Lawmakers Have Busy Night At State Capitol
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AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM) - From same-sex marriage, to schools, to the money that goes into your pocket -- it was a busy night on Thursday at the State Capitol in Austin. Some bills were killed, others moved on, and another deal is still in the works.
One bill would have kept courthouses from handing out marriage licenses to gay couples. But that plan is dead for now, after Democrats used stall tactics to delay the Republican-backed proposal. It was an attempt to stop gay marriage even if the U.S. Supreme Court decides to make it legal this summer.
Academic performance at Texas schools was also a hot button issue on Thursday night. The Texas House voted to issue letter grades -- A through F -- to rate the state's public schools. The grades would be based on student performance and parent involvement. However, the Texas Senate passed a decidedly different plan that includes teacher performance.
Also, tax cuts could be coming. Gov. Greg Abbott said that property taxes could be slashed instead of reducing the state sales tax. This would means that the average homeowner would save more than $100 each year on their property taxes. Abbott would not go into detail about this plan, but has vowed to deliver more than $4 billion in tax cuts.
Finally, minimum wage will not be raised any time soon. The Texas House rejected a plan to raise minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour.
Some of these bills could make a comeback, if lawmakers can figure out a way to revive them. The session ends on June 1.
