Economic incentives clear Senate committee as negotiations continue
Lawmakers are trying hard to come up with an agreement on how to replace an embattled 20-year tax abatement program for big companies that expired in December. Full Story
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![A working pump jack sits near wind turbines on the Cline Shale near Maryneal, south of Sweetwater, on April 16, 2013.]()
Credit: Mark Graham for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House’s weekend off means key Senate bills die after missing a legislative deadline
Priority bills that died include a 10-year minimum sentencing for gun-related crimes, a ban on “critical race theory” at public universities and LGBTQ-related legislation. While the bills may be dead, lawmakers have a limited time to attach their ideas to legislation that is still alive. Full Story
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![State Representatives and their families gather on the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Time runs out for taxpayer-funded private school tuition bill as special session looms
Gov. Greg Abbott has already signaled he would call a special session if lawmakers failed to pass a voucher-like program open to all students. 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 -
8-year-old girl dies while in federal custody on the border
The child and her family were in custody at a border station in Harlingen before she was transported to a local hospital. The death comes less than a week after the expiration of Title 42, which had allowed authorities to quickly expel migrants from the U.S. during the pandemic. Full Story
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![What was left of the makeshift migrant camp less than 19 hours after Title 42 ended at 9:59 p.m. local time the night before, Friday, May 12, 2023, in El Paso. A group is living under the blankets that are being used to cover themselves from the sun. The camp had up to 1000 people in recent days.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Texas may soon have a process to remove local prosecutors who won’t pursue abortion, election cases
The bill would allow for the removal of prosecutors who adopt any policy to not pursue certain crimes, including some low-level theft and drug charges. The Senate’s version will need to be reconciled with the House, which had carved out some exemptions. Full Story
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![The Travis County Criminal Court, at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center, in Austin as screens display case information on May 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Final approval given to bill that would let prosecutors pursue murder charges in some fentanyl deaths
House Bill 6 has widespread bipartisan support and now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has named the issue a priority. Full Story
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![Seized fentanyl pills during a press conference at the Montgomery Police Department's Criminal Investigations office in Montgomery, Alabama, on Aug. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Jake Crandall/Montgomery Advertiser via REUTERS -
Key supporter of Texas school chaplain bill has pushed for evangelism in schools
Rocky Malloy, a self-described former drug-smuggling pirate saved by divine intervention, has led a group that promotes chaplains as a tool to proselytize to schoolchildren. Full Story
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![Passing period at United South High School in Laredo.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
Texas GOP’s broadest attempt yet to erode blue cities’ power gets one step closer to becoming law
Gov. Greg Abbott and other supporters of the bill have long sought legislation to push back against local regulations that they say hamper business owners and harm the state’s economy. Full Story
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![The Austin skyline on July 13, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Here’s how the fire that killed nearly 18,000 Texas cows got started
Investigators say the fire was an accident and started with an engine fire in a manure vacuum truck. Full Story
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![A worker was critically injured and more than 18,000 cattle were killed in a massive explosion at Southfork Dairy Farm in Dimmit on Monday, April 10, 2023. Dimmit is about 60 miles south west of Amarillo.]()
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TribCast: Is a special session of the Texas Legislature inevitable?
In this week’s episode, we discuss the long odds facing the school choice bill and the possibility of Gov. Greg Abbott calling lawmakers back for a special session. Full Story
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![People walk into the House gallery at the Capitol in Austin on April 06, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas attorney general investigating second children’s hospital for transition-related care
The Legislature recently passed a bill that would bar minors from receiving this medical care, but it has not yet been signed or gone into effect. Full Story
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![Marti Bier with Texas Freedom Network passes out signs that read "Trans healthcare is not up for debate" before a press conference on the stairs across from the House floor to protest SB 14, which seeks to ban puberty blockers and hormone therapies for transgender youth, at the state Capitol in Austin on May 12, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas leaders want a new way to attract businesses here. But they can’t agree on how to do it.
The two chambers have 10 days to cut a deal before the end of the legislative session, and they are miles apart on some of the very foundations of a corporate tax-abatement bill considered to be a priority for Republican state leaders. Full Story
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![A pumpjack operates nearby a house under construction in a new housing development on March 14, 2022 north of Midland.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House approves property tax bill with changes the Senate might not like
House lawmakers added a significant boost to the Senate’s proposed homestead exemption and tacked on a contentious idea to lower the state’s appraisal cap. Full Story
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![A construction crew works on a new home on March 14, 2022 in Midland.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas cotton farmers leading the charge for more government insurance to cover climate, inflation challenges
The federal Farm Bill is must-pass legislation that Congress debates every five years. It includes billions of dollars in farm subsidies and pays for food assistance programs. Full Story
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![Cotton fields near the High Plains town of Ralls, on June 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers consider spending $1 billion for flood prevention and Galveston’s “Ike Dike”
The coastal barrier project may get $550 million from the state this year, and another half a billion could be on the table for flood-control projects. But that’s a fraction of the estimated need for flood mitigation. Full Story
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![Houses are seen submerged in flood waters caused by Tropical Storm Harvey in Northwest Houston, Texas, U.S. August 30, 2017.]()
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GOP border bill expanded to stiffen penalty for human smuggling, create border-crossing crime
State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, tacks two of his stalled bills onto legislation that would create a border police unit and increase state spending in border communities. Full Story
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![A group migrants waits at a gate near the U.S. and Mexico border in Del Rio on July 22, 2021. The group turned themselves over to the National Guard and Customs and Border Protection officials.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill barring anonymous reporting of child abuse heads to Gov. Greg Abbott
House Bill 63 is an attempt to reduce the amount of vindictive or false child abuse reports made to the state, but child advocates say it will deter valid reports, too. Full Story
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![A caseworker's badge hangs off her neck as she prepares to assist on a case for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) in June 2018.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texas cities again lead population growth, and Austin is now country’s 10th largest
Texas took four of the 10 top spots among the nation’s fastest-growing cities, with the Austin metro area overall seeing some of the most significant growth. Full Story
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![An aerial view of downtown Austin during the coronavirus outbreak on March 23, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas has begun busing migrants to Denver, Gov. Greg Abbott announces
Colorado’s capital becomes the fifth Democratic-run destination for immigrants transported from the Texas-Mexico border region. Full Story
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![Migrants arriving from Texas by bus disembark at the Port Authority bus terminal in New York City, on May 10, 2023.]()
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Texans would get one year of Medicaid coverage after giving birth under bill advanced by Senate committee
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and advocates have thrown their support behind extending Medicaid coverage for a full year after childbirth. The full Senate will now have the opportunity to consider the bill, which has already passed the House. Full Story
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![Patients wait to be seen at the People's Community Clinic in Austin, which provides state-subsidized women's health services to low-income women, July 15, 2014.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune