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Cassandra Pollock is The Texas Tribune’s state politics reporter. She joined the Tribune full-time in June 2017 after a fellowship during the 85th Texas Legislature. Pollock spent her first two years at the Trib as an engagement reporter, which meant her name likely landed in your inbox every weekday morning with “The Brief,” a newsletter on all things Texas politics and public policy. Pollock is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism.
It remains unclear whether Gov. Greg Abbott — the only official with the power to convene special sessions — will order state lawmakers back to Austin, or what issues he would include on the agenda. Full Story
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A new state law requires the secretary of state's office to audit results in four randomly selected counties every two years. Full Story
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The lawmaker has represented parts of central and southeast Houston in state House District 147 since 1991. Full Story
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At least three other Democrats and four Republicans are vying for the office that GOP incumbent George P. Bush is leaving to run for attorney general. Full Story
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A coming-of-age memoir by a California writer has been seized upon by politicians who want greater control over the kinds of books available in Texas schools. Full Story
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It’s unclear why the governor tasked the state's education agency, which does not employ law enforcement officers, to perform the investigation. Full Story
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Abbott targeted two books that have been removed by schools recently that center on LGBTQ characters. One of the books includes a graphic illustration and the other includes depictions of sex. Full Story
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The October poll found that the percentage of Democrats who said voting rules should be less strict increased significantly, with 64% of voters taking that position compared to the 51% in August. Full Story
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The elderly, voters with disabilities and voters with limited English proficiency risk disenfranchisement under sweeping legislation Texas Republicans pushed through earlier this year, the justice department argues in its legal challenge to Senate Bill 1. Full Story
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The redevelopment of the Alamo, which Bush oversees as land commissioner, has prompted pushback across the political spectrum. Full Story
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Abbott’s letter comes on the heels of an inquiry launched by state Rep. Matt Krause, a Fort Worth Republican running for Texas attorney general. Krause sent a letter to certain school districts with an 850-book list that included novels about racism and sexuality. Full Story
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Critics say state Rep. Matt Krause's inquiry targets books about women, people of color and LGBTQ people. The lawmaker says providing specifics about his inquiry "could compromise a potential investigation." Full Story
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The state 3rd Court of Appeals rejected the attorney general’s argument that the Texas Whistleblower Act doesn’t apply to him. Full Story
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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
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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
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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
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Members considered more than 50 amendments to the proposed map during debate that began Tuesday and ended early Wednesday. Some of the biggest changes focused on Dallas and Harris counties. Full Story
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Allocating those dollars, which the state received under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, was among the items on Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session agenda for the Legislature’s third overtime round of the year. Full Story
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The draft, which will need a stamp of approval from the full chamber before it can head to the Senate for consideration, is likely to continue to change before the Legislature sends it to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for a signature. Full Story
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The Texas Legislature is in the midst of its third special session, which is dedicated to redrawing political maps based on the latest census data that showed people of color fueled 95% of Texas’ population growth over the past decade. Full Story
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