New voting restrictions working their way through the Texas Legislature have more to do with the 2018 election cycle than the one in 2020.
Ross Ramsey
Ross Ramsey co-founded The Texas Tribune in 2009 and served as its executive editor until his retirement in 2022. He wrote regular columns on politics, government and public policy. Before joining the Tribune, he was editor and co-owner of Texas Weekly. He did a 28-month stint in government with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Before that, he reported for the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Times Herald, as a Dallas-based freelancer for regional and national magazines and newspapers, and for radio stations in Denton and Dallas.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Analysis: After statewide power outages, Texas lawmakers reconsider an ounce of prevention
Power outages during a winter storm have the Texas Legislature considering remedies — and a flaw in their response to a previous storm.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Analysis: The fight over local control turns to representation — and lobbyists
The latest fight over local control in the Texas Legislature is a rerun: Conservative lawmakers want to bar local governments from hiring lobbyists to represent them in Austin. And their effort has more support than before.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Analysis: Warren Buffett’s power play puts a price on electric reliability in Texas
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy wants to build 10 electric plants in Texas, for use when demand peaks or other plants falter. And it’s the first time a price tag has been attached to a remedy since last month’s deadly storm.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Analysis: Not all emergencies are priorities in the Texas Capitol
Texas has seen more mass shootings in the last two years than proven incidents of voter fraud, but legislators are more focused on election law than on gun violence.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Analysis: When elected problem-solvers become part of the problem
Fixing immigration and ending hate crimes was hard enough without elected policymakers in Austin and Washington D.C., stoking nativist and racial fears.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Analysis: Why would Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick run a race he’s already won?
Speculation that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick might want to be governor someday underestimates his current advantages over the current occupant of that office, Gov. Greg Abbott.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2021
Analysis: Texas leaders’ closely watched breakfast club
One way to check the political mood when the Texas Legislature is meeting is to watch the state’s top three leaders — and how their Wednesday breakfasts are going.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Analysis: Dan Patrick’s interrogation about a freeze warms speculation about 2022
An unusual appearance by the lieutenant governor at a Senate hearing looked like a tough session for one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s appointees — and raised speculation about political tension between the state’s top two elected officials.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Analysis: Government budgets looked terrible when COVID-19 started. A federal windfall has flipped the outlook.
Texas lawmakers expected to be sweating over a very tight budget right now, after strong early signs that the pandemic would stall the economy. But an improved economy and a huge infusion of federal aid is erasing those fears.
