Note: This is an updated version of the Capital Highlights column for the week of Nov. 20 - 24. An earlier version was released Friday, Nov. 17, for newspapers with early deadlines this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

House kills school choice plan

Note: This is a special bulldog edition of Capital Highlights to accommodate early holiday deadlines. An updated version will be released Sunday as events dictate.

Bill passes to allow undocumented migrants arrests

Lege gets to work in fourth special session

Special session likely to end with no voucher deal

As the clock ran down  on the Legislature’s third special session, Texas House and Senate leaders exchanged barbs over Gov. Greg Abbott’s school choice bill and border security proposals, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Abbott, House deadlocked over school choice, teacher pay

Gov. Gregg Abbott and the Texas House are at loggerheads over which will come first – vouchers for parents to pay for private school tuition, or funneling more money to public schools, The Dallas Morning News reported.

Early voting now underway

Early voting is now underway for the Nov. 7 general election. Voters will decide the fate of 14 proposed amendments, including measures to provide property tax relief and raise the homestead exemption to $100,000.

A nonpartisan explanation of what each proposition entails has been produced by the Texas Legislative Council and can be found at this link: https://tinyurl.com/5n946d32.

Abbott ties voucher passage to teacher pay, school funding

Gov. Greg Abbott, just hours after the Senate initially approved a school voucher measure, said he would add teacher raises and increased public school funding to the ongoing special session agenda if the Texas Legislature passes his voucher plan, the Texas Tribune reported.

Texas employment at historic high, but jobless rate is up

For the 30th consecutive month Texas showed job growth, reaching just under 14 million jobs and outpacing the nation in its annual rate of employment growth, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

Special session to begin on Oct. 9

Gov. Greg Abbott issued a letter to legislative leaders indicating a special session will begin on Oct. 9 dealing with what he has called “school choice” but is more widely known as vouchers.

Another special session slated for October

Gov. Greg Abbott has called a third special session, this time about school choice, for next month. He is promising retribution for lawmakers who oppose his move to enact school vouchers in Texas, the Texas Tribune reported.