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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.
The warrant to apprehend state Rep. Philip Cortez is the first one signed by the speaker since more than 50 House Democrats left the state to block Republicans from having the quorum needed to pass legislation during the special legislative session. Full Story
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Members left Texas about 10 days ago and have said they plan to stay out of state until after the special session ends Aug. 6. Full Story
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The Texas House Democratic Caucus, which has said it plans to not identify lawmakers who test positive, has started additional precautionary measures, such as providing daily rapid tests. Full Story
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The procedural move carries little apparent weight since the Democrats who fled the state to break quorum are beyond the jurisdiction of Texas law enforcement. Full Story
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A number of House Republicans indicated that they would support what’s known as a call of the House, a procedural move that would allow law enforcement to track down lawmakers who have already fled the chamber. Full Story
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A majority of Democrats in the Texas House left for Washington, D.C., Monday afternoon in a bid to again deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass new voting restrictions with 26 days left in a special legislative session called largely for that purpose. Full Story
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Authors of the legislation are moving to ban drive-thru and 24-hour voting options, enhance access for partisan poll watchers and prohibit local election officials from proactively distributing applications to request mail-in ballots. Both bills also include language to further restrict the state’s voting-by-mail rules, including new ID requirements for absentee voters. Full Story
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The lower chamber, led by House Speaker Dade Phelan, is trying to start off on a new foot with a controversial election bill that blew up during the regular session. Full Story
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In this week's episode, Cassi speaks with Alexa and James about the upcoming special legislative session that starts July 8 in Austin. Full Story
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After killing Republicans' priority voting bill during the regular legislative session, Democratic lawmakers are mulling how to try to stop it in the special session that starts July 8. Full Story
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Turner has represented House District 114 since 2019 after he flipped the previously GOP-held seat during the 2018 elections. Full Story
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The governor had vowed to veto the Legislature’s funding in the final hours of the regular legislative session in May after House Democrats broke quorum and left the chamber to prevent passage of a controversial elections bill. Full Story
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The Legislature gaveled out at the end of month after passing bills on abortion, guns, police budgets and the Texas power grid. Here's how Texas voters feel about the results. Full Story
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The disaster declarations give the governor broad power to suspend state laws and regulations that hinder a jurisdiction’s recovery from a disaster and to allow the use of available resources to respond to the disaster. Full Story
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Abbott’s office did not specify what legislative priorities will be included on the special session agenda and said in an advisory that such items “will be announced prior to the convening of the special session.” Full Story
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The governor’s move comes after Democrats walked out of the House in the final days of the regular legislative session to block passage of Senate Bill 7, Abbott’s priority elections bill that would have overhauled voting rights in the state. Full Story
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Her resignation is effective Friday, she told Gov. Greg Abbott in a letter. Full Story
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Phelan has touted a list of conservative wins in his first session as House leader, such as passing legislation to let Texans carry handguns without a license and approving some of the strictest restrictions on abortion in the country. Full Story
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Since House Democrats staged a walkout that killed Republicans’ priority elections bill for the regular session, the governor and the leaders of the state House and Senate have diverged notably in interviews about how they are approaching the overtime round. Full Story
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Abbott’s vow came after a Democratic walkout in the House late Sunday night blocked passage of Senate Bill 7, his priority elections bill that would overhaul voting rights in Texas. Full Story