https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/karen-brooks-harper/The latest news by Karen Brooks Harper.enMon, 19 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/19/texas-schools-property-taxes/Gov. Greg Abbott has thrown his weight behind the idea being pushed by an influential conservative think tank. Many school leaders are worried.Karen Brooks HarperMon, 19 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/19/texas-schools-property-taxes/A neighborhood in Austin, in 2017.A neighborhood in Austin, in 2017.Shelby Knowles/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/08/texas-legislature-health-bills/Pregnant moms on Medicaid will get health care coverage for a year, patients will get more detailed billing and nurses will get help with school loans. But efforts failed to gain steam for legalizing fentanyl test strips, increasing the pool of mental health professionals who accept Medicaid and expanding Medicaid benefits to more Texans.Stephen Simpson, Eleanor Klibanoff and Karen Brooks HarperThu, 08 Jun 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/08/texas-legislature-health-bills/Christa Marek, owner of the Learning Tree child care center in Yoakum, holds her granddaughter at the center on Sept. 13, 2022.Learning Tree owner Christa Marek holds her granddaughter at the Learning Tree childcare center in Yoakum, on Sept. 13, 2022.Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/07/texas-budget-balanced/Before Abbott can review the budget that will direct the state’s spending for the next two years, the comptroller has to certify that it doesn’t spend more money than the state expects to bring in.Karen Brooks HarperWed, 07 Jun 2023 12:31:46 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/07/texas-budget-balanced/Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar discusses the biennial revenue estimate with audience members at Texas Tribune’s Studio 919 in Austin on Jan. 9.Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar discusses the biennial revenue estimate with audience members at Texas Tribune’s Studio 919 in Austin on Jan. 9, 2023.Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/06/texas-senate-special-session/Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says the Senate won’t accept a property tax relief bill the lower chamber left behind before adjourning for the special session. A bill targeting migrant smuggling also appears imperiled.Karen Brooks Harper and Uriel J. GarcíaTue, 06 Jun 2023 12:12:21 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/06/texas-senate-special-session/Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recaps the 2023 regular legislative session at Texas Public Policy Foundation in downtown Austin last week.Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recaps the 88th Legislative Session with Sherry Sylvester, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, at TPPF Headquarters in downtown Austin, on May 30, 2023.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/01/texas-property-tax-cut-benefits/Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan back a plan that spreads property tax relief among all landowners, while Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s proposal would give homeowners a bigger boost than businesses.Joshua Fechter and Karen Brooks HarperThu, 01 Jun 2023 17:41:41 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/01/texas-property-tax-cut-benefits/Homes in Austin’s Mueller development.A number of homes an Austin's Mueller development have added solar panels, thanks to hefty local and federal incentives.Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/28/business-economic-incentives-chapter-313/After the previous, widely criticized program expired in December, lawmakers worked hard to craft a plan that won overwhelming support in both chambers.Karen Brooks HarperSun, 28 May 2023 23:11:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/28/business-economic-incentives-chapter-313/Dozens of stacked oil drilling rigs sit in a yard just north of Interstate 20 between Midland and Odessa.Dozens of stacked oil drilling rigs sit in a yard just north of Interstate 20 between Midland and Odessa.Jerod Foster for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/27/texas-legislature-budget/About $17 billion worth of commitments lawmakers made in the new budget were snagged in policy fights between the Texas House and Senate on Saturday night.Karen Brooks HarperSat, 27 May 2023 21:53:36 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/27/texas-legislature-budget/An aerial view of the Capitol in Austin on Jan. 6, 2022.An aerial view of the Capitol in Austin on Jan. 6, 2022.Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/24/texas-legislature-budget-compromise/The proposal would leave billions of anticipated tax revenue untouched at a time when the state has more money coming in than lawmakers are constitutionally allowed to spend.Karen Brooks Harper and Joshua FechterThu, 25 May 2023 13:57:43 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/24/texas-legislature-budget-compromise/The state Capitol in Austin on Feb. 9.The state Capitol in Austin on Feb. 9, 2023.Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/24/texas-legislature-business-incentives/Lawmakers hope to hammer out a program to replace the embattled Chapter 313 program before the legislative session ends Monday.Karen Brooks HarperWed, 24 May 2023 19:04:08 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/24/texas-legislature-business-incentives/An oilfield in Pecos County in February.An oilfield scene from Pecos County on Feb. 4, 2023.Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/21/texas-legislature-tax-abatement/Lawmakers are trying hard to come up with an agreement on how to replace an embattled 20-year tax abatement program for big companies that expired in December.Karen Brooks HarperSun, 21 May 2023 18:00:13 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/21/texas-legislature-tax-abatement/Senate proposal excludes wind, solar and battery power storage projects from being able to participate in a new economic incentive program.A working pump jack sits near wind turbines on the Cline Shale near Maryneal, south of Sweetwater, on April 16, 2013.Mark Graham for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/19/texas-legislature-business-tax-incentives/The two chambers have 10 days to cut a deal before the end of the legislative session, and they are miles apart on some of the very foundations of a corporate tax-abatement bill considered to be a priority for Republican state leaders.Karen Brooks HarperFri, 19 May 2023 11:49:20 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/19/texas-legislature-business-tax-incentives/A pumpjack operates nearby a house under construction in a new housing development on March 14, 2022 north of Midland.A pumpjack operates nearby a house under construction in a new housing development on March 14, 2022 north of Midland.Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/15/texas-legislature-budget/With two weeks to go before the legislative session adjourns, chief budget writers still have not announced compromises on some of the largest fights facing the Texas Legislature.Karen Brooks HarperMon, 15 May 2023 21:39:22 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/15/texas-legislature-budget/The state Capitol in Austin on Feb. 9, 2023The state Capitol in Austin on Feb. 9, 2023.Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/12/texas-legislature-house-bill-deadline/It was a night of frustration, retaliation and, for some, elation as the stroke of midnight spelled doom for a lot of legislation.James Barragán and Karen Brooks HarperFri, 12 May 2023 00:04:05 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/12/texas-legislature-house-bill-deadline/House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, surveys the House floor during a break in the action on an important deadline day on May 11, 2023.House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, surveys the chamber during a break in the action on deadline day May 11, 2023.Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/10/texas-legislature-border-funding/Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle threw their support behind a new requirement that the unit use only commissioned peace officers for enforcement actions.Karen Brooks HarperWed, 10 May 2023 17:33:27 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/10/texas-legislature-border-funding/Texas Department of Public Safety agents arrest an undocumented migrant for trespassing private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville, Texas on Nov. 9, 2021. Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas TribuneDepartment of Public Safety agents arrest an undocumented migrant for trespassing private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville, Texas on Nov. 9, 2021. Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas TribuneVerónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune/ProPublicahttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/09/texas-legislature-budget-day-care/Three years after the COVID-19 pandemic upset the fragile child care industry, about a third of the state’s child care providers remain closed.Karen Brooks HarperTue, 09 May 2023 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/09/texas-legislature-budget-day-care/Child care providers and families in Texas join Monday’s nationwide “Day Without Child Care,” rallying for greater investment in day care and early education, at the south steps of the Capitol in Austin.Childcare providers and families in Texas joined the nationwide “Day Without Child Care,” rallying for greater investment in daycare and early education, at the south steps of the Capitol on May 8, 2023.Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/04/texas-chapter-313-tax-incentive-plan/During the floor debate for a plan to replace the expired Chapter 313 program, House members added that the new version of the incentive must require companies to pay higher wages and create stiffer penalties for noncompliance.Karen Brooks HarperThu, 04 May 2023 19:17:26 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/05/04/texas-chapter-313-tax-incentive-plan/A drilling rig in Pecos County on Feb. 4, 2023. New legislation, dubbed the Texas Jobs and Security Act, won preliminary approval on Thursday and would provide tax incentives for companies that come to or expand operations in Texas.A drilling rig in Pecos County on Feb. 4, 2023. Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/27/texas-legislature-fentanyl-test-strips/Stuck in committee, the test-strip legislation has support from Gov. Greg Abbott and bipartisan lawmakers, who see it as a way to save lives.James Barragán and Karen Brooks HarperThu, 27 Apr 2023 16:52:41 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/27/texas-legislature-fentanyl-test-strips/Advocates for a bill to legalize fentanyl test strips blamed state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston — shown during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on April 3, 2019 — for committee delays on the legislation.State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on April 3, 2019.Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/17/texas-senate-budget/There are $5 billion and several political wedges standing between the House and Senate plans, which now move into conference committee with less than five weeks before session ends.Karen Brooks HarperMon, 17 Apr 2023 15:58:54 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/17/texas-senate-budget/Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick presides over the Senate at the Capitol in Austin on April 6, 2023.Lt. Governor Dan Patrick presides over the Senate at the Capitol in Austin on April 06, 2023.Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/12/texas-senate-budget/The proposal for the 2024-25 budget cycle includes $142.1 billion in general revenue spending — about $5 billion higher than the proposal approved last week by the Texas House — at a time when lawmakers have a historic $32.7 billion surplus at their disposal this session.Karen Brooks HarperWed, 12 Apr 2023 16:32:55 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/12/texas-senate-budget/The Texas Capitol on June 12, 2017.State Capitol in the late afternoon on June 12, 2017.Austin Price for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/11/texas-medical-marijuana/The bipartisan legislation is an expansion on the state’s 2015 “Compassionate Use” law, which has allowed a growing number of patients to legally use cannabis to treat debilitating symptoms of conditions such as epilepsy, autism, cancer and PTSD.Karen Brooks Harper and Raul Trey LopezTue, 11 Apr 2023 18:50:17 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/11/texas-medical-marijuana/An engineer at Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation in South Austin tests for impurities on April 30, 2021.An engineer at Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation in South Austin tests for impurities on April 30, 2021.Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune