Behind closed doors, a joint Senate and House committee killed a measure that would require police officers to explain why they arrest someone for fine-only offenses, otherwise the case would be dismissed. Criminal justice reform advocates considered the issue a priority following the arrest of Sandra Bland.
Arya Sundaram
Arya Sundaram was a reporting fellow for The Texas Tribune in 2019. She graduated from Yale University with a degree in American Studies and a concentration in ethnic studies and migrant communities. Before coming to the Tribune, Arya interned at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a Paul Block Journalism Fellow and the Argentine Council for International Relations. She served as managing editor for The New Journal, the oldest longform magazine about Yale and New Haven.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas lawmakers hope an additional $200 million will decrease dreaded wait times at driver’s license centers
The money will be used to hire more employees, give a raise to current staffers and open two new driver’s license offices in Angleton and Denton. The Department of Public Safety’s management of the offices has drawn criticism, but lawmakers stopped short of moving those duties to another agency.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas passes bill banning cities from partnering with Planned Parenthood on any services
The bill would prohibit such partnerships, even for services not related to abortions.
Abortion rights advocates worry that the bill’s broad language could even halt privately funded programs held on government property.
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Criminal Justice
The Driver Responsibility Program may soon be dead. But reform is unlikely for a similar program.
A bill to kill one program that critics say traps low-income drivers in a cycle of debt, is nearing the governor’s desk, but bills to reform the similar Omni program look all but dead as the legislative session winds down.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas House advances bill banning cities from partnering with Planned Parenthood on any services
Senate Bill 22 bars Texas governments from contracting with abortion providers or their affiliates — even for services like sexual health education and pregnancy prevention initiatives.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas lawmakers close to sending “born alive” abortion bill to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk
Republicans in the Texas Senate passed the bill Thursday with the support of two Democrats. If the Texas House concurs with minor changes the Senate made to the measure, it will go to the governor.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas Senate passes bill to kill program that critics say can trap poor people in a cycle of debt
The bill to end the unpopular program, which adds annual surcharges on top of traffic fines — and prompts the suspension of millions of driver’s licenses — is headed for Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. If he signs it, pending surcharges will be dropped.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Texas high-speed rail plans dodge bullet after lawmakers strike provision aiming to delay the project
Legal battles over whether the developer can use eminent domain still loom over the project.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Advocates say a Texas House bill could prevent arrests like Sandra Bland’s, but multiple attempts to pass it failed
A measure to limit arrests for misdemeanors that only result in fines initially got House approval. Then it failed on a subsequent vote amid what some say was confusion over what the bill would do. Lawmakers tried to revive it Friday evening — after several lawmakers had left the chamber — but that attempt also failed.
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Texas Legislature 2019
Why Texas abortion opponents aren’t leading the charge to overturn Roe v. Wade
States across the country are advancing “heartbeat bills” that aim to overturn the landmark Supreme Court decision, but major Texas anti-abortion groups are worried that such an approach could backfire.