Senate fast-tracks passage of vouchers and border security legislation
The Senate revved to life Thursday, holding committee hearings with little advance notice and advancing four bills that satisfy Abbott’s agenda. Full Story
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Patrick Svitek is the primary political correspondent for The Texas Tribune. Patrick covers elections, state leaders, the Legislature and political trends across the state. He previously worked for the Houston Chronicle's Austin bureau. He graduated in 2014 from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He is originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana and is based in San Antonio.
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![State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, speaks with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on the Senate floor during the first day of the second special session at the state Capitol in Austin, on June 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas' part-time Legislature has been at it all year. Now they're heading into a rare fourth special session
A full 30-day session amounts to about $1 million in per diem payments to lawmakers, which are meant to cover their expenses in Austin. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan ended the first special session on Aug. 6, 2021.]()
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Tony Buzbee, Mary Nan Huffman advance to runoff for Houston City Council race
Buzbee is a high-profile lawyer who led the defense team in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial. He is challenging Huffman, the incumbent council member. Full Story
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![Tony Buzzbee, left, and Mary Nan Huffman.]()
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Judge pauses Ken Paxton whistleblower lawsuit
Former top aides to the Texas attorney general are seeking damages for their firings after they reported Paxton to the FBI. The Legislature opted not to authorize a $3.3 million settlement in the lawsuit. Full Story
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![Whistleblower Ryan Vassar sits in the Senate Gallery on the ninth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial at the state capitol in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
State Sen. Drew Springer will not seek reelection in 2024
The Republican, who represents a north Texas district, is the first member of the state Senate to announce ahead of the Nov. 11 start of the filing period that he won’t be running. Full Story
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![State Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, during the last day of the 88th regular session on May 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Jill Dutton, Brent Money advance to runoff for Texas House special election
Five Republicans and one Democrat were on the ballot for the ruby-red seat, but most of the drama has focused on two GOP candidates, Dutton and Money. Full Story
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![Republicans Jill Dutton and Brent Money are running in a special election for state House District 2 seat, empty since former state Rep. Brian Slaton, R-Royse City, was expelled from the House.]()
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State Rep. Craig Goldman announces run for U.S. Rep. Kay Granger’s North Texas seat
Goldman chairs the Texas House Republican Caucus and has served in the House since 2013. Full Story
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![State Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, at his desk on the House floor on May 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Trump pitches 2024 election as most important for nation’s future during Houston campaign stop
Former President Donald Trump said the acquitted attorney general should not have been impeached but that he was happy to have helped the state’s top civil lawyer. Full Story
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![Former president Donald Trump holds his first 2024 campaign rally in Waco, Texas on Mar. 25, 2023.]()
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Harris County judge sides with Ken Paxton’s prosecutors over pay dispute in securities fraud case
Judge Andrea Beall ruled Tuesday that the prosecutors, Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer, are owed the $300-an-hour rate by the county that they were promised when they started on the case in 2015. Full Story
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![Brian Wice and Kent Schaffer, special prosecutors in the Ken Paxton security fraud case, talk to the media at the Harris County Courthouse in Houston on Aug. 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Fort Worth won’t seek reelection
The chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee has held her seat since 1997. She was the first Republican woman from Texas elected to the U.S. House. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, Committee Ranking Member, questions Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas during a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on April 27, 2022.]()
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