, D.C.,” said Rep. Dutton.
“But I took those topics and jurisdiction and placed them in two newly created committees. One is a committee called Delivery of Government Efficiency. And the other is intergovernmental affairs,” said Hunter.
“And so, as Democrats, we proudly say today that we have a seat at the table to advocate for true public education and public education funding. We have a seat at the table to advocate that no longer can it be acceptable to have the highest rate of uninsured children in the nation. We have a seat at the table to make sure that, you know, we will advocate to no longer be the worst state for maternal mortality and morbidity. And it is time to have honest conversations and dialogs around the reproductive rights of women and health care for women across the state of Texas,” said Rep. Ann Johnson (D) Houston.
What’s next:
The committee appointment process by Speaker Dustin Burrows is now underway.
The full House returns to work on Monday.
The Source: Information from the Texas legislative session
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Department of Public Safety has issued a Silver Alert for an elderly man who has been missing since Friday afternoon in Austin.
The Austin Police Department is looking for Charles Evans, a 73-year-old man diagnosed with a cognitive impairment. Evans was last seen at 5:37 p.m. on Jan. 9 in Austin.
Silver Alert issued for missing 73-year-old man in Austin
ALSO| Students recount emotional toll of Leander High School possible bomb threat lockdown
Police describe him as a 6’3″ tall white male, weighing 225 pounds, has gray hair, hazel eyes, and who uses a walker.
Law enforcement officials believe his disappearance poses a credible threat to his health and safety.
Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to contact the Austin Police Department at 512-974-5000.
AUSTIN, Texas – A 20-year-old was arrested and charged with murder for a deadly shooting at the Cambria Hotel in downtown Austin, police said.
What we know:
Police said on Monday, Jan. 5, around 6:55 a.m., officers responded to a report of a gunshot at the Cambria Hotel at 68 East Avenue #824. The caller said a person had been shot.
When officers arrived, they found a man with injuries. He later died at the scene. He was identified as Luke Bradburn.
The investigation revealed that Bradburn drove and crashed a car that belonged to 20-year-old Maximillian Salinas. After the crash, Bradburn and the other people in the car left and went to the Cambria Hotel.
Salinas went to the hotel and shot Bradburn.
On Jan. 6, Salinas was arrested and charged with murder.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Austin Police at 512-974-TIPS. You may submit your tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program by visiting austincrimestoppers.org or calling 512-472-8477.
The Source: Information from the Austin Police Department
Chants of “shame” and “ICE out of Texas” rang through the street as Austin-area activists joined thousands across the nation in protesting the killing of Renee Nicole Good, who was fatally shot Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis.
The protest was held in front of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security building in Pflugerville.
Good, 37, was shot in her SUV while attempting to drive away from several ICE officers who ordered her to exit her vehicle.
Scarleth Lopez with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the organization that led the protest, said the videos of the shooting in Minneapolis were “sickening.”
“Trump has lied and and said that Renee was a terrorist. She was a mother. She was an innocent bystander,” Lopez said. “We must organize to stop these people from kidnapping and murdering.”
Lorianne Willett
/
KUT News
Elizabeth Bope, a retired Pflugerville ISD teacher, said the claims from federal and state lawmakers that Good was attempting to strike the ICE agent with her vehicle inspired her to attend the protest.
Such claims were posted online by Vice President J.D. Vance and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Attorney General Ken Paxton reposted a statement from DHS on X, formerly known as Twitter, that said the ICE agent “relied on his training and saved his own life.”
“It’s beyond really any words that they killed this woman for no reason, but also that they’re lying about it,” Bope said. “I’m not even a radical left person, I’m just a regular old Democrat.”
Other key Texas leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, have not commented on the shooting.
Lorianne Willett
/
KUT News
Doug Tickner, who said he works for a home building company in Austin, said he felt it was important to show up in person for Good.
“I don’t really think of Minneapolis as being that far from here, and it’s not like what happened in Minneapolis was some sort of one off unique event,” Tickner said. “This is part of a pattern, and I feel folks better wake up and realize that this is becoming more and more serious.”
The news that federal immigration officers shot and wounded two people in Portland, Oregon, broke hours before the protest.
The gathering in Pflugerville is among the first of four anti-ICE demonstrations planned across the Austin area over the next few days.
Earlier on Thursday, protesters gathered at the intersection of 45th Street and Lamar Boulevard during rush hour. A protest on Friday will be held at the Capitol and another will be held Saturday at City Hall.
Lorianne Willett
/
KUT News
State and federal leaders are now sparring over who should conduct an investigation into the Minneapolis shooting, according to NPR.
Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which was originally asked to conduct a joint investigation with the FBI, said in a statement it was later told the investigation would be led solely by federal authorities.
UC Davis professor who posted violent threats against ‘Zionists’ keeps job after discipline
Top health policy expert calls Minnesota fraud ‘disgusting,’ warns Obamacare issues are nationwide
Texas teachers’ union sues state over investigation into controversial Charlie Kirk posts
Experts warn of biggest ‘scandal in litigation system’ if SCOTUS doesn’t nix landmark energy pollution case
Brown University shooting videos show awareness and planning, experts say
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
Federal judge blocks Trump from cutting childcare funds to Democratic states over fraud concerns
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,416
Trump administration can’t block child care, other program money for 5 states: Judge
AOC accuses Vance of believing ‘American people should be assassinated in the street’
Mercosur: How Macron’s domestic weakness undercut his Brussels clout
-
Detroit, MI7 days ago2 hospitalized after shooting on Lodge Freeway in Detroit
-
Technology4 days agoPower bank feature creep is out of control
-
Dallas, TX5 days agoDefensive coordinator candidates who could improve Cowboys’ brutal secondary in 2026
-
Dallas, TX2 days agoAnti-ICE protest outside Dallas City Hall follows deadly shooting in Minneapolis
-
Iowa4 days agoPat McAfee praises Audi Crooks, plays hype song for Iowa State star
-
Health6 days agoViral New Year reset routine is helping people adopt healthier habits
-
Nebraska3 days agoOregon State LB transfer Dexter Foster commits to Nebraska
-
Delaware1 day agoMERR responds to dead humpback whale washed up near Bethany Beach