Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

A three-year process to rewrite English language arts and reading standards ended in controversy last May when board members voted on a text that was cobbled together at the last moment.

One proposal would allow certain families earning more than the income limit for the Children's Health Insurance Program to pay to join. Another would allow families to stay in children's Medicaid for a full year rather than having to reapply every six months.

The legislation would also permit schools -- but not require them -- to establish a separate program allowing incoming college freshmen to lock in tuition rates and pay the same amount for four years.

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh and state Rep. Chente Quintanilla have filed two bills that would free school districts and the county government from paying stormwater fees charged by the Public Service Board. State Reps. Norma Chávez and Joe Pickett have filed two similar bills.

Senate Bill 671 would allow an appeal process under which a lawmaker who receives agency documents under a legislative request would be able to override any confidentiality agreement the agency required them to sign if the documents are ruled to be public information.

The "compromise" measure by Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, was brought before the chamber after Patrick was unable to get Senate consideration of a bill that would have required a sonogram before an abortion. Senate Democrats and one Republican used Senate rules to block the more stringent proposal.

To hear some lawmakers discuss the matter, the increases in funding currently envisioned should propel some of the state's public universities onto the national stage in five or 10 years. Higher education leaders say the reality is more sobering.

On the House side, state Reps. Norma Chavez and Joe Pickett have passed bills which have now been sent to the Senate. However those bills are stalled because Sen. Eliot Shapleigh has refused to carry them. Shapleigh has his own stormwater bills working through the system, but since having passed the Senate, they are encountering problems on the House side.

El Paso legislators' wrangling over who gets credit for reducing local taxes has jammed up bills that would exempt El Paso County and local school districts from paying thousands in stormwater fees.

The measure by Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, would establish criteria for schools to seek millions of dollars legislators plan to make available for seven universities that want to be designated as national research powers. It passed on a 29-2 vote, but Shapleigh said the measure would penalize the University of Texas at El Paso and elevate Texas Tech University, in Duncan's hometown, and the University of Houston.

Every session, we work real hard on improving health outcomes. Across Texas, a silent epidemic of obesity is cutting lives short, raising health costs and affecting communities from El Paso to Beaumont. More and more time in class and near computers is taking children (and adults) from time with family, time to exercise—and time getting back to nature.

The Texas Senate approved legislation today that spells out benchmarks so-called emerging research universities would have to reach to qualify for extra funding.

It’s an increasingly common story in Texas. In low-income neighborhoods across the state, payday lenders are popping up on street corners and major thoroughfares at a rapid pace—from 1,513 storefronts in 2005 to more than 2,800 today. During the economic downturn, such companies as Cash America International Inc. and Ace Cash Express Inc. are racking up record profits. The largest payday lender in Texas, Fort Worth-based Cash America International, reported $1 billion in revenue for fiscal 2008—its best year ever. In all, Texans took out $2.5 billion in loans from the payday companies last year.

The senators are particularly concerned with what they see as a “revolving door” between the commission and special interests, whereby TCEQ officials often end up being employed (on very good terms) by the companies the state formerly tasked them with granting permits to.

SB 1569 landed in the committee yesterday and the members passed it out Tuesday afternoon in a 6-2 vote. Republican Reps. Wayne Christian of Center and Rob Orr of Burleson were the nays.

Texas schools would be graded with new standards – highlighting an emphasis on college readiness in high schools – while student testing would lose much of its punch in lower grades under school improvement bills the Legislature passed Wednesday.

With the measure by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, Texas would join 36 other states that have laws protecting reporters and their sources from court orders for confidential sources to be revealed.

Efforts to start consolidating state schools for the mentally disabled in favor of community-based services crumbled Tuesday as lawmakers in both chambers agreed they would be unable to pass such sweeping legislation.

A proposed compromise offered Wednesday on the politically charged voter ID proposal in the Legislature would delay the mandate until 2013, a wrinkle opposed by nearly every House Republican.

Seven state-supported universities, including three in North Texas, would be propelled toward elite tier-one status under legislation passed unanimously by the state Senate on Wednesday.