The bills would, among other things, strengthen mental health initiatives available to children, abolish the cap on how many school marshals can carry guns on public school campuses and allot money to school districts that can go toward “hardening” their campuses.
Alex Samuels
Alex Samuels was a reporter for The Texas Tribune from 2017 to 2021. She helped with national campaign coverage, wrote stories about the intersection of race and politics in Texas, and covered the hottest political news bubbling out of local communities. She was also one of the primary authors of The Blast, the Tribune’s subscription-only daily newsletter for political insiders. Alex began at the Tribune as a fellow in 2016. She graduated in 2017 from the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism. She originally is from Massachusetts and is the best pingpong player at the Tribune.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Some Texas gun rights groups oppose a state-funded gun storage safety campaign. But not the NRA.
Some gun rights groups want Gov. Greg Abbott to veto a line item in the Texas budget that puts $1 million toward a public safety campaign on gun storage. But one powerful bloc isn’t actively opposing the measure: the National Rifle Association.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Lawmaker grills Department of Public Safety over disclosure of Sandra Bland cellphone video
State Rep. Garnet Coleman suggested that the newly released video showing some of Bland’s confrontation with a state trooper before her death may have been buried in a “data dump” of information given to lawyers and lawmakers.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Paid sick-leave ordinances likely survived the Texas Legislature. But businesses still want to kill them.
Angry that the Legislature failed to overrule local ordinances requiring private employers to offer paid sick leave, many business groups are hoping the courts will finish the job for them.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Texas expansion of medical cannabis nears finish line after Senate approval
If the House approves changes made by the upper chamber, the bill will head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
Texas school safety measures expanded with House amendments to sweeping legislation
Tentative approval of the bill comes days after the one-year anniversary of a shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead and another 13 wounded.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas Senate passes bill to give more teachers access to guns in classrooms
The bill needs a final stamp of approval from the Senate before it can head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for his signature.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas House passes bill allowing handgun owners to carry weapons in church
Consideration of the bill comes more than a year after a gunman killed 26 in a Sutherland Springs church.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas Senate votes to allow people to carry guns without a license during disaster evacuations
After final Senate approval, the bill will head back to the House, where members will decide whether to accept the changes made in the Senate.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas medical marijuana expansion gains steam in Senate, even after previous stonewalling
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has expressed wariness to expanding the Compassionate Use Program, but the bill’s Senate sponsor said Patrick helped craft the version that cleared a key hurdle Friday.
