Joe Straus Seeks To Tackle Education Issues With ‘Interim Charges’ To Texas House Members

This week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune.

By Rhonda FanningSeptember 16, 2017 12:33 pm, , ,

Time for the week that was in Texas politics with Emily Ramshaw, editor-in-chief of the Texas Tribune.

The prospect of a deal between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats on DACA and border security continued to roil Washington this week. It’s still unclear whether a firm deal exists, and what its elements are.

Speaker Joe Straus has announced what he calls “interim charges” for members of the Texas House. The initiatives are designed to address issues Straus feels are critical now, even though the next regular session of the legislature won’t occur until 2019.

Ramshaw says Straus is focusing on education, as well as issues related to recovery in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

“I think the big challenge with interim charges, particularly in a national crisis like this,” she says “is that it’s a long time until legislators meet again. So there are things that need to happen now. Families and kids are having their live turned upside down right now.”

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says his city needs more revenue to fund the Harvey recovery process. He has proposed an emergency 8.9 percent property tax hike.

Listen to the full interview in the audio player above.