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Gov. Greg Abbott, in a State of the State address last Thursday, outlined his seven top priorities for the ongoing legislative session before an invitation-only audience at a manufacturing facility in San Marcos, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Those priorities include $4 billion for border security, property tax relief and more school choice for parents, which he called “education freedom.” He avoided use of the word “vouchers.’

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Gov. Greg Abbot has issued a disaster declaration for Texas counties affected by the early February ice storm and is seeking a federal declaration as well for areas in Southeast Texas affected by rare January tornadoes. The ice storm caused considerable damage to property and power outages in the affected areas. The declaration for ice-storm damaged counties includes Denton, Hays, Henderson, Milam, Smith, Travis and Williamson counties.

Editor’s note: This is a scheduile of work beng planned for Feb. 5-11.

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A group of House Democrats is proposing a $15,000 raise for the state’s teachers and a 25 percent raise for other state employees by using some of the state’s record budget surplus. State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, announced the bill last week and was joined by Democratic legislators and teachers, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

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For the Texas House and Senate, there is not much daylight between each chamber’s priorities in this year’s legislative session. Leaders say the focus will be on property tax relief, border security and employee raises. Preliminary budgets from both chambers were released last week, the Austin American-Statesman reported, with a record $288.7 billion budget for the next two years. The money in the budget is made up of $93.7 billion in federal funds, $130.1 billion in state general revenue funds, and $64.9 billion in other funds.

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick released Senate committee assignments for the 88th Legislature this week with Sen. Bryan Hughes (R-Tyler) appointed chairman of both the committees on State Affairs and on Jurisprudence.

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LUFKIN — For 18 years, East Texans have been represented in Congress by a prominent Republican known more for propagating conspiracy theories than for passing laws. But the region’s new representative, Congressman-elect Nathaniel Moran, plans to strike a different tone in Washington, D.C.

AUSTIN – This month, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) answered Governor Greg Abbott’s call to action for state agencies by launching a new public awareness campaign to highlight the dangers of fentanyl. The multi-pronged campaign includes posting informational signage in DPS buildings, public service announcements at driver license offices statewide and publishing a webpage offering valuable resources.

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Early voting in the May 24 primary run-off elections ends Friday, May 20. Under state law, voters who cast ballots in either party’s primary election must vote only in the same party’s run-off election. Voters who did not cast ballots in the primary may vote in either party’s run-off election.

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Early voting in the May 24 primary run-off elections ends Friday, May 20. Under state law, voters who cast ballots in either party’s primary election must vote only in the same party’s run-off election. Voters who did not cast ballots in the primary may vote in either party’s run-off election.

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Early voting in the May 24 primary run-off elections ends Friday, May 20. Under state law, voters who cast ballots in either party’s primary election must vote only in the same party’s run-off election. Voters who did not cast ballots in the primary may vote in either party’s run-off election.

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Early voting in the May 24 primary run-off elections ends Friday, May 20. Under state law, voters who cast ballots in either party’s primary election must vote only in the same party’s run-off election. Voters who did not cast ballots in the primary may vote in either party’s run-off election.

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Early voting in the May 24 primary run-off elections ends Friday, May 20. Under state law, voters who cast ballots in either party’s primary election must vote only in the same party’s run-off election. Voters who did not cast ballots in the primary may vote in either party’s run-off election.

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Early voting in the May 24 primary run-off elections ends Friday, May 20. Under state law, voters who cast ballots in either party’s primary election must vote only in the same party’s run-off election. Voters who did not cast ballots in the primary may vote in either party’s run-off election.

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AUSTIN — Texas Secretary of State John Scott is encouraging all eligible Texas voters to make sure they are registered to vote by Oct. 11 to participate in the upcoming Nov. 8 General Election. Texas law requires eligible voters to be registered 30 days before Election Day, and since the 30th day before Nov. 8 falls on the Sunday before Columbus Day, eligible Texas voters effectively have two extra days to register this year (Texas Election Code Sec. 13.143(e)). Secretary Scott urged Texas voters to visit the state’s official voting web site — VoteTexas.gov — for accurate and comprehensive information on voting in Texas.

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Heavy rains through Texas last week caused flooding, particularly in the Dallas area, prompting Gov. Greg Abbott to issue a disaster declaration for 23 affected counties. Texans who were affected by the rain, which dumped more than 10 inches in Dallas, are encouraged to file insurance claims…

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Early voting in the May 24 primary run-off elections ends Friday, May 20. Under state law, voters who cast ballots in either party’s primary election must vote only in the same party’s run-off election. Voters who did not cast ballots in the primary may vote in either party’s run-off election.

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Early voting in the May 24 primary run-off elections ends Friday, May 20. Under state law, voters who cast ballots in either party’s primary election must vote only in the same party’s run-off election. Voters who did not cast ballots in the primary may vote in either party’s run-off election.

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Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar is reminding shoppers they can save money on clothes and school supplies during the state’s sales tax holiday on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 5-7.

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Early voting in the May 24 primary run-off elections ends Friday, May 20. Under state law, voters who cast ballots in either party’s primary election must vote only in the same party’s run-off election. Voters who did not cast ballots in the primary may vote in either party’s run-off election.

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As we cross the halfway point of July, wildfire danger continues to increase across the state. On Friday, Texas A&M Forest Service firefighters responded to 15 new wildfires that burned 651 acres. As of Sunday, there were eight active wildfires; the largest was the Nethery Road Fire in Kimble County, involving an estimated 3,500 acres. It has been 70% contained.

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The Texas Department of Transportation is seeking public feedback on the draft Unified Transportation Program for 2023. This program is the state’s 10-year plan for transportation projects.