They were unlikely to sway a committee of Republicans considering bathroom restrictions for transgender Texans, but a transgender 7-year-old and her mother waited for their two minutes.

For the third time this year, state lawmakers on Friday held a marathon hearing on measures to restrict bathroom use for transgender Texans.

The national Episcopal Church is urging Texas House Speaker Joe Straus to remain "steadfast" in his opposition to legislation to restrict bathroom use for transgender Texans.

Both proponents and opponents of a Texas "bathroom bill" are steeling themselves once again as a special session kicks off in which Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to add the hot-button issue to the agenda.

As Texas lawmakers reconvene for a special legislative session, IBM and other major companies are re-upping their opposition to legislation they say would discriminate against transgender children and harm its Texas recruiting efforts. 

As part of a weeklong trial, the state's legal foes are turning their attention to lawmakers' actions in 2013 in an effort to finally resolve years-long litigation over Texas' political maps.

The outcome of a voting rights fight over Pasadena Hispanics' right to choose their city council members could reverberate beyond the city limits of this Houston suburb.

As a part of a week-long court battle over the state's political maps, minority rights groups on Monday focused on the discriminatory impact of the Texas House map. 

Texas and its legal foes are back in court this week to hash out whether the state can hold the 2018 elections with its existing political maps.

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday threw out a lower court ruling that said spouses of gay and lesbian public employees are entitled to government-subsidized same-sex marriage benefits.

Hispanics are behind a large portion of the state's growth since 2010, according to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

A barrage of court rulings has forced Texas leaders to confront whether they strayed too far in enacting voting laws found to have disproportionately burdened minorities. 

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Thursday over an obscure provision in the Texas Election Code that critics say makes it harder for Texans not proficient in English to get assistance while voting.

Advocates and families of transgender Texans are preparing for a special session of the Texas Legislature that's sure to continue the heated debate over which bathrooms transgender individuals are allowed to use.

On the last day of the regular session of the Texas Legislature, hundreds protested at the Capitol — and Republican state Rep. Matt Rinaldi called ICE on them. He also nearly came to blows with Democratic colleagues.