$8.5 billion school funding package passes Texas Senate
The legislation includes new pots of money for teacher raises and other school costs like insurance and transportation. It now heads to the House, where leaders say it will pass. Full Story
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![After out loud reading time, Dana Altamirano discusses the book they just read as a group with her fourth grade students at West Avenue Elementary in Waco on April 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Greta Díaz González Vázquez/The Texas Tribune -
Senators soften student discipline bill, giving Texas schools more flexibility
The Texas Senate had previously proposed more severe consequences in the bill. Full Story
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![Nimitz Middle School students gather in the hallway outside of a classroom as they wait for a teacher between periods Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
It’s “Texas Time”: Legislature OKs permanent daylight saving time, but Congress must also act
Federal action would be needed to make the change legal. Lawmakers at both the state and federal levels have debated the question for decades. Full Story
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![Sunrise over the historic Alamo in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Prayer period in schools backed by Texas Legislature
A House vote showed broad support for the measure that would let districts set aside time for prayer or religious study. Full Story
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![A cross from a rosary, on Nov. 26, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Legislature on verge of completely banning THC products after key House vote
The House approved the ban after previously considering proposals to preserve the industry by tightening regulations. Full Story
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![Products containing THC sit at a store in Austin, Texas on May 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Major energy consumers will face new limits if Texas House approves proposal
The legislation would give ERCOT the ability to turn off power to major consumers in an emergency. Full Story
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![Construction workers build a portable building that will be used to house computers cooled by immersion technology on Oct. 22, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Legislature moves to build Texas Life Memorial on Capitol grounds
Approval of the monument comes as the lower chamber prepares to debate the “Life of the Mother Act” bill later this week. Full Story
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![A rendering of the National Life Monument, which will be installed facing the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. Replicas are planned for all 50 states.]()
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TribCast: Higher education and the battle for Texas universities
The gang talks about the Texas Legislature’s efforts to rein in universities, and all the changes at the top. Full Story
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![A student walks across the campus at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville on Aug. 20, 2020.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Vacant offices, strip malls may get new life as housing in Texas’ largest cities
The bill is part of a suite of GOP proposals aimed at curbing the state’s high housing costs — chiefly by allowing more homes to be built. Full Story
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![Empty real estate in downtown Brownwood on Sep 9, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Another big tax cut for Texas homeowners appears imminent
Providing bigger tax breaks to homeowners is a key component of a deal brokered by Republicans in the Texas Legislature to lower tax bills for Texans. Full Story
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![A farmhouse on U.S. Highway 190 in Milam Co. on March 16, 2025.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Is it law yet? See how far some of the most consequential bills have made it in the 2025 Texas Legislature
We’re tracking the status of major bills through the final stretch of the 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 -
Why a Central Texas farmer is on a one-man mission to stop renewable energy
The Texas Legislature is considering a proposal that would add restrictions on renewable energy expansion. Full Story
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![Robert Fleming watches over his cattle as they feed in a pasture that borders the Blevins solar project on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Blevins. Fleming is concerned that the solar development could damage the environment, his cattle and human health.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers want penalties for local governments’ campaign finance posting failures
ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found nearly three dozen school districts were missing required campaign finance reports online. Now lawmakers are pushing to impose steep penalties on local governments that fail to abide by the law. Full Story
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![Republican state Rep. Carl Tepper has issued a new bill to strengthen a law that requires local governments to post campaign finance reports online, citing ProPublica and The Texas Tribune’s reporting.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House votes to repeal ban on “homosexual conduct”
An unlikely group of Republican allies joined Democrats to approve repealing the ban, which has been unenforced since 2003. It is the first time the bill has made it to the House floor since it was first proposed decades ago. Full Story
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![Activists and members of Austin's LGBTQ community gather on the steps of the capitol to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. These riots signify a key moment in the birth of the modern LGBT movement in America. June 28, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
Proposal to enhance Texas’ pioneering junk science law approved by Texas House
Last year, lawmakers waded into a dramatic feud over the case of death row inmate Robert Roberson, seen as the embodiment of the failures of Texas’ junk science law. Full Story
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![Former Detective Brian Wharton testifies during a Criminal Jurisprudence hearing on death row inmate Robert Roberson on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin. Wharton was an investigator in the case of the death of Nikki Roberson and has expressed his doubts of Roberson's guilt and agrees with stopping his execution. With his scheduled execution drawing closer, a hearing debating the certainty of Roberson's guilt and there is a bipartisan push to stay his execution. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Business tax breaks closer to reality after Texas Senate approves compromise
The Texas House must approve changes to the proposal that were brokered by party leaders. It’s part of a package of bills to bring down property taxes statewide. Full Story
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![Small businesses are reflected in a storefront window in downtown Smithville on Mar. 11, 2024.]()
Credit: Maria Crane for The Texas Tribune -
Clock is ticking for Texas’ $8 billion school funding bill
Senators will hold a hearing Thursday on their counterproposal to the House's school funding bill. House Democrats and public education advocates have criticized the upper chamber for not moving faster to advance the legislation. Full Story
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![Nimitz Middle School students line up to enter their next class on Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
“A gift to our mothers”: Moms could drive solo in car pool lanes under Texas House bill
The bill originally allowed pregnant women to drive in HOV lanes, to be consistent with Texas abortion laws, but legislators extended it to all mothers. Full Story
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![A toll road in Austin on Dec. 17, 2019.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
It’s not just about vouchers and school funding. Here are other Texas public education bills you should track.
Student discipline, uncertified teachers and school bans on DEI and cellphones are some of the topics being debated at the Texas Legislature this session. Full Story
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![A classroom at Kennedy-Powell Elementary in Temple on April 17, 2025.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
Proposals to require judges to deny bail more often advance through House panel, signaling a broader agreement
Amending the Texas Constitution to crack down on the state’s bail practices has been an elusive priority of Gov. Greg Abbott’s for three consecutive sessions. Full Story
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![An Austin Bail Bonds II sign near Interstate 35 on Feb. 5, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune