Beat the Clock – 5 days remaining in session.
265 days until early voting in the Texas primary begins. (Too soon??)
Midnight on Tuesday marked a major deadline for the Texas House: Senate bills had to have a favorable vote by that time in order to proceed further. With 30 minutes to spare,campus carry was approved by the House. Two amendments were adopted—one excluding medical schools and health science centers from the legislation, and the other allowing universities to adopt limited bans in certain areas of campus. Now, the Senate and House versions of the bill will have to be reconciled before heading to the Governor’s office.
Many important bills are still working their way through conference committees and we will report on them after the session once we know for sure they have become law.
Day of the Duke: Yesterday, the Legislature still made time for a little fun. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick declared Tuesday John Wayne Day in Texas. The Capitol played host to Wayne’s children and grandchildren to mark the actor’s 108th birthday.
The conference committee report for the budget has been signed and filed. Each state agency, institutions of higher education, and our public school system is funded through this budget. Additionally, language is often contained within the individual agencies directing them to govern in specific ways.The report will need to “lay out” for 36 hours before it can be adopted by the full House and Senate. This will likely happen on Friday, the 137th day of session. The final budget will total: $209.4 billion all funds and $106.6 billion in general revenue. The details of our state budget hold all the keys on how state government will function for the next two years.
Only In Austin…
The recent Memorial Day storms brought record-breaking rainfall, flash flooding, and destruction to Central Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency in several counties and emergency responders continue to work around the clock. While the full extent of the damage is still being assessed, Texans may need to batten down the hatches once again as more thunderstorms are forecasted to hit the area later this week. Those looking to help victims of these historic floods can donate in a number of ways. There are several organizations working to provide aid to affected areas. Local relief organizations include:
Austin Disaster Relief Network
ADRN is raising donations to help flood victims that are seeking assistance by providing gift cards directly to the victims. They have also opened a warehouse at the Oak Meadows Baptist Church for donations of goods.
American Red Cross of Central Texas
The American Red Cross is taking donations in person or via check, phone call, text (text REDCROSS to 90999) or their website.
United Way of Greater Austin
Donations can be sent to United Way either by texting UWATX to 85944 or going to the website.