U.S. Senate Republicans block federal voting rights legislation that would override Texas’ restrictions

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• TribCast: Is the Texas Legislature finished for 2021?

  by Matthew Watkins and Michael Rey de Leon 5 hours ago

  On this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Alexa, James and Patrick about the end of the Texas Legislature’s third special session and whether there will be a fourth. Full Story 

• Texans will decide eight proposed amendments to the state Constitution on Nov. 2. Here’s what you need to know.

  by Andrew Zhang Updated: 6 hours ago

  Two proposed amendments — one regarding religious services and another related to nursing home visitors — stem from restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early voting begins Oct. 18. Full Story 

• Texas state Sen. Kel Seliger, a Republican willing to buck his party leadership, will not seek reelection

  by James Barragán 7 hours ago

  Seliger has served in the Senate since 2005 and led the higher education committee. He was seen as a champion of public education and local control but was derided as too soft on social conservative issues near the end of his tenure. Full Story 

• As Texas’ deadly third wave of coronavirus slows, about 9 million eligible Texans still aren’t fully vaccinated

  by Texas Tribune Staff Updated: Oct. 20, 2021

  The Texas Tribune is using daily data from the Texas Department of State Health Services to track coronavirus vaccinations, cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Full Story 

• Analysis: Texas legislators set the table for the 2022 elections

  by Ross Ramsey Oct. 20, 2021

  The controversial issues you’ve heard Texas lawmakers debate for most of the year aren’t going away; many of them will be argued all over again during the 2022 elections. Full Story 

• UT Rio Grande Valley to offer free tuition and fees to students with family income $100,000 or less

  by Kate McGee Oct. 20, 2021

  UTRGV’s decision to offer free tuition to more students comes after more students’ families lost jobs during the pandemic. Full Story 

• Republicans say Texas’ new political maps are “race blind.” To some voters of color, that translates as political invisibility.

  by Alexa Ura Oct. 20, 2021

  With partisan fervor, Republicans drew new maps for Congress and the Legislature that dilute the power of voters of color. Now the lawsuits begin, as groups that feel marginalized battle for representation in the halls of power. Full Story 

• Five takeaways from Texas’ third special legislative session

  by James Barragán and Cassandra Pollock Oct. 19, 2021

  Gov. Greg Abbott’s office says there’s no plan for a fourth special session at this time. If this was the final special session of the year, what did we learn from it? Full Story 

• White House calls Texas’ bill targeting transgender student athletes “hateful”

  by Allyson Waller Oct. 19, 2021

  The comment further hints at a possible fight between the state and the Biden administration over transgender rights. Full Story 

• Gov. Greg Abbott didn’t get everything he wanted in the special session. Will he call lawmakers back for more?

  by Patrick Svitek Oct. 19, 2021

  The latest special session ended without lawmakers passing two of Abbott’s priorities — legislation to increase an illegal-voting penalty and to ban vaccine mandates by any entity in Texas. Full Story 

• After Texas and other states passed new voting restrictions, federal bills could expand ballot access. Here’s what you need to know.

  by Bethany Irvine Oct. 19, 2021

  The U.S. Senate is expected to vote this week on the Freedom to Vote Act, which would supersede some of Texas’ new elections law. Full Story 

• After months of store closures and layoffs, border businesses eager to welcome back Mexican customers Nov. 8

  by Uriel J. García Oct. 19, 2021

  For 19 months, business owners along the Texas-Mexico border have seen a drastic drop in customers because of COVID-19 travel restrictions. With land borders scheduled to reopen Nov. 8, they are banking on a return to pre-pandemic sales. Full Story 

• Houston state Rep. Dan Huberty, who spearheaded Texas’ 2019 public education overhaul in Legislature, to retire

  by Cassandra Pollock Oct. 19, 2021

  Earlier this year, Huberty was arrested in Montgomery County after he crashed his car into another vehicle and failed a sobriety test. The lawmaker was driving home from the Capitol in late April. Full Story 

• It’s cheap, easy to make and in demand overseas. So why can’t this Texas-born COVID-19 vaccine break into the U.S. market?

  by Karen Brooks Harper Oct. 19, 2021

  A Houston vaccine team would like a U.S. distributor but for now focuses its efforts abroad to inoculate those in countries where COVID-19 variants surface more quickly. Full Story 

• Texas legislators pass most — but not all — of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priority measures in final flurry of lawmaking

  by Cassandra Pollock and James Barragán Updated: Oct. 19, 2021

  Lawmakers approved new political maps and decided how to spend COVID-19 relief money. But they didn’t pass bills about vaccine mandates or the criminal penalty for illegal voting. Full Story 

• Texas bill to block COVID-19 vaccine mandates for employers failed in Legislature after business groups rallied against it

  by Mitchell Ferman and James Barragán Updated: Oct. 19, 2021

  A prohibition on vaccine mandates was one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priorities for the special session, but it did not have enough support in the Legislature. Full Story