The Senate on Friday approved a House-amended version of Senate Bill 5, which targets mail-in ballot fraud. But the altered bill repeals a nursing home voting law that passed with bipartisan support earlier this year.
Emma Platoff
Emma Platoff was a reporter at the Tribune from 2017 to 2021, most recently covering the law and its intersection with politics. A graduate of Yale University, Emma is the former managing editor of the Yale Daily News.
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Transportation
Report: 29 Texans in Congress signed letter similar to one penned by lobbyist
Nearly the entire Texas delegation in the U.S. House signed on to a letter that bears striking resemblance to one penned by a United Airlines lobbyist, according to a report from Politico.
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Health care
Feds draw thousands of comments on Texas’ request to renew women’s health funding
The number of comments to a federal agency considering Texas’ request to renew funding for its women’s health program has surged this week as advocates on both sides weigh in.
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Higher Education
After a quiet year of campus carry, community colleges get guns next
Starting Tuesday, community colleges across the state will permit licensed gun owners to carry concealed firearms in certain campus buildings. They’ve had a year to learn from the example of four-year schools — but they still face challenges all their own.
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Criminal Justice
Senate backs bill that would roll back cellphone safety laws in dozens of Texas cities
The Senate on Wednesday gave initial approval to legislation that would roll back local mobile phone ordinances that go beyond the recent statewide ban on texting while driving.
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State Government
Texas Senate committee OKs bill to outlaw city cellphone restrictions
Senate Bill 15 would pre-empt local ordinances on mobile phone usage, effectively rolling back provisions in more than 40 Texas cities that currently post hands-free ordinances stricter than the statewide texting ban.
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Politics
Senate committee passes ‘bathroom bill’ after 10 hours of testimony
For the third time this year, state lawmakers on Friday held a marathon hearing on measures to restrict bathroom use for transgender Texans.
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Politics
Senate gives OK to must-pass “sunset” legislation in midnight vote
A fast-moving Senate gave approval to critical “sunset legislation” after midnight Thursday, using two bills to extend the life of five state agencies held political hostage at the end of the regular legislative session.
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State Government
Texas Democrats lay out their own special session priorities
Democrats in the Texas Legislature outlined their priorities for the upcoming special legislative session on Monday, focusing on several issues that did not appear on Gov. Greg Abbott’s agenda for the session.
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State Government
Austinite and former intern for House Speaker Straus killed in Greece
A 22-year-old Austin native on vacation with friends on the Greek island of Zakynthos was killed Friday in a bar fight; seven Serbians and a Greek have been arrested.