Texas Senate unveils its priority school voucher bill
The proposal would give families who exit the state’s public education system access to $8,000 of taxpayer money each year to pay for their children’s private schooling. Full Story
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![Protesters holding signs and chanting, gathering in front of the Governor's Mansion during a rally against school vouchers on Oct. 7, 2023. Hundreds gathered to protest two days before a special session was slated to begin on Oct. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Conservative PAC leader’s meeting with white supremacist Nick Fuentes leads to condemnations, escalates GOP infighting
House Speaker Dade Phelan called on Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other officials to redirect any money they received from the PAC. Patrick called on Phelan to resign. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on the dais in the Senate chamber as senators are in recess at the start of the 3rd special session of the 88th Legislature on Oct. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton to file criminal complaints against Texas House impeachment managers
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he will file criminal complaints against the group of state representatives who led his impeachment trial. He accused the lawmakers of violating a state law by releasing his personal information. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, center, walks back to his seat after speaking privately with defense attorney Dan Cogdell before starting the ninth day of his impeachment trial in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Austin.]()
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Special session on school vouchers begins with Republicans in disarray
Gov. Greg Abbott needs a delicate coalition of Republicans to pass his top priority. But the House and Senate leaders aren’t getting along. Full Story
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![Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan gavels in the House for a third called special session on October 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Will Hurd drops out of 2024 presidential race
The former Texas congressman, who failed to qualify for two presidential debates, threw his support behind Nikki Haley. Full Story
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![Chuck Todd speaks one on one with former Texas congressman Will Hurd about his race for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas teachers grapple with their raises caught up in voucher fight
As a special session starts with a focus on “school choice” but no mention of public school funding, some teachers said they are even considering leaving the profession. Full Story
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![Members of the crowd hold signs and chant during a rally against school vouchers at the Texas Capitol on Oct. 7, 2023. Hundreds gathered to protest two days before a special session was slated to begin on Oct. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Primary threats loom over House Republicans as lawmakers again consider school vouchers
Gov. Greg Abbott promised that if House Republicans block school choice again, he’d go after them in the primaries Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during an event held by the Parent Empowerment Coalition at Annapolis Christian Academy on Jan. 31, 2023, in Corpus Christi.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via REUTERS -
Influential Texas activist Jonathan Stickland hosted white supremacist Nick Fuentes at office near Fort Worth
The Texas Tribune also observed Texas GOP chair Matt Rinaldi outside the building, but he denied meeting Fuentes and denounced him. Full Story
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![Nick Fuentes (middle) is seen exiting the offices of Pale Horse strategies with Chris Russo, founder and president of Texans for Strong Borders (right) in Fort Worth on Oct. 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ economic “miracle” at stake in 2023 election, lawmaker says
The Texas Tribune hosted a multi-panel discussion in Lufkin on the Nov. 7 election and what’s at stake for Texas and Texans. Full Story
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Ken Paxton endorses candidates challenging House Republicans who impeached him
Paxton’s campaign promised more details soon on a “statewide Fall tour,” including campaign stops with the candidates. Full Story
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![Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton enters the Senate floor among his attorneys as both sides have rested in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial in the Texas Senate on Sept. 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Group of Texas Republicans in U.S. House want to change the rules for removing a speaker
The members are sick of the leverage the rule has had over the conference, saying it pushed leadership into the hands of the most extreme right-wing members. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, questions witnesses during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.]()
Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Pool via REUTERS -
Vouchers return this special session — and school funding might be left out. Here’s what you need to know.
Gov. Greg Abbott called lawmakers back to Austin to try again to pass education savings accounts, which would let families use state funds to pay for their children’s private schooling. Teacher pay was not part of his agenda. Full Story
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![Chyrece Campbell holds Pierce Campbell as he looks up at the rotunda at the state capitol. Chyrece and her children, also pictured, Madison, Gregory and Kennedy, are visiting the capitol on the first day of the 86th legislative session. Miguel Gutierrez Jr.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Amid anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, a North Texas college town hosts its third annual trans pride event
Home to the University of North Texas, organizers say Denton acts as a liberal enclave in the sprawling conservative suburbs in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Full Story
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![Lead singer of Nip Slip Bowie Brae, right, dances while rehearsing a song Oct. 4, 2023 in Denton. The band Nip Slip will headline Denton’s third annual Trans Pride festival.]()
Credit: Matt Iaia for The Texas Tribune -
Printing a place to live: In Central Texas, homes are being built with emerging 3D technology
Using robotic 3D printers that can build the concrete walls of a house, a pair of Texas startups say the technology could help alleviate two crises: the housing shortage and climate change. Full Story
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![Rows of 3D-printed homes sit in various states of construction in the Wolf Ranch neighborhood of Georgetown, Texas on Oct. 4, 2023. The Lennar Wolf Ranch development is the largest collection of 3D-printed homes worldwide.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Texas will have an $18.6 billion surplus and avoid a recession, comptroller projects
The updated comptroller’s report raises the amount of revenue available to the state over the 2024-25 cycle to $194.6 billion. Full Story
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![Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar discusses the biennial revenue estimate with audience members at Texas Tribune’s Studio 919 in Austin on Jan. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribune -
Biden administration presses forward with border wall plans in Texas, angering allies
Even as the president says the barriers don’t work, his administration says it will waive environmental laws to build them quickly. Full Story
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Education savings accounts and illegal immigration will be part of third special legislative session’s focus
Gov. Greg Abbott announced the items lawmakers can consider when they return Monday. His agenda also includes COVID vaccine mandates and the Colony Ridge development outside Houston. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about the recent 88th Legislative Session to an audience at the Texas Public Policy Foundation offices in Austin, on June 2, 2023. Abbott recounted policy victories in regards to fentanyl and the border crisis, as well as limiting gender affirming care and banning DEI practices in higher education. Abbott ended the event by promising to call a special session for school choice, after the current special session for property tax resolves.]()
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U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls leads push for Donald Trump to be next House Speaker
Trump has shown some signs of humoring the idea. He posted a picture of himself with the speaker’s gavel on social media and is reportedly considering visiting the Capitol next week. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Richmond, speaks at a press conference about his recent trip to the southern border, in Washington on April 20, 2021.]()
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Updated COVID-19 shot slowly rolls out in Texas, but access is spotty
Doses aren’t arriving at providers’ offices at uniform, predictable intervals. Shipments are largely dependent on individual providers’ ability to work out the logistics of ordering, stocking, training and paperwork. Full Story
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![Linda Murphy pulls up doses of the Pfizer vaccine into syringes at a clinic organized by the Travis County Mobile Vaccine Collaborative at Rodriguez Elementary School on July 28, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Republican challenging U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar seeks to have assault arrest expunged
Sanz was accused of throwing a chair at his sister. The case was dismissed after Sanz completed 36 sessions of batterer intervention and 12 hours of community service at a church. Full Story
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![Jose Sanz.]()
Credit: Courtesy of campaign
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