Politics

President Barack Obama spent about six hours in Austin yesterday touring around the city on the first stop of what the White House is calling a “Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour.”

After landing mid-day in Austin, the President headed to Manor New Technology high school. The school is what’s called a STEM academy – focusing on science, technology, engineering and math.

President Barack Obama's trip to a high school and technology company in Austin today was, on the surface, all about creating jobs. But his visit was also an morale boost for Texas Democrats still looking for any statewide win to turn its fortunes around in the state.

Update: President Obama's remarks have concluded. You can see KUT News' continuing coverage of Obama in Austin here. 

Original post: President Barack Obama is schedueld to speak momentarily at Applied Materials in northeast Austin. It's part of his first stop on his “Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour.” The White House says Austin was picked as the place to start the tour because it leads the country in manufacturing and tech job growth.

Cities and counties would have one more tool to give tax breaks to Texas homeowners if a bill by an Austin lawmaker becomes law.

HJR 138 by State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, would require voters to approve it in November. That’s because it would amend the Texas Constitution, which allows local governments like cities and counties to give up to a 20 percent homestead exemption. This bill would let them give a flat-dollar exemption, too, an option that only school districts in Texas have.

President Barack Obama will be in Austin tomorrow. The stop is part of his "Middle Class Jobs & Opportunity Tour.”

A Texas lawmaker told the media this morning he's not ready to give up the fight to reform so-called payday and auto-title lending. These are typically low-dollar, high-interest loans.

State Rep. Mike Villareal, D-San Antonio, chairs the House Investments and Financial Services Committee, where the latest version of the bill is stuck. He said he's the sole member of the panel who's solidly behind the bill, and presently three members stand against it. The panel has seven members and needs to pass out of Investments and Financial Services in order to reach the House floor.