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Texas property tax bill excludes divorced, LGBTQ couples from getting relief

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Texas property tax bill excludes divorced, LGBTQ couples from getting relief


A brand new Texas Home invoice that gives property tax reduction based mostly on the scale of a household excludes LGBTQ {couples} and divorced dad and mom with youngsters, amongst different events, from getting the tax benefit.

Texas Home Invoice 2889, launched this week by state Rep. Bryan Slaton (R), would provide a homestead tax credit score to “sure married {couples}” within the state with both organic or adopted youngsters of any age.

Qualifying {couples} beneath the invoice are entitled to annual tax reduction comparable to the scale of their household, with 4 youngsters equal to a doable 40 % property tax discount. {Couples} with 10 or extra youngsters could pay no property tax in any respect, in keeping with the invoice.

However the GOP-backed laws doesn’t suggest granting tax reduction to all Texas households, and solely {couples} in heterosexual marriages are entitled to advantages. {Couples} with at the least one companion who has been divorced are additionally ineligible. {Couples} who had or adopted youngsters earlier than they had been married can also’t use these youngsters to enhance their tax legal responsibility.

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“Supporting Texas means supporting Texas households,” Slaton wrote this week on social media. “Households are the constructing blocks of society. We should help households by making it simpler for them to have and lift youngsters.”

“With HB 2889, Texas will begin saying: ‘Get married, keep married, and be fruitful and multiply,’” Slaton added, a reference to a Christian sermon on marriage.

In a information launch this week, Slaton mentioned his invoice intends to carry the state’s falling delivery charge by establishing monetary incentives for child-rearing. The proposed regulation is impressed by insurance policies enacted in Poland and Hungary, he mentioned.

Slaton didn’t immediately acknowledge that his invoice makes positive to exclude same-sex {couples} and people who have been divorced and remarried, which the Bible considers to be sins. Throughout this legislative session, Slaton has also introduced bills to bar minors from attending drag performances and classify gender-affirming well being take care of transgender youth as baby abuse beneath state regulation.

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In June, the Texas Republican Social gathering adopted a platform recognizing homosexuality as an “irregular way of life alternative” and opposing “all efforts to validate transgender identification.”





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Texas

Texas basketball: Longhorns open final stretch of non-conference play with a blowout win

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Texas basketball: Longhorns open final stretch of non-conference play with a blowout win


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Back at Moody Center for just the second time this month, No. 6 Texas crushed La Salle in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

Senior forward Taylor Jones recorded her third double-double performance of the season, and Kyla Oldacre and Justice Carlton respectively scored 18 and 17 points in a 111-49 victory. With two games left until its Southeastern Conference opener, Texas is now 11-1.

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The Longhorns will next host South Dakota State (10-2) on Sunday afternoon.

“We’ve got a monster on Sunday. South Dakota State is really good and well-coached. They’re always an NCAA tournament team. They win their league every year. So we’ve got to sharpen up a little bit and be ready on Sunday,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said. “My concern on Sunday is that my kids are going to have one foot out the door ready for Christmas break, and sometimes you can do that against the three-name directional school. You (can’t) get away with that on Sunday.”

The 62-point win was the second-most lopsided victory of UT’s season, but the game was competitive in the first quarter. La Salle (6-6) even led twice before the first media timeout was called.

During that first quarter, Texas leaned on the depth it has often boasted about but not always used this season. Eleven Longhorns played in the first quarter, and Schaefer made his first substitutions less than three minutes into the game.

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Reserve guard Jordana Codio, who had not played in a first half this season, gave UT a lead it wouldn’t relinquish when she sank a 3-pointer with 5:38 left in the frame. A junior, Codio finished with seven points over a career-high 17 minutes.

“That was the game plan,” Schaefer said. “Jordana’s had four really good days, she’s earned it. … She’s doing what Shay had to do her first few years. She’s over there on the men’s practice team, and she dominated our team. So she deserved the opportunity. She came in and did exactly what we needed, which was give us some juice.”

Texas exited the first half with a 19-12 advantage and then outscored La Salle by a 38-9 margin in the second quarter. The Longhorns’ lead swelled to as many as 67 points in the second half.

While playing just 14 minutes, Jones scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against the undersized Explorers. Jones and fellow post players Oldacre and Carlton led Texas to a 70-14 advantage in paint points. The Longhorns also got a combined 21 points and 11 assists from point guards Rori Harmon and Bryanna Preston while All-American forward Madison Booker had 10 points and six rebounds.

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Aryss Macktoon and Ivy Fox each scored seven points to lead La Salle.

Before Tuesday’s game, members of the UT basketball team received rings to celebrate the championship they won at last season’s Big 12 tournament. Nine players remain from that team.



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Texas electors cast ballots for Trump, Vance on Tuesday

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Texas electors cast ballots for Trump, Vance on Tuesday


Members of the Texas Electoral College met at the state capitol building in Austin on Tuesday to cast their 40 electoral votes for president.

The office of Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson reported all 40 electoral votes were cast for President-elect Donald J. Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

The vote, the secretary’s office said, reflects “the will of the Texas voters in the 2024 General Election.”

Nelson presided over the proceedings in the Texas House Chamber. In an address to the electors, Nelson emphasized the historical significance of their duty.

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“Today, you join a distinguished line of Texans who have served as electors—a role vital to the strength of our democracy,” Nelson said. “This event marks the culmination of months of effort to ensure free, fair, and secure elections.”

The event was broadcast live through Texas House media and can be watched here.



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Newly filed bill could make recreational marijuana legal in Texas — with these limitations

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Newly filed bill could make recreational marijuana legal in Texas — with these limitations


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Texas may join several states in legalizing recreational marijuana if a bill is passed in the next legislative session.

If passed, the bill would let adults ages 21 and older possess, use and transport marijuana for personal use, up to 2.5 ounces. Up to ten ounces of marijuana could be possessed legally if stored in a secure location.

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It would also require cannabis products to be clearly labeled and have child-resistant packaging, WFAA reports.

State Rep. Jessica Gonzalez (D-Dallas) filed the bill in November, to be considered during the next legislative session. The next session runs from Jan. 5 to June 2, 2025. If the bill passes, it will go into effect Sept. 1, 2025.

The bill would have limitations. Smoking marijuana in public would remain illegal, as would smoking in a vehicle on a public road.

Texas would join 24 other states in legalizing recreational marijuana. The Lone Star State established a medical marijuana program through the Compassionate Use Program in 2015 and is among the 38 states that allow it for medical use.

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However, it’s unlikely that the new bill will be passed as Texas officials continue to tighten regulations on marijuana issues statewide.

Recreational marijuana bill filed after Texas AG files lawsuit against Dallas

Around the time Rep. Gonzalez filed the bill, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton added Dallas to the list of cities he is suing for the decriminalization of cannabis. The lawsuit came shortly after 67% of Dallas voters approved Proposition R, also known as the “Dallas Freedom Act.” The law amends the city’s charter and prevents police from arresting or citing individuals for possessing up to 4 ounces of cannabis, except in cases involving felony investigations tied to violence or narcotics.

The measure also prohibits officers from using the smell of cannabis as probable cause for searches or seizures and restricts city funds and resources from being used to test cannabis-related substances to determine whether they meet the legal definition of cannabis.

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Before the vote, Dallas had been one of the largest U.S. cities that had not decriminalized cannabis possession.

Texas Lt. Gov. moves to ban sale of all THC products

Just weeks ago, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick launched an effort to pass Senate Bill 3, which would ban all forms of consumable tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from being sold, according to a news release from his office. As president of the Senate, Patrick has a strong influence over which legislation is heard. The bill’s low number suggests it will be among the first to be debated in the next legislative session.



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