Analysis: At the top of Texas government, three-part harmony

Texas leaders are promising property tax relief during this year's legislative session. It's unlikely that will lower your taxes, but it might slow future increases.

We're livestreaming our conversation with House Speaker Dennis Bonnen in Lake Jackson.

The idea of tying a portion of funding to test scores appeals to some who want to improve student performance, but it enrages educators who say it will encourage teaching to the test.

The Texas House wants to give the state prison system $160 million more to help care for inmates. The Senate wants to cut funding.

Texas moved to exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid years ago after a highly-edited video from an anti-abortion group suggested abortion providers sold fetal tissue.

At issue was a December announcement that the U.S. Treasury Department would lift sanctions against companies tied to a Russian oligarch with strong ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Analyzing groundwater monitoring data that power companies are now required to report to the federal government, the Environmental Integrity Project found that groundwater under 16 Texas coal plants had unsafe levels of contaminants including arsenic. The pollution is linked to disposal pits for spent coal.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services’s inspector general report, the separated children include 118 taken between July and early November — after the administration halted a short-lived family separation policy.

State leaders have promised to tackle school safety this session, and lawmakers are expected to push bills that would beef up mental health screening programs and make it easier to arm teachers.