The top local stories this morning from KERA News:
One deadline has passed in the Texas House, and another’s just around the corner.
Lawmakers were up until the early hours of this morning to meet a deadline for House bills to get tentative approval. House bills that don’t get final approval by midnight tonight will be considered dead.
One bill facing that deadline would address affordable housing in West Dallas. House Bill 2480 from Dallas Democrat Eric Johnson would set aside a fixed percentage of new developments in south and west Dallas as affordable housing and provide some property tax relief for existing residents.
Members can try to issues alive after tonight’s deadline by tacking them on as amendments to other legislation that’s already cleared the House or Senate.
Other stories this morning:
- After a week of negotiations with senators in Austin, a deal’s been reached to fix the troubled Dallas Police & Fire Pension Fund. The next step is to draft language and then hold a hearing next week at a state Senate committee. A bill to fix the fund has already passed in the Texas House, with opposition from Mayor Mike Rawlings.
- In our Friday Conversation, we talk to NPR All Things Considered host Robert Siegel. It’s the first radio interview he’s given on his announcement that he’ll be stepping down in January.
You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:22 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM.
