Tension over property taxes produces rare public clash between Dan Patrick, Greg Abbott
Always happy to castigate the Texas House, Patrick breaks form to criticize the governor as misinformed and unsympathetic toward homeowners. Full Story
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Zach Despart
Enterprise and Investigative Reporter
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Zach Despart is an enterprise and investigative reporter focusing on state government. His work on a team investigating the flawed police response to the Uvalde school shooting was awarded the 2024 Collier Prize and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting. He led the Tribune’s effort to become the first news organization to determine where Texas has built 50 miles of border wall, a project that also found the state struggles with holdout landowners along the route. He previously covered Harris County for the Houston Chronicle, where he reported on corruption, elections, disaster preparedness and the region’s recovery from Hurricane Harvey. An upstate New York native, he received his bachelor’s degree in political science and film from the University of Vermont.
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![From left: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott, and Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Abbott taps John Scott, former Texas secretary of state, as interim attorney general
Scott, a former deputy attorney general, will run the agency because Ken Paxton has been suspended from office until his impeachment trial before the Texas Senate. Full Story
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![Texas Secretary of State John Scott at a press conference held by Gov. Greg Abbott on April 14, 2022.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas AG Ken Paxton impeached, suspended from duties; will face Senate trial
The House voted 121-23 to suspend the attorney general and refer him to the Senate for trial on charges of bribery, abuse of office and obstruction. It was the first such impeachment since 1975. Full Story
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![The Texas House voted to impeach state Attorney General Ken Paxton on May 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Attorney General Ken Paxton blasts pending impeachment vote, calls for protests
Paxton said House members were showing “contempt for the electoral process” and accused them of sabotaging his work challenging the Biden administration. Full Story
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![At a press conference on May 26, 2023, Attorney General Ken Paxton with aides, from left to right: Tommy Tran, executive assistant; James R. Lloyd, associate deputy attorney general for civil litigation; Austin A. Kinghorn, associate deputy attorney general for legal counsel; Ryan Fisher, director of government relations; Joshua Reno, deputy attorney general for criminal justice; Suzanna Hupp, special adviser; Brent Webster, first assistant attorney general; Lesley French, chief of staff; George Lane, adviser; Paige Willey, deputy communications director; and Ralph M. Molina, deputy attorney general for legal strategy.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House committee issues 20 articles of impeachment against Attorney General Ken Paxton
The attorney general, reelected last year by voters who shrugged off his scandals, is accused of a yearslong pattern of alleged misconduct and lawbreaking. The full House is expected to consider the articles soon. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to supporters Paxton Watch Party Barn in Plano after being re-elected on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Texas power struggle: How the nation’s top wind power state turned against renewable energy.
State lawmakers have pushed bills to support fossil fuel-burning power plants and restrict renewable energy development this legislative session. Full Story
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![Lyford, TX - May 17, 2023: Industrial energy-producing wind turbines cover hundreds of acres of farmland in Lyford, TX. (Photo by Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune -
Investigators detail years of alleged misconduct by Texas AG Ken Paxton in stunning House committee hearing
Many allegations against Paxton were already known, but the airing of them revealed the scope of the investigation by the committee, which has the power to recommend censure or impeachment. Full Story
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![From left: House Committee on General Investigating Chairman Andrew S. Murr and Vice Chair Ann Johnson listen to testimony on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at the Capitol in Austin on May 24, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Greg Abbott asked other governors for help patrolling the Texas-Mexico border. Ron DeSantis answered the call.
Although border encounters have fallen since Title 42 ended Thursday, Texas’ top Republican asks for “all available law enforcement personnel and resources.” Full Story
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![A migrant family from Peru ask Texas National Guard Troops to be let inside a makeshift migrant camp to be processed about two hours after Title-42 ended at 9:59 p.m. local time, Friday, May 12, 2023, in El Paso, Texas. The family was denied entry.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
The Allen mall shooter used an AR-15-style rifle. Read our March story on the gun’s use in mass shootings.
The gun was also used in the Uvalde shooting, where law enforcement records show police were afraid to confront the gunman because of the weapon’s firepower. Full Story
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![Assault-style weapons are laid on a table at a gun show in San Marcos on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House committee recommends expelling Rep. Bryan Slaton
The House General Investigating Committee found that Slaton, a Republican from Royse City, engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a subordinate. The Texas Tribune previously reported on an allegation that he had sex with one of his staff, a woman under 21, and gave her alcohol. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royce City, sits at his desk in the House Chamber on May 5, 2023. Slaton is under House investigation for alleged liaisons with a Capitol staffer.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune