Weeks after the committee issued four subpoenas without disclosing what they were for, it moves forward with its investigation into an unnamed lawmaker.
Zach Despart
Zach Despart is an enterprise and investigative reporter focusing on state government. His work on a team investigating the flawed police response to the Uvalde school shooting was awarded the 2024 Collier Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting. He led the Tribune’s effort to become the first news organization to map the fragmented 50-mile Texas border wall, a project that also found the state struggled with holdout landowners along the route. After it was published, the Legislature stopped funding the wall. He previously covered Harris County for the Houston Chronicle, where he reported on corruption, elections, disaster preparedness and the region’s recovery from Hurricane Harvey. His investigation on how Texas diverted Harvey aid away from areas most at risk for storms sparked a federal investigation. An upstate New York native, he received his bachelor’s degree in political science and film from the University of Vermont.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Bills to create new Texas courts would likely reverse Democratic gains, restore GOP dominance
Supporters say the proposals would increase efficiency and expertise, but opponents argue the attempts are political and probably unconstitutional.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas House investigating committee issues four subpoenas, days after allegations against Bryan Slaton emerge
The committee would not say who was being issued the subpoenas or for what purpose.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Complaint alleges Rep. Bryan Slaton had “inappropriate relationship” with an intern
The complaint came after an incident in which Slaton and the staffer allegedly met up at his Austin apartment last weekend. A separate staffer told The Texas Tribune that Slaton drank alcohol with an intern under 21 years old.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas House approves $302.6 billion state budget with tax cuts and teacher and state employee raises
After a marathon debate, the bill will head to the Senate, where lawmakers have been crafting their own version of the spending plan.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Budget day in the House: Texas lawmakers keep anti-DEI proposal
House Bill 1 is being debated on the floor of the lower chamber, where representatives are hammering out details on the next two years of state spending.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Staff of Houston state Rep. Jolanda Jones resigns, citing hostile work environment
Jones said in a new statement that she was outraged at the allegations the former employees made about her son, who works in the office, which she said are false.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Bills to expand gambling access in Texas clear House committee
Gaming advocates are pushing to legalize casinos and sports betting in Texas. The committee votes represent more progress than the proposals made last legislative session, when they got hearings in committee but were never voted out.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas business interests and family values collide as lawmakers debate legalizing gambling
House Bill 1942, written by Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, would permit regulated sports betting that is already legal in 29 states. House Bill 2843, by Rep. John Kuempel, R-Seguin, would permit casino gambling in Texas.
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Uvalde school shooting
“He has a battle rifle”: Police feared Uvalde gunman’s AR-15
In previously unreleased interviews, police who responded to the Robb Elementary shooting told investigators they were cowed by the shooter’s military-style rifle. This drove their decision to wait for a Border Patrol SWAT team to engage him, which took more than an hour.