The top local stories this evening from KERA News:
The Texas Senate has approved a bill that sharply reduces gun license fees. State Senator Robert Nichols originally sought to scrap the full $140 fee for first-time licenses and the $70 charge for 5-year license renewals, but doing so would have cost Texas more than $55 million.
Other stories this evening:
State lawmakers have less money to spend this legislative session because of a downturn in the oil and gas industry, some say lawmakers should dip into the state’s savings account. Texas has at least $10 billion in its rainy day fund, which was created in the late 1980s. The Texas Tribune's executive editor Ross Ramsey breaks it down.
Some bills under consideration at the state capitol get a lot of media coverage, like the so-called bathroom and “sanctuary cities” bills. But there are many bills that don’t get as much attention. Ryan Poppe is capitol reporter for Texas Public Radio, and highlighted some of these "sleeper bills" with David Brown, the host of Texas Standard.
You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:22 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM.
