The Royse City Republican had come under growing pressure to step down after an investigation determined he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 19-year-old woman on his staff.
James Barragán
James Barragán was a politics reporter for The Texas Tribune with a focus on accountability reporting. Prior to joining the Tribune, James worked as a statehouse reporter for The Dallas Morning News and previously had stints at the Austin American-Statesman and the Los Angeles Times. In 2021, he was a finalist for the Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Reporting for his coverage of Texas politics during the COVID-19 pandemic. James was selected as a 2023-24 Nieman Fellow at Harvard. A Southern California native, James received his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California, Los Angeles. He was based in Austin and is a native Spanish speaker.
Posted in
Health care
Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate COVID-19 vaccine makers
Long an opponent of vaccine and mask mandates, the Republican said pharmaceutical companies may have misrepresented data. Pfizer strongly disagrees.
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Texas Legislature 2023
House-Senate animosity bubbles over with clashes on property taxes, education
With threats of a special session and a derisive moniker, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tries to pressure the House speaker into acting on his conservative priorities.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas House backs death benefits for state troops in Operation Lone Star
The bill was amended to make the benefits retroactive, supporting the family of a soldier whose name is on the legislation.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Two GOP Texas House members call for Rep. Bryan Slaton to resign
Reps. Briscoe Cain and Steve Toth, who are usually ideologically aligned with Slaton, said the lawmaker needed to step down.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas House passes bill decriminalizing fentanyl test strips
The bill would take fentanyl test strips off the state’s “drug paraphernalia” list, meaning it would no longer be a crime to carry them.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2023
Sen. Kelly Hancock opens up about rare kidney disease, as he advocates for Texas bill to increase living organ donors
Hancock, a North Richland Hills Republican, was diagnosed at age 27 with a rare genetic kidney disease that occurs when the immunoglobulin A antibody builds up in the kidneys.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Family of dead National Guardsman urges Legislature to make death benefits bill named for him retroactive
While the state guarantees law enforcement officers, like Department of Public Safety troopers, a $500,000 death benefit for their families if they die on duty, National Guard troops who stand shoulder to shoulder with those DPS officers on Operation Lone Star don’t have the same benefit.
Posted in
Politics
Nate Paul, real estate investor in Paxton corruption allegations, ordered to jail again after losing appeal
The Austin real estate developer is central to allegations that his friend, Attorney General Ken Paxton, abused his office to help Paul’s business affairs.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Bills advance to close loophole allowing some lawmakers to increase their pay to $140,000
Two bills that advanced in House and Senate committees on Wednesday both exempt any lawmaker who has already taken advantage of the benefit.
