Watch Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Speaker Dennis Bonnen announce school finance deal
The "Big Three" spoke to news outlets as the Texas legislative session neared its end. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen hold a joint press conference on the lawn of the Governor’s Mansion on Jan. 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
Texas A&M won't renew President Michael Young's contract — but says there's no plan for him to leave
“We look forward to your continued service as our president,” A&M System Chancellor John Sharp wrote in a letter to Young. Full Story
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![President of Texas A&M University Michael Young.]()
Credit: Photo via Texas A&M University -
Border Patrol quarantines migrants at McAllen facility amid flu outbreak
The quarantine of nearly three dozen migrants at the agency's central processing center happened a day after the death of a 16-year-old who had contracted the flu. Full Story
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![Undocumented immigrant children at a U.S. Border Patrol processing center in McAllen, Texas.]()
Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection -
Point of Order: Kum-bye-a
In the latest episode of our podcast about the 86th Legislature, Evan Smith talks to state Reps. Ina Minjarez and Matt Krause about the issues that have divided an otherwise unified House in the last weeks of the session, including abortion and religious liberty. Full Story
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The Driver Responsibility Program may soon be dead. But reform is unlikely for a similar program.
A bill to kill one program that critics say traps low-income drivers in a cycle of debt, is nearing the governor's desk, but bills to reform the similar Omni program look all but dead as the legislative session winds down. Full Story
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![Law enforcement officials, at a traffic stop, filmed during a Peaceful Streets Project cop watch on West 6th Street in Austin, TX on Apr. 24, 2015.]()
Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez for The Texas Tribune -
Paid sick-leave ordinances likely survived the Texas Legislature. But businesses still want to kill them.
Angry that the Legislature failed to overrule local ordinances requiring private employers to offer paid sick leave, many business groups are hoping the courts will finish the job for them. Full Story
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![The Justices of the Texas Supreme Court hear the Texas Department of Criminal Justice v. Maurie Levin, et al. case on Jan. 23, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver for The Texas Tribune -
Senate moves to let breweries sell beer to go, make it easier to own several liquor stores
The upper chamber added those changes to a broader bill that must pass for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to continue functioning. The House has already signaled it would let breweries sell beer to go. Full Story
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![Oskar Blues Brewery on Friday June 2, 2017.]()
Credit: Erika Rich for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to better protect landowners during land condemnations passes Texas House
Although it cut some provisions from the Senate version, the House committee substitute to Senate Bill 421 keeps public meeting requirements and protects against low-ball offers for landowners facing eminent domain actions. Full Story
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![A warning sign indicates where the Exxon Mobile Pegasus pipeline cuts through the Harbor Point Estates neighborhood and into the Cedar Creek Reservoir in Gun Barrel City on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013.]()
Credit: Laura Buckman for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Stickland's bomb-throwing, O'Rourke's reboot
On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Ross, Emma and Patrick about the Texas House's resident bomb-thrower, the most controversial bills still moving in the Legislature and Beto O'Rourke's attempted presidential reboot. Full Story
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![State Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, on the House floor on May 21, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Texas expansion of medical cannabis nears finish line after Senate approval
If the House approves changes made by the upper chamber, the bill will head to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. Full Story
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A Lege wrap-up conversation with state Reps. Gonzalez, Leach and Springer
Watch our conversation about how the Texas House did during the 86th legislative session with State Reps. Mary Gonzalez, Jeff Leach and Drew Springer, moderated by Texas Tribune co-founder and CEO Evan Smith. Full Story
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Analysis: Tinkering with the 2020 elections in the Texas Legislature
The power of incumbency is more than raising money for campaigns and having a well-known political name. Changing the state's election laws — or even debating issues that resonate strongly with voters — can set the rules and frame the arguments for the next election cycle. Full Story
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![Voter wait in line outside Marshall Middle School, one of several polling places in Houston being kept open an hour longer after polls opened late with issues including election machine technical problems that caused delays in voting.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas school safety measures expanded with House amendments to sweeping legislation
Tentative approval of the bill comes days after the one-year anniversary of a shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead and another 13 wounded. Full Story
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![Mock weapons used to train educators in Harrold, Texas. The North Texas school district was the first to allow educators to carry guns on school grounds in 2007.]()
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This session's biggest mental health bill got killed on a technicality — then resurrected
Senate Bill 10, focused on connecting children to mental health services, was knocked out of contention with a parliamentary maneuver Tuesday night but was revived as an amendment to another bill hours later. It's one of several measures the state's GOP leaders championed in the wake of the deadly shooting last year at Santa Fe High School. Full Story
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![Former state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, on the House floor on May 21, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate passes bill to give more teachers access to guns in classrooms
The bill needs a final stamp of approval from the Senate before it can head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for his signature. Full Story
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![On The Mark Enhanced Tactical Training CEO Ray Dunn inside the Harrold ISD K-12 school where he teaches a gun training class for educators. The North Texas ISD was the first in the nation to arm teachers in 2007.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Did the Texas Legislature accidentally imperil billions of dollars in business taxes?
In their effort to make a future state income tax all but impossible, Texas lawmakers used terminology that experts believe could inadvertently gut the state’s franchise tax. Full Story
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![State Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper, on the Senate floor on April 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Texas prosecutors want to keep low-level criminals out of overcrowded jails. Top Republicans and police aren't happy.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot ignited a firestorm of controversy when he announced he wouldn't prosecute some low-level crimes, including certain theft offenses. But he's among many prosecutors turning their focus away from nonviolent offenses. Full Story
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![Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot.]()
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Texas House passes bill allowing handgun owners to carry weapons in church
Consideration of the bill comes more than a year after a gunman killed 26 in a Sutherland Springs church. Full Story
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![The interior of St. Mary Cathedral in downtown Austin on Jan. 30, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas House passes Senate bill seeking to ensure free speech on college campuses
Senate Bill 18 would require universities to create disciplinary sanctions for students who interfere with free speech activities. It would still allow universities to put restrictions on the time, place and manner of such activities. Full Story
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![State Troopers in riot gear push protesters away from the building where white nationalist Richard Spencer was speaking at Texas A&M in College Station Tuesday, December 6, 2016.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Critics say bill moving through Texas Legislature designed to aid GOP reelection bids
Supporters of the bill say it would expand ballot access. But some critics argue that the real goal is to make it tougher for Libertarians to get on the ballot and easier for Green Party candidates to do so. Full Story
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![Early voting at the Acres Home Multiservice Center in Houston on Oct. 26, 2014.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune