Elon Musk hired a dozen Texas lobbyists this year. State law keeps the extent of their influence under wraps.
How the billionaire businessman’s lobbyists helped him get so many state Legislature wins is something of a mystery. Full Story
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Texas’ public ed funding boost brings some relief but erodes districts’ independence, school leaders say
A law providing $8.5 billion in new funding for Texas public schools lacks the spending flexibility that previously let districts address their campuses’ needs as they saw fit. Full Story
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![Hank Warner teaches a pre-advanced placement algebra course for ninth graders at Bowie High School in Austin.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Robert Nichols, the most senior Texas Senate Republican, won’t run for reelection
After Nichols announced his retirement, Rep. Trent Ashby said he would run for the open seat. Full Story
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![Left: state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, on the Senate floor on April 9, 2019. Right: State Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, on the House floor on May 3, 2017.]()
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Texas creating task forces to target Permian Basin oil field thefts
Texas lawmakers passed a suite of bills that officials said are crucial to combat losses in the state’s largest oil field. Full Story
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![A semi-truck waits to turn onto Texas State Highway 158 after disposing of its load at a salt-water disposal site Tuesday, June 25, 2024, south of Midland.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Former Texas state Sen. Kelly Hancock to become acting comptroller, run for permanent job
Hancock, a North Richland Hills Republican, announced his candidacy shortly after being sworn in as chief clerk at the comptroller’s office. Full Story
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![Sen. KELLY HANCOCK, R-North Richland Hills, on the Senate floor on May 12, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Under Trump, Texas reins in border spending and shifts focus to deportations
With border crossings at record lows, state authorities are being sent to arrest people accused of committing crimes in Texas after entering the country illegally. Full Story
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![Shelby Park, occupied by the Texas National Guard and other state agencies, is seen along the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Eagle Pass.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
What the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on gender-affirming care ban means for Texas
The court split 6-3 along ideological lines on a case from Tennessee. About two dozen states have similar bans in place. Full Story
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![The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2022.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Texas again lowers restrictions on certain firearms, passes on regulations
Lawmakers passed a handful of bills aimed at easing access to guns as a new pediatric study links state legislation to increased firearm deaths. Full Story
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![San Antonio police officers collect firearms and ammunition during a gun buyback event that exchanges unused or unwanted firearms for H-E-B gift cards, at the Alamodome on Nov. 24, 2024.]()
Credit: Scott Stephen Ball for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The 2025 Texas Senate, from right to left
Here’s a look at senators, ranked from most conservative to most liberal, based on votes cast during the 2025 regular session. Full Story
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![The Texas Senate debates bills on the Senate floor at the Texas Capitol, on Monday, May 26, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas made sweeping changes to bail and parole, along with increasing penalties for stolen goods
Texas lawmakers approved a sweeping package to overhaul the state’s bail system, a longtime priority of Gov. Greg Abbott’s. Full Story
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![An empty visitation window at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Jan. 31, 2024.]()
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Analysis: The 2025 Texas House, from right to left
Here’s a look at House members, ranked from most conservative to most liberal, based on votes cast during the 2025 regular session. Full Story
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![The Texas House on May 23, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers laid the foundation for a housing boom. Here’s how.
The Legislature passed laws allowing smaller homes on smaller lots and making it harder for neighbors to block new housing. Full Story
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![Houses in a North Austin neighborhood on Oct. 9, 2020.]()
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Top Texas donor slams Speaker Burrows, House members after legislative setbacks
Texans for Lawsuit Reform is threatening to primary House members who helped kill their major legislative priorities. Full Story
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![After coming up empty in the Texas Legislature this year, the state's biggest political donor, Texans for Lawsuit Reform, put out a blistering statement blaming House members for stifling its agenda. The letter blamed a slew of House members, including Houston Speaker Dustin Burrows, top, and freshman Rep. Mitch Little.]()
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See how your representatives in the Texas Legislature voted on this year’s major bills
Our interactive tool allows you to search how state lawmakers voted on the most consequential proposals debated during the session, which ended June 2. Full Story
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![Six boxes with lines and rectangles representing bills and votes for the session on a gray background. There's a large address bar with a pointer in the middle.]()
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Amarillo breaks ground on psychiatric hospital, part of the state’s $1.5B investment in mental health
The facility will bring mental health resources closer to the largely rural region that’s home to nearly 436,000 people. Full Story
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![Artist rendering of the new Panhandle State Hospital in Amarillo, expected to be completed in 2027.]()
Credit: West Texas A&M University website -
Texas legalizes shooting invasive sheep from a helicopter
Aoudad sheep are joining the short list of animals Texas lawmakers allow to be shot from a helicopter, along with coyotes and feral hogs. Full Story
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![Barbary sheep, also known as Aoudad sheep, were introduced to Texas from their native habitat in North Africa mid-20th century. Popular among hunters, considered an invasive species by farmers and ranchers, the Texas Legislature has added them to the list of animals that can be hunted helicopters, along with feral pigs an coyotes.]()
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Texas lawmakers pull funding for child identification kits again after newsrooms report they don’t work
For the second time, lawmakers cut funding for kits meant to help find missing kids after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune documented the lack of evidence that the kits work. Full Story
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![The House chamber at the Texas Capitol during a session.]()
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Speaker Dustin Burrows, once tagged as “liberal,” kept skeptics at bay by leaning into a conservative agenda
At the same time, some Democrats acknowledged the Lubbock Republican let them leave their mark on some of the GOP bills they disagreed with. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, gavels out the 89th Texas Legislature at the Texas Capitol on Sine Die, Monday, June 2, 2025]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Meet the next 20 speakers joining TribFest 2025
Michael Curry, Joe Lonsdale, Beto O’Rourke, Katie Phang and Margaret Spellings, among many others, join us this November in downtown Austin Full Story
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Voters will have final say on billions of tax cuts for Texas homeowners, businesses
Texas is slated to spend $51 billion on property tax cuts over the next two years. Some worry that’s unsustainable. Full Story
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![An aerial view of new construction homes in a subdivision next to farmland and an irrigation canal in Edinburg, Texas on May 12, 2025.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune