Alex Driggars

1 week ago | statesman.com | Alex Driggars

A legislative incentives proposal with a star-studded cast of supporters, aimed at pumping billions of dollars into a Texas movie-making fund, passed the state Senate on Wednesday, potentially setting the stage for the Lone Star State to become the next big filmmaking hub. Senate Bill 22 by Sen.

1 week ago | yahoo.com | Alex Driggars

While state senators in the eastern wing of the Capitol on Monday were debating a bill that would repeal regulations on short-barreled firearms like the one that was used in the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting, lawmakers, gun regulation advocates and gun violence survivors held a news conference across the Rotunda vowing to fight for “gun sense.” “We stand here as survivors, we stand here as Texans and we stand here as advocates, questioning why we're here to discuss giving more access to...

1 week ago | statesman.com | Alex Driggars

The bill aims to ensure multiple agencies are all working from the same playbook when responding to critical incidents like an active shooting. A bill by state Rep. Don McLaughlin, who was Uvalde's mayor during the 2022 deadly massacre at Robb Elementary School, that aims to better prepare law enforcement agencies to respond to mass shootings received a resounding endorsement from a Texas House panel Wednesday afternoon.

2 weeks ago | statesman.com | Alex Driggars

It looked like St. Patrick's Day came a few weeks late at the Texas Capitol. Hundreds of people filled a committee room and two overflow rooms in a Texas House office building Monday for a hearing over a pair of bills that would restrict the sale of consumable hemp products in the state. Many witnesses wore green clothing with bright green ribbons pinned to their lapels, signifying their opposition to the proposed bans on THC, the intoxicating element found in cannabis and hemp.

2 weeks ago | statesman.com | Alex Driggars

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, in touting the Texas Senate's quick pace in passing priority bills this legislative session, is urging the Texas House and its speaker to get moving. The “steamroller” Senate, as Patrick said, has moved quickly, passing around 200 bills two-and-a-half months into the session. The House, which has passed 10 bills thus far, typically moves at a more measured tempo with 150 representatives considering and debating proposals compared with the Senate’s 31 members.