Texas Senate approves GOP congressional map, sending plan to Abbott’s desk
Republican lawmakers pushed the map through over fierce Democratic opposition, positioning the GOP to net up to five additional seats in Texas. Full Story
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Kayla Guo covers state politics and government. Before joining the Tribune, she covered Congress for The New York Times as a reporting fellow based in Washington, D.C. Kayla has also covered transportation policy for Politico and local news for The Raleigh News & Observer, and she was a part-time digital producer for The Boston Globe. She graduated from Brown University, where she studied public policy and served as editor-in-chief and president of the independent student newspaper. She was born and raised on Long Island, New York. She is based in Austin.
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gathers the senators at his desk before the final vote on the mid-decade redistricting bill in the Texas Senate on Aug. 22, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
In response to failures and grieving parents, Texas lawmakers advance flood bills
Here’s where the proposed laws to address camp safety, flood warnings and emergency response stand in the Legislature. Full Story
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![Parents of Camp Mystic girls lost during the Guadalupe River flooding of July 4, 2025 pack seats in the Senate Chamber to view passage of Senate Bill 1 which strengthens summer camp regulations to help prevent future tragedies.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House approves GOP congressional map after two-week delay from Democrats’ walkout
Republican lawmakers are pursuing the unusual mid-decade redistricting plan amid pressure from President Donald Trump to protect the GOP’s slim majority in the U.S. House. Full Story
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![Democratic State Representatives line up to question State Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, during the second reading of HB4 in the house chamber in Austin on August 20, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Rep. Nicole Collier spends night on Texas House floor after refusing police escort
The Fort Worth Democrat refused to sign a permission slip that allowed quorum-breaking lawmakers to leave the Capitol while being shadowed by a state trooper. Full Story
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![Protesters cheer on state Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, after she chose to remain in the Texas House chamber until Wednesday after Democratic lawmakers who left the state to deny Republicans the opportunity to redraw the state's 38 congressional districts, returned to the Capitol in Austin on Aug. 18, 2025. Collier is staying because she did not want to sign the required permission slip that would allow lawmakers to leave the Capitol under escort by Department of Public Safety agents.]()
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Rep. Ray Lopez of San Antonio will not seek reelection to Texas House
The San Antonio Democrat was first elected to the Legislature in 2019. Full Story
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![State Rep. Ray Lopez, D-San Antonio, followed by Rep. John Bryant, D-Dallas, gets off a charter bus from the Austin airport outside the State Archives building on the east side of the Texas Capitol upon their return to Austin following a two-week quorum break, on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Democrats return to Capitol, ending walkout over redistricting plan
After two weeks out of state, Democratic lawmakers returned to Austin, paving the way for Republicans to pass their proposed congressional map. Full Story
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![Texas Democrats, who left the state earlier this month in protest of proposed congressional maps, return to the Capitol on Monday, Aug. 18, 2025.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott calls second special session as first round ends with Democrats still out of state
The second session is set to consider the same agenda that stalled in the first, with redistricting and disaster response at the top of the governor’s priorities. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference at the Capitol in Austin Aug. 15, 2025.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans and Democrats, locked in redistricting battle, weaponize flood response
With Democrats’ walkout over redistricting bringing the House to a standstill, both parties are accusing each other of abandoning Central Texas flood victims. Full Story
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![Texas Representatives look towards the voting board as attendance is called in the House Chambers on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025 in Austin. It was the second day that representatives failed to meet quorum after Texas Democrats left the state in protest of new congressional maps.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton asks judge to jail Beto O’Rourke for fundraising Texas Dems' walkout
Paxton sued O’Rourke and his political group, Powered by People, last week, arguing that the group was deceptively fundraising for and illegally supporting Texas Democrats’ walkout. Full Story
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![Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke speaks during the People vs. the Power Grab rally at the Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025.]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune -
Rep. James Talarico mulls U.S. Senate bid as his profile rises amid Texas Democrats’ redistricting standoff
The Democratic state lawmaker has inquired about Senate television ad rates, two sources told the Tribune. Full Story
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![Texas Rep. James Talarico D-Austin smiles during a redistricting rally at Delco Activity Center Friday, July 25, 2025 in Austin, Texas.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune