Watch live: Texas House and Senate to hold hearings at 9 a.m. Central on Thursday about last week's winter storm
The hearings will be held in separate rooms in the Texas Capitol. Full Story
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![A committee hearing room featuring plexiglass dividers on Jan. 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Winter storm response should focus on public safety, not dollars
For lack of heat and water, people died last week — in the great state of Texas and in their own homes — who would be alive right now, had the state taken heed of recommendations made after past winter storms and blackouts. Full Story
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![The Dell Seton Medical Center at the University of Texas in Austin on Feb. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Republican David Spiller wins rural Texas House seat, replacing Drew Springer
David Spiller, a Jacksboro attorney and school board member, faced fellow Republican Craig Carter for the seat previously held by Springer, who is now in the state Senate. Full Story
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![David Spiller faces off against Craig Carter for the Texas House District 68 seat.]()
Credit: David Spiller for Texas House Campaign -
“Power companies get exactly what they want”: How Texas repeatedly failed to protect its power grid against extreme weather
Texas regulators and lawmakers knew about the grid’s vulnerabilities for years, but time and again they furthered the interests of large electricity providers. Full Story
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![Jacob Duran prepares wood for a grill. Duran has been cooking meals outsides after his apartment lost power. Feb. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas failed in a storm, again. Will we be ready next time?
State leaders will start an investigation this week to figure out why utilities in Texas were outmatched by a weeklong winter storm. They did the same thing 10 years ago, and we still weren't ready. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference regarding Texas’ emergency response to an unprecedented winter storm gripping …]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says power is almost fully restored statewide and grocery stores will soon be restocked
Abbott said power should be fully restored across the state Sunday night or Monday. Full Story
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![Volunteer Catherine Tuppen helps with the water and beverage station at Kelly Village, a supply distribution site, on Feb. 1…]()
Credit: May-Ying Lam for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas is working to bring in more plumbers, help cities test their water
Abbott will be joined by emergency officials for his update from Austin. Many Texans remain without power, and water access has been disrupted for millions across the state. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference regarding Texas’ emergency response to an unprecedented winter storm gripping …]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A winter storm leaves Texas with a black eye
The Texas government's failures in the face of a winter storm have been very hard on Texans, and could do lasting damage to the state's reputation. Full Story
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![From left to right, Martin Xoxa, Chelsea Pursley and Joe Williams build a fire to keep warm outside of Pursley's home in Eas…]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas leaders failed to heed warnings that left the state's power grid vulnerable to winter extremes, experts say
Texas officials knew winter storms could leave the state’s power grid vulnerable, but they left the choice to prepare for harsh weather up to the power companies — many of which opted against the costly upgrades. That, plus a deregulated energy market largely isolated from the rest of the country’s power grid, left the state alone to deal with the crisis, experts said. Full Story
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![Powerline infrastructure in San Marcos on Feb. 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas' grid operator wants to bring relief by making power outages consistently shorter — but might not be able to Wednesday
ERCOT's CEO and president told reporters Wednesday he's optimistic that the state's grid will start to see some of the power it has lost return as temperatures warm up. Full Story
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![Matilda Street in Dallas after the winter storm that hit the area on Monday.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Point of Order: The disconnect
In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to state Rep. Trent Ashby about his bill to create a state broadband plan — a long-overdue effort to address our digital deficiency at a time when school, work and health care have all moved online. Full Story
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Latest census delay will push Texas' redrawing of political maps into the fall
The Census Bureau now says it will get detailed results of the national population count to states by Sept. 30. That means Gov. Greg Abbott will almost certainly need to call lawmakers back for overtime in the fall to craft new Congressional and legislative districts. Full Story
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![A 2020 Census representative speaks with a resident during a census campaign in New York City in 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photo -
Analysis: A Star-Spangled culture war in Texas
What gets the state’s unusually subdued lieutenant governor to stand up and take notice? Not playing the national anthem at Dallas Mavericks games, as it turns out. The first culture clash of the 2021 legislative session is underway. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gavels in the Senate chamber at the Capitol on Jan. 12, 2021.]()
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Texas House Democrats launch climate, environment caucus with one goal: Talk about climate change in the Legislature
The climate, environment and energy caucus aims to start a conversation in the Legislature on how Texas can prepare for climate change and take advantage of the transition to cleaner energy sources. Full Story
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![Jeremy Boutor removes personal items on an air mattress from his home in a neighborhood along Eldridge Parkway, flooded by w…]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A delay in drawing new maps this year could slow next year's elections
Delays in the delivery of court-approved political maps have disrupted past elections in Texas. And this year's pandemic-related delays in the U.S. census have raised the possibility of jumbled election plans in 2022. Full Story
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![The 2020 Census questionnaire and other Census documents on April 26, 2020.]()
Credit: Kris Tripplaar/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Older and disabled Texans are demanding their home caregivers be vaccinated for COVID-19. But many workers don’t want it.
Home health workers, most of whom are women of color, could start losing their jobs if they aren't vaccinated against COVID-19. Experts widely agree that the vaccine is safe — Pfizer and Moderna both reported their vaccines are more than 90% effective at protecting people from serious illness — but some still refuse to get a shot. Full Story
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![Health care worker Rachel Fuentes in her home in north Houston on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2020. Fuentes has been an in-home caregi…]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: 2021’s low-key Texas government
The slow start to the legislative session reflects the public declarations of goals from House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick: There aren't any. Gov. Greg Abbott put his priorities in a State of the State address this week, but legislative leaders have been relatively quiet. Full Story
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![The Texas House of Representatives chamber on Nov. 20, 2018.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Republican who helped Trump campaign challenge Joe Biden's win will lead election work in Texas House
State Rep. Briscoe Cain was named chair of the House Elections Committee months after traveling to Pennsylvania to help the Trump campaign challenge the results of the 2020 election. Full Story
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![State Rep. Cain Briscoe, R-Deer Park, on the House floor on April 11, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott sets Feb. 23 special election runoff date for race to succeed Drew Springer in Texas House
The race for the solidly red seat in Northwest Texas pits David Spiller against fellow Republican Craig Carter. Full Story
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![A young women wearing a face covering votes inside the polling location at University Park United Methodist Church in Dallas…]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Speaker Dade Phelan shakes up Texas House leadership with new chairs on key committees
With assignments out, legislation that has been filed can be referred to committees for potential hearings. The committees overseeing public education, budget writing and redistricting are among those with new chairs. Full Story
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![A committee hearing room featuring plexiglass dividers on Jan 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune