Watch: Live video from the Texas House and Senate
The Texas Tribune is streaming the 2023 legislative session live from the Texas House and Senate chambers. The session runs from Jan. 10 to May 29. Full Story
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Texas Legislature 101: Understanding the state government and how it passes laws
Here’s a rundown of how a bill becomes a law, how the Texas Legislature works and the power players who keep things moving under the Pink Dome. Full Story
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![A visitor of the House gallery listens to legislators speak during a debate on an abortion bill being considered on the House floor on May 5, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
The Texas Legislative session has begun. Here are 6 things we’re watching.
Lawmakers begin work today for their biennial legislative session. They’ll debate over the state budget, school issues, border security and property taxes, among other issues. Full Story
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![A legislator fist bumps a House Administration staffer as they entered the House Chamber on Aug. 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Watch: With historic sum for the next budget, Texas’ chief treasurer says state should prioritize infrastructure
In a conversation with The Texas Tribune, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar discussed the state’s biennial revenue estimate, how the state is enjoying a surplus amid economic fears nationally and where the state should consider allocating its extra money. Full Story
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Texas Supreme Court will decide whether ERCOT should be immune from lawsuits sparked by deadly winter storm
Many people and insurers sued the Electric Reliability Council of Texas after the 2021 freeze. The nonprofit says it shouldn’t be liable. The state Supreme Court has a chance to weigh in. Full Story
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![The Supreme Court of Texas hears the final arguments concerning whether ERCOT has sovereign immunity, at the Supreme Court Building on the Capitol grounds in Austin on Jan. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
A Texas project hopes to turn water into fuel for cars, planes, ships and trains — using wind
New subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act are powering the race to build the country’s first large-scale producer of “green hydrogen.” Full Story
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![The Hale Wind Farm located outside of Petersburg and south of Plainview.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Supreme Court tells Texas to reconsider executing man convicted with faulty DNA evidence
Areli Escobar was sentenced to death in 2011 for an Austin murder, but even prosecutors now agree his conviction relied heavily on faulty DNA testing by the discredited Travis County crime lab. Full Story
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![The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 4, 2022.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Texas prisoners launching hunger strike to protest state’s harsh solitary confinement practices
Hundreds of prisoners may participate in the protest beginning Tuesday, the first day of the state’s legislative session. Texas often keeps prisoners in solitary confinement for years or decades. Full Story
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![Telford prison in New Boston on March 21, 2018]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Two Texas bills would restrict lessons about sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools
The legislation closely mirrors a Florida bill passed last year, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which detractors say would further isolate LGBTQ students and open teachers and school districts to legal risks. Full Story
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![Pride flags, stickers and masks, pronoun buttons and other merch are handed out at the AISD "Pride Out!" Party in the Park event at Eastside Early College High School in Austin on March 26, 2022.]()
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“I want to fight”: LGBTQ Texans ready for legislative session as GOP lawmakers target them in dozens of bills
Republicans are backing legislation targeting gender-affirming care for children, classroom lessons about sexuality and drag shows. Full Story
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![Austin Pride Parade attendees wave rainbow flags as they pass the Capitol building, on Aug. 20, 2022.]()
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Watch: After the Uvalde shooting, one Texas school district increases focus on mental health
Round Rock ISD is thought to be among the first school districts in Texas where social workers and police officers work directly with one another to provide mental health support to students. Full Story
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![The Robb Elementary School memorial for the victims of the Uvalde mass school shooting on June 15, 2022.]()
Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune -
Joe Biden tours El Paso for first border visit of his presidency
He was greeted by Gov. Greg Abbott upon arrival at the El Paso airport. Abbott has been a chief critic of Biden’s immigration policies and has frequently called on him to visit the border over the past year. Full Story
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![President Joe Biden shakes hands with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott upon his arrival in El Paso on Jan. 8, 2023. This is Biden's first visit as president to the U.S.-Mexico border.]()
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Texans help elect Kevin McCarthy speaker after dramatic late-night votes
Texas Republicans were key players in the intraparty fight over how its leaders would run the U.S. House of Representatives, with right-wing members ultimately securing major wins in the fight. Full Story
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![A member-elect of the House of Representatives grabs Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, by the face as Kevin McCarthy walks away. Rogers had approached Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, and members of the House Freedom Caucus after Gaetz voted "present" rather than voting for McCarthy in a late-night 14th round of voting for a new House Speaker on Jan. 6, 2023.]()
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State police terminate another officer for response to Uvalde mass shooting
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw accused the suspended Texas Ranger of failing to perform his duty during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. Full Story
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![Texas Ranger Christopher Ryan Kindell outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24, 2022, when 21 people — 19 children and two adults — were killed by a gunman. Kindell was fired by DPS Thursday and said he plans to appeal.]()
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Chip Roy and other Texas holdouts flip votes and now support Kevin McCarthy, who remains short in speaker bid
Roy, R-Austin, as well as U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Victoria, and Rep.-elect Keith Self, R-McKinney, switched their votes for McCarthy after voting against him 11 times. Full Story
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![From left: Leaders of the opposition to Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy becoming Speaker of the House, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin; Rep. Scott Perry, R-PA; and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-FL, talk as they gather on the floor of the House of Representatives for another expected round of voting for a new House speaker at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., on Jan. 5, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst -
Texas Senate to ban reporters from chamber floor
The move to take news reporters off the Senate floor was implemented in 2021 as a COVID-19 precaution, but an official said Friday the measure would continue in the upcoming session. Full Story
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![A woman waits for the Senate to gavel in from the Senate gallery on Aug. 10, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Democrats enter session with bipartisan hopes — and a new leader who’s prepared to fight
There are 64 Democrats in the 150-member House, one fewer than before the election. There is also one fewer Democrat in the Senate. Full Story
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![State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, speaks at a press conference in reaction to a property tax reform proposal by Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen. The trio laid out their proposal earlier in the day. Jan. 31, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
GOP Harris County judge candidate contesting her loss after Election Day problems at polling sites
Democratic County Judge Lina Hidalgo beat Republican Alexandra del Moral Mealer by more than 18,000 votes. An assessment of Election Day problems at polling sites “has not yet revealed” whether any voters were turned away. Full Story
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![Alexandra del Moral Mealer, a candidate for Harris County Judge, poses for a portrait following a forum hosted by the Houston Super Neighborhood Alliance in Houston on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022. Mealer, who was recently endorsed by the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board, is challenging incumbent Judge Lina Hidalgo.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
How Texans helped plot, foment and carry out the Jan. 6 insurrection
From those who planted the seeds of Trump’s strategy to try to challenge the election, to others who sowed doubt and anger by spreading baseless election-fraud conspiracy theories, Texans played major roles in the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol two years ago. Full Story
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Appeals court to decide if First Amendment should have protected Laredo’s “big crazy lady” from arrest
Priscilla Villarreal was arrested over her Facebook postings. In a rare proceeding, the entire 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will weigh whether she can sue, a case that could have major ramifications for citizen journalists like her -- and professional ones. Full Story
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![Priscilla Villarreal.]()
Credit: Saenz Photography
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