Rodney Ellis leaves Texas Senate with criminal justice legacy
The 2017 legislative session will open without former state Sen. Rodney Ellis, a 26-year lawmaker who became a criminal justice reform titan in the upper chamber. Full Story
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![Retiring Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, listens to testimony during the Senate Committee on State Affairs hearing on religious freedom on Feb. 17, 2016.]()
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News of Rep. Dawnna Dukes' change in plans fuels questions for potential successors
As a news report came out Saturday that state Rep. Dawnna Dukes no longer plans to leave office, the hopefuls looking to succeed her in House District 46 were left wondering whether there was still a campaign left to be run. Full Story
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![Texas State Representative Dawnna Dukes is honored at the unveiling of the African American Portrait Project at the African American Cultural and heritage Facility in Austin, Texas. June 9, 2014.]()
Credit: Charlie Pearce -
Citing "bathroom bill," Percy Jackson author declines Legislature invitation
Author Rick Riordan is declining to attend the Texas Legislature’s celebration of authors event, saying the reason is because of the proposed "bathroom bill." Full Story
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![Author Rick Riordan.]()
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With "bathroom bill," Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick plows into "tough fight"
While Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has called a so-called bathroom bill a legislative priority, the issue has largely cooled off on the national stage and opposition to similar legislation in Texas had begun to gain momentum. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst unveil the text of Senate Bill 6, which would require transgender people to use bathrooms in public schools, government buildings and universities based on “biological sex,” on Jan. 5, 2017.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman / The Texas Tribune -
Texas reproductive rights groups brace for Legislature
Reproductive rights advocates have expressed concern that Texas lawmakers will take bolder steps in the upcoming session to defund abortion providers and dismantle access to abortion, birth control and other sexual health services. Full Story
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![Protesters of Texas' fetal remains burial rule gather outside the Governor's Mansion on Jan. 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
For Rep. Dawnna Dukes, delayed resignation yields bigger pension check
State Rep. Dawnna Dukes announced her retirement in September, but doesn't plan to make it official until Tuesday. That would make her annual pension payout $3,220 bigger. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, speaks with media following the presentation of a $15,000 scholarship donation to Huston-Tillotson University at the African American Heritage Festival on the University campus in Austin, TX on Feb. 27, 2016.]()
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Texas loses tax lawsuit, but not the way officials feared
The state of Texas lost a lawsuit over business franchise taxes on Friday, but lost the way officials had hoped — without a significant change in an arcane accounting definition that could have cost billions. Full Story
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![Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar is interviewed by Texas Tribune CEO and Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith on Jan. 21, 2016.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles/ Texas Tribune -
Texas files suit against FDA over execution drug (video)
In the Roundup: Texas sues the FDA over an execution drug, state Rep. Armando Martinez is shot by "celebratory gunfire" and the 85th Legislative Session is about to kick off. Full Story
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Analysis: Expect some clouds in Monday’s Texas budget forecast
The Legislature goes to Austin on Tuesday, but lawmakers will find out a day before that what kind of budget they're going to write. Spoiler alert: Money is tight. Full Story
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![Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Whitmire may avoid some pension votes amid conflict-of-interest concerns
After some Dallas City Council members voiced concerns this week over Whitmire’s work at a law firm whose client list includes city pension fund boards, the Houston Democrat said he would likely abstain from voting on Dallas-specific bills. Full Story
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![Sen. John Whitmire D-Houston holds up a copy of newspaper with an article regarding CPS on the front page as he questions John Stephen, a consultant hired to give a report on Texas child protective services during an October 26, 2016 Senate Finance Committee hearing]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
House panel warns of "peril" in Texas mental health system
In a report released Thursday, Texas House Select Committee on Mental Health members wrote that mental health “is absolutely one of the most critical areas of concern” facing the state. Full Story
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![Demonstrators participate in a mental health rally at the Texas Capitol, organized by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, on Feb. 28, 2013.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Poor Texans left in dark as state electricity aid program ends
Low-income Texans are struggling to come to grips with the demise of a longstanding program that helped them pay their electricity bills. Full Story
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![Mary Garcia at her home in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 22, 2016.]()
Credit: Cooper Neill for The Texas Tribune -
Straus approaches session without a challenger for speakership
With a week until the 85th Legislative Session begins, House Speaker Joe Straus is without something he has had before every session since he first took the helm of the chamber: a challenger for the gavel. Full Story
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![Joe Straus, Texas Speaker of the House, at an 85th Legislative Session preview at the Dallas Regional Chamber on Sept. 13, 2016.]()
Credit: Laura Buckman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers file bills to plug "loopholes" keeping government contracts secret
A pair of Texas lawmakers have filed legislation aiming to plug what they called major “loopholes” in public records law that have left taxpayers in the dark about key details of some contracts involving public funds. Full Story
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Lawmaker seeks to pass "constitutional carry" gun bill in 2017
House Bill 375 would give all Texans the right to openly carry a firearm — with or without a permit. If passed, Texas would be the 11th state to allow "constitutional carry." Full Story
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What to watch for in the 2017 Texas Legislative Session (video)
Watch the Tribune's Ross Ramsey explain what lawmakers will focus their attention on during the state's five-month legislative session, which starts Jan. 10. Full Story
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Texas blocking funds to Planned Parenthood, 3 Texans in Trump Ag Secretary hunt (video)
In the Roundup: Texas cutting Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, the Texas Electoral College casts most of its vote for President-elect Donald Trump and three Texans said to be on Agriculture Secretary shortlist. Full Story
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Abandoned Texas oil wells seen as "ticking time bombs" of contamination
Texas is among several states grappling with a surge of abandoned drilling sites and dwindling funds to clean them up. Full Story
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![Ty Edwards, assistant general manager of the Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District, points to brackish water flowing from one of several flowing abandoned wells— originally drilled for oil, but later used for irrigation — that no state agency plans to plug.]()
Credit: Rafael Aguilera for The Texas Tribune -
Trump, women's health, child welfare top Texas news in 2016
Here’s a look at the top health and human services storylines The Texas Tribune tracked this year. Full Story
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![Jill Ramirez, the director of outreach for the Latino Healthcare Forum, passes out flyers and explains components of the Affordable Care Act on Oct. 5, 2013. With Donald Trump's election to the White House, the health law faces an uncertain future.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: On transgender Texans and bathrooms, a call to stay calm
Some Texas lawmakers were in a hurry to require transgender Texans to use the restrooms that match the genders listed on their birth certificates. But the policy and politics are complicated enough to prompt the governor to tap the brakes. Full Story
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![An accessible unisex bathroom at The University of Texas at Austin.]()
Credit: Qiling Wang/The Texas Tribune