The regular 2023 legislative session is over. Here’s how the most consequential bills fared.
A look at which bills passed and which failed during the 2023 legislative session. Full Story
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![Four squares with four icons: the top left icon is of the Texas capitol with a yellow question mark over it, the top right icon is of a bill with with a yellow question mark over it, the bottom left icon is of the Texas capitol with a red checkmark over it and the bottom right icon is of a bill with a green checkmark over it.]()
Credit: Illustration by Ben Hasson -
Texas expected to ban puberty blockers, hormone treatments for trans kids
Gov. Greg Abbott said he will sign Senate Bill 14 into law, which will make Texas one of over a dozen states that restrict transition-related care for transgender minors. Legal groups have already pledged to challenge it in court. Full Story
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![People gathered on the stairs across from the House floor to protest against SB 14, which seeks to ban puberty blockers and hormone therapies for transgender youth, before it is heard for debate in the House at the state Capitol in Austin on May 12, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House approves bill to improve background checks on child-welfare workers
The action came after The Refuge, a Bastrop foster care facility, hired a caretaker without knowing her history of misconduct. Full Story
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![The Refuge in Bastrop on Apr. 12, 2022]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
House waters down some of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priorities, adding to late-session uncertainty
Although the lower chamber backed the Senate’s action on gender-affirming care, it has been less accepting of school choice and attempts to rein in higher education. Full Story
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![Lt. Governor Dan Patrick presides over the Senate at the Capitol in Austin on April 06, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to protect against hairstyle discrimination sent to Texas governor
The CROWN Act would ensure protection for Texans who wear their hair in natural styles such as braids, locs, twists or knots. Full Story
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![State Rep. Ron Reynolds urges the passage of the CROWN act during a press conference held by the Texas Legislative Black Caucus in the state capitol on April 13, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Effort to allow casinos falls short in Texas House
Facing a rigid deadline, gaming supporters were unable to get the supermajority support needed to move the legislation forward. Full Story
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![A cup with the message "I'd rather be a the casino" sits on the desk of state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, on the House floor at the state Capitol on April 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Bills by the handful perish as Texas House hits crucial late-session deadline
It was a night of frustration, retaliation and, for some, elation as the stroke of midnight spelled doom for a lot of legislation. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, surveys the chamber during a break in the action on deadline day May 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Bill striking unconstitutional state law that criminalized homosexuality fails to meet critical deadline in the Texas House
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Texas’ law banning sodomy in 2003. It took almost 20 years for Democrats to get a bill to repeal the defunct ban on the House calendar. Full Story
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![State Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, speaks with fellow lawmakers on the House floor on April 6, 2023.]()
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In dramatic vote, Texas House approves online sports betting measure
A resolution to let voters decide whether to legalize casino gambling, however, was delayed for a day while supporters worked to find enough support for passage. Full Story
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![A gambler stacks chips at a roulette table during the reopening of Bellagio hotel-casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 4, 2020.]()
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Bryan Slaton’s Texas House downfall could complicate GOP fight against “groomers”
Republicans were so busy policing drag artists and transgender Texans that they missed so-called “grooming behavior” by one of their own, LGBTQ advocates say. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, on the House floor at the state Capitol during session in Austin on April 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Thwarting Democratic efforts, House Republicans revive border policing unit in early-morning vote
The proposed unit would let those who are not law officers arrest or detain suspected undocumented immigrants in border-region counties. Full Story
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![A member of the Texas Army National Guard holds a flashlight as migrants crawl over rocks after wading across the Rio Grande into the United States from Mexico, in Roma, on March 4, 2022.]()
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Texas House’s version of the Senate’s voucher bill would change eligibility to the program and replace the STAAR test
The Texas House’s education committee is soon expected to discuss the new version of Senate Bill 8, which was heavily modified to sway votes in the lower chamber. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, gavels the House into session on the House floor during session at the state Capitol in Austin on April 11, 2023.]()
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Raise-the-age gun bill misses crucial deadline, as Uvalde parents protest outside the Texas House
Days after another mass shooting in Texas, the measure to raise the minimum age from 18 to 21 to purchase semi-automatic rifles appears to have failed. Full Story
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![A vendor table at the SAXET Gun Show at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds in Robstown on Feb. 26, 2023.]()
Credit: Blaine Young for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House expels Bryan Slaton, first member ousted since 1927
The unanimous vote followed an investigation that determined the Royse City Republican had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with an aide. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, sits at his desk during session on the House floor at the state Capitol on April 18, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Bryan Slaton resigns ahead of expulsion vote over inappropriate relationship with aide
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. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, at his desk on the House floor during session at the state Capitol in Austin on April 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House committee recommends expelling Rep. Bryan Slaton
The House General Investigating Committee found that Slaton, a Republican from Royse City, engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a subordinate. The Texas Tribune previously reported on an allegation that he had sex with one of his staff, a woman under 21, and gave her alcohol. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royce City, sits at his desk in the House Chamber on May 5, 2023. Slaton is under House investigation for alleged liaisons with a Capitol staffer.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Can Texas’ political leaders stop their bickering for the legislative homestretch?
In this week’s episode, we discuss the final three weeks of the Legislature and Colin Allred’s bid for U.S. Senate. Full Story
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![Representatives recite the Pledge of Allegiance on the House floor in Austin on April 18, 2023.]()
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Texas AG Ken Paxton probing Austin children’s hospital following video of social worker discussing transition-related care
On the same day the Texas Legislature is set to debate Senate Bill 14, a proposed ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for kids, the attorney general files a request to examine documents related to the use of puberty blockers and counseling for trans youth. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on April 26, 2022. Earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Texas v. Texas, the enforcement of the Trump-era “remain in Mexico” policy that required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico as they waited for hearings in U.S. immigration court.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Democrats again delay Texas House debate on banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans kids
Senate Bill 14 spurred protests that led to altercations with state police earlier this week. Bill supporters and opponents again showed up at the Capitol for an expected vote Friday. Full Story
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![House lawmakers discuss a point of order called on SB 14 on the House floor on May 5, 2023. Left to right.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Legislature enters homestretch with many of the session’s biggest issues unresolved
The list of potential hurdles includes property tax cuts, school choice, the power grid, the state budget, plus diversity and tenure in higher education. Full Story
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![State Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, talks with Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, during budget discussions on the House floor at the state Capitol on April 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune