House members issue loud demand for Senate action
Members of the Texas House on Tuesday issued a loud demand for the Senate to take action on their bills — or else. Full Story
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![State Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, gives closing arguments on House Bill 122, which would raise the age of criminal responsibility in Texas from 17 to 18. The House passed the bill 92-52 on April 20, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
New in Tribtalk: Sid Miller urges Gov. Greg Abbott to veto barbecue bill
In a column for our op-ed site, TribTalk, Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller writes that a bill headed to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk related to barbecue restaurants "needs to be stopped." Full Story
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Lawmaker announces donation page to address “lunch shaming”
Rep. Helen Giddings announced the launch of a donation page that allows the public to contribute money to clear the debt of schools that feed schoolchildren when their lunch accounts are empty. Full Story
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![State Rep. Helen Giddings, D-De Soto, speaks during a press conference regarding the "lunch shaming" bill on May 23, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
The Brief: Time is almost up for the House to vote out Senate bills
The House is expected to take up bills on maternal mortality and the state's voter ID law as the Senate deliberates passage of bathroom restrictions for transgender students and property tax reform. Full Story
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![Speaker Joe Straus gives a hastily-called press conference in the back of the House chamber on May 17, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
New in Trib+Health: A debate on experimental treatments
In this week's edition of the Trib+Health newsletter: Texas lawmakers consider making it easier to get experimental drug treatments, using 3D printers to treat infertility and an interview with Zoltan Nadasdy of the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
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Scientists wary as Texas mulls allowing sale of unproven drugs
Supporters of House Bill 3236 say it could get experimental drugs into terminally ill patients’ hands, but its detractors say it would encourage snake oil salesmen. Full Story
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Credit: Reynaldo Leal -
School groups say House bathroom amendment open to interpretations
School groups say a Texas House amendment addressing bathroom use is open to interpretations on whether it actually keeps school districts from allowing transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identities. Full Story
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![Bathroom stalls at the Austin Convention Center in 2017.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Senate backs making child welfare department an independent agency
Texas senators unanimously approved a bill that would make the Department of Family and Protective Services its own standalone department. Full Story
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![Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Hank Whitman testifies July 12, 2016, to the House Committee on Human Services about his plans to reform the agency.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas might keep the standards, cut funding for Abbott's pre-K program
Gov. Greg Abbott demanded the House and Senate fund his pre-K grant program holding school districts to quality standards. So they came up with a budget proposal that keeps the standards, but cuts the grants. Full Story
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![A pre-kindergarten student learned syllables and word identification during a summer bilingual academy at Wilson Elementary School in San Antonio on June 26, 2012.]()
Credit: Lisa Krantz for The Texas Tribune -
Texas business leaders stayed neutral on "bathroom" amendment
Pro-business forces, which had for months warned that a "bathroom bill" could be disastrous for the state's bottom line, held their fire during Sunday's debate over a bill amendment dealing with the controversial issue. Full Story
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![Representatives look at the board as a vote is taken on a bill amendment that would require schools to provide single-stall restrooms, locker rooms and changing facilities to students who don't want to use facilities designated by “biological sex" at the state Capitol on Sunday, May 21, 2017.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
El Paso County files lawsuit seeking to halt Texas "sanctuary" law
A lawsuit in federal court charges that Senate Bill 4, if enacted, would violate several provisions of the U.S. Constitution. Full Story
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![Monserrat Garibay of Education Austin speaks in front of the Texas Governor's Mansion on May 8, 2017, after Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4, known as the "sanctuary cities" bill, the night before.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Supreme Court's ruling on North Carolina redistricting strikes down a Texas line of defense
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday in a North Carolina gerrymandering case could have major implications for the drawing of political maps in Texas and nationwide. Full Story
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Dan Patrick unconvinced by House action on bathrooms, property taxes
After threatening to force a special session of the Legislature unless lawmakers approve a "bathroom bill" and property tax legislation, Lt. Gov Dan Patrick on Monday appeared to be unconvinced by the House's actions on the two issues. Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick at a Texas Legislative Budget Board meeting on December 1, 2016.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for the Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate approves monthly payments for relative caregivers of abused children
Texas senators voted unanimously on Monday to increase money given to kinship care families. Full Story
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Texas House passes bill extending alternative high school graduation route
The Texas House on Monday passed a bill extending a program that lets students who fail a couple of required exams take an alternative route to graduation. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, discusses a bill in the Texas House on May 3, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Senate passes "second chances" bill for nonviolent offenders
The Texas Senate has approved its version of House Bill 3016, which would make it easier for people to apply for jobs if they have low-level offenses on their records. Such applicants would not be required to disclose their offenses. Full Story
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Texas House approves bathroom restrictions for transgender students
The Texas House voted to require schools to provide single-stall restrooms, locker rooms and changing facilities to students who don't want to use facilities designated by “biological sex.” Full Story
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![During a debate on the "bathroom bill," state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, holds up a photo of a sign that reads, "RESTROOMS WHITE COLORED," on May 21, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
The Texas Republican helping to calm the waters in Washington
When U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway took over the House investigation into Russian interference of the 2016 election, his reputation for fairness preceded him. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Midland, in his Rayburn office in Washington, D.C. on November 20, 2014.]()
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call -
The Brief: Bathroom restrictions pass House during busy weekend
With one week of the Texas Legislature's 2017 regular session remaining, the House kicked into high gear over the weekend to pass several key items — including a version of the "bathroom bill" after facing pressure from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Full Story
![Bathroom stalls at the Austin Convention Center in 2017.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate puts voucher-like program in school finance bill
The Texas Senate voted to approve a bill that would simplify funding formulas for public schools and let parents use state money to send their kids with disabilities to private schools or pay for homeschooling. Full Story
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![State Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, discusses a bill amendment in the Senate on March 30, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune
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