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Transparency bills pass in tough session
The 86th session of the Texas Legislature was the usual biennial adventure in high-stakes political poker and downright sneakiness. But in the midst of it all, lawmakers did something we hoped they’d do in 2017 — pass major transparency reform bills to address a series of destructive appeals court rulings.
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Property tax reform bill passes with amendment eliminating important public notice requirement
Newspapers took a torpedo from a Memorial Day weekend sneak attack on public notice in SB 2, the high-profile property tax reform bill.
Legislative leaders, well aware that a firestorm would erupt if they operated under normal rules, avoided the messiness of public hearings, newspaper editorials and grassroots involvement with a parliamentary maneuver.
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Transparency reforms find support in legislature
With only 12 days remaining in the current session of the Texas Legislature, we’re optimistic that transparency reforms championed by TPA for years may finally become law.
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Time to sign up for TCCJ Revenue Conference
Time to register for "Revenue Strategies: Tactics What Work for Texas Community Newspapers," a one-day conference June 21 at the Hangar Hotel in Fredericksburg.
The event is jointly sponsored by the Texas Center for Community Journalism and the Texas Press Association.
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Transparency bills are alive and well as session wanes
Pro-transparency bills supported by the Texas Press Association are alive and well with less than a month remaining in the legislative session. We’reoptimistic that lawmakers will pass long-overduereforms, but it’s still too early to celebrate.
Analysis by Donnis Baggett, Texas Press Association
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Under New Employment Advertising Rule, Americans Need Not Apply
(News Media Association has given reprint permission to the following op-ed. Please note that this action is pending on the Federal level, not state. Please direct any comments you have to your U.S. Representative.)
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How will the Department of Labor’s new proposed rules for overtime affect community newspapers?
The federal Department of Labor is proposing an increase in the base salary level of exempt employees who work primarily by salary and do not receive overtime pay. The increase would be about a 50% jump in a single year from $23,660 to $35,308 annually.
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Yesterday's News: Recalling women's pages
While community news and lifestyle pages have replaced the "Women's News" pages of past decades, many in the newspaper business recall the kind of news discussed in this presentation at a TPA convention 80 years ago.
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Membership support vital as session passes halfway mark
The sunshine is at last breaking through the clouds of Texas government more than halfway through the 2019 legislative session.
Analysis by Donnis Baggett, Texas Press Association
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TPA welcomes new associate member
Award winning photographer Joe Duty is a new associate member of Texas Press Association.
TPA associate membership is extended to firms engaged in the sale or distribution of newspaper supplies or services directly related to the production of newspapers, commercial printing firms, advertising agencies and departments of journalism in recognized schools and colleges.
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Palestine Herald-Press wins Scripps-Howard award
The Palestine Herald-Press won a Scripps-Howard award in the opinion category for editorials written by Editor Jeffery Gerritt.
The “What Are They Hiding?” series included editorials that examined two issues with local impact: how an athletic commission treated a football player and the state’s seeming rush to execute death-row prisoners.
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Revenue conference set June 21
Sales training by Ryan Dohrn will be featured at a one-day revenue conference June 21 sponsored by the Texas Newspaper Foundation.
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Register now for Robert Burns Memorial Golf Tournament
The Robert Burns Memorial Golf Tournament, sponsored by CenturyLink, is set June 20 in Fredericksburg.
Click here for a registration form.
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TPA pushes for transparency reform
Legislative sessions are always hectic, but the 2019 session is one of the busiest ever for the Texas Press Association. As of the March 8 filing deadline for regular legislation, lawmakers filed 7,081 bills. That figure does not include 1,524 resolutions covering everything from birthday congratulations to calls for constitutional amendments.
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White Birch Paper ceases newsprint production at Bear Island facility
GREENWICH, Conn., (Press release) - White Birch Paper announced it will cease production of newsprint effective immediately at the Bear Island facility in Ashland, Va.
