Abbott vetoes 50 bills passed by Legislature
Gov. Greg Abbott has vetoed 50 bills that were passed during the regular legislative session, his office announced Thursday. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott lays out items for a special session at a press conference on June 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott signs bill to let parents see deceased children's bodies
A bill signed into law Wednesday ensures that parents will be permitted to see their dead children before autopsies are performed. Full Story
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![Wyatt McDaniel died in an accident while playing in a sand pile with his little brother on Jan. 25, 2013. His mother, Lara McDaniel, was not able to view his body until after his autopsy and is advocating for Texas lawmakers to adopt "Wyatt's Law."]()
Credit: Facebook page/used with permission -
Texas Gov. Abbott signs "Sandra Bland Act" into law
The measure mandates county jails divert people with mental health and substance abuse issues toward treatment and requires that independent law enforcement agencies investigate jail deaths. Full Story
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Postpartum depression screening bill gets Abbott's signature
Texas mothers taking their babies for checkups through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program will be able to get postpartum depression screenings and counseling under a bill Gov. Greg Abbott signed Thursday. Full Story
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Texas may expand ballot access for elderly and voters with disabilities
A bill that cleared the Legislature aims to prevent voter fraud at nursing homes and widen ballot access for elderly Texans. Somehow, politics didn't get in the way. Full Story
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![The popular "I Voted" stickers at a South Texas early voting location on Oct. 26, 2016.]()
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Abbott OKs religious refusal of adoptions in Texas
Child welfare providers can use their "sincerely held religious beliefs" to decide what homes and services foster and adoptive children should receive. Full Story
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New law clears the way for driverless cars on Texas roads
Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill backed by auto manufacturers that explicitly allows autonomous vehicles to operate on Texas roads without a driver inside. Full Story
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![The Alliance for Transportation Innovation in February 2016 offered Texans trips in a driverless shuttle that maneuvered along a pre-programmed route in parking lots near Globe Life Park in Arlington.]()
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Texas Gov. Abbott signs bill to enforce reporting of police shootings
Starting in September, Texas law enforcement agencies could be fined $1,000 a day if they don’t report police shootings to the state in a timely manner. Full Story
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Texas business groups are banding together to keep NAFTA strong
A number of Texas-based business groups have teamed up to prevent a reversal of the good trade relations with Mexico that Texas has enjoyed since the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect 23 years ago. Full Story
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![From January to April of 2017, more than $178 billion in two-way trade has passed through ports in the United States and Mexico, according to a Florida-based think tank.]()
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Gov. Abbott signs bill overhauling A-F school, district ratings
A bill overhauling a future system to grade Texas schools and districts on an A-F scale is now law. Full Story
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Amid opioid epidemic, Texas joins multistate investigation into drugmakers' role
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is part of a bipartisan group of state attorneys general investigating opioid manufacturers' role in the nation's deadly epidemic of opioid abuse. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
The Brief: How do Texas voters feel about Trump?
More than 50 percent of registered voters in Texas don't believe President Donald Trump is honest and trustworthy, while 35 percent think otherwise, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Full Story
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While Legislature passed "sanctuary" bill, E-Verify enforcement fell short
Though Texas has required state agencies and their contractors to verify the employment eligibility of their workers since 2014, efforts to put teeth behind that mandate failed again during the recent legislative session. Full Story
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San Antonio voted to annex his home. Now he's hoping the special session will give him a say.
Annexation reform died in the final moments of the regular session. Mike Stewart, whose home is under threat of annexation, will anxiously watch July's special session debate. Full Story
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![San Antonio city limit sign on U.S. Highway 90 west of the city.]()
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UT/TT Poll: Despite Russia inquiry, Texas GOP voters solidly trust Trump
Most voters in the country’s biggest red state are wary of President Donald Trump — but Republican voters remain strongly supportive of him, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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Abbott proposal would nullify city rules on distracted driving
Texas recently became the 47th state to pass a statewide texting-while-driving ban. The governor's proposal to pre-empt local ordinances on drivers' mobile phone use could weaken stricter city ordinances that have been in place for years. Full Story
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![A woman checks her phone while driving in Austin. A statewide texting-while-driving ban goes into effect Sept. 1, 2017.]()
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Straus needles Texas Senate on public education funding, "bathroom bill"
Speaking to hundreds of educators ahead of a special session packed with education bills, House Speaker Joe Straus chastised the Senate for underfunding school finance reform. Full Story
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![Texas House Speaker Joe Straus leaves the stage after speaking at the Texas Association of School Boards' annual summer leadership institute in San Antonio on June 14, 2017.]()
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Staffer of Rep. Roger Williams among those shot at GOP baseball practice
U.S. Rep. Roger Williams said he dove for the dugout as a gunman began shooting Wednesday morning during a GOP congressional baseball practice in Virginia. U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise and one of Williams' staffers were among those shot. Full Story
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![A police officer mans a shooting scene after a gunman opened fire on Republican members of Congress during a baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 14, 2017.]()
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The state budget (with vetoes!), special session notes and Paxton’s new judge (podcast)
On this week's TribCast, Ross talks to Ayan, Patrick and Edgar about the governor's line-item vetoes and the state budget, the ins and outs of the coming special session call, efforts to get state leaders on the same page, and a new judge for Attorney General Ken Paxton. Full Story
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After shooting, Texas congressmen recall frantic scene, close calls
U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady left the GOP baseball practice early Wednesday morning, declining an offer to catch some grounders from second base. U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was in that spot instead, when a gunman appeared and shot him. Full Story
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![Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., left, gets encouragement from Rep Kevin Brady, R-Texas, at the annual Congressional Baseball, won by the Republicans, July 17, 2008.]()
Credit: CQ Roll Call
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