The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
A new law will allow physicians to get paid for seeing children over a sophisticated form of video chat, as long as the patient is at school and enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program for the poor and disabled. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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As of Sept. 1, public employees — including state and county workers and public school teachers — will be guaranteed “reasonable accommodations” to pump breast milk in the workplace. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, abandoning a decision to stay out of legislative primaries, endorsed a half-dozen Republican senators for re-election on Friday, saying he changed his mind because he wants his incumbent senators back for another session. Full Story
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Five years after Texas became the first state to permit freestanding emergency rooms, more than 160 have set up shop around the state — a presence that suburban commuters and health insurers alike are finding impossible to ignore. Full Story
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After years of failed proposals in the Texas Legislature to raise the minimum wage, organizers and advocates for higher wages are turning to local governments to raise minimum wages. Full Story
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Starting Sept. 1, children in Texas foster care will get an ombudsman to help them navigate the system, find their caseworkers and report complaints. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Public Safety will receive hundreds of millions of dollars to bolster its ranks along the Rio Grande, adding 250 new troopers and support staff. Local law enforcement agencies fear higher state salaries will lure away their employees. Full Story
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The Texas Supreme Court is about to hear the latest challenge to the state's financing of public schools. Maybe they'll throw it out, but history says otherwise: This almost always means changes in school policy and increases in taxes. Full Story
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Texas is streamlining the process by which the disabled and elderly receive annual mail-in ballots. This is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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In the second week of the 31 Days, 31 Ways series, we explained the new rules on truancy penalties, showed the potential impact of the state's decision to oust Planned Parenthood from a cancer screening program, and covered much more. Revisit the stories here. Full Story
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A man arrested in Iowa is suspected of setting fire to a car last week at the Capitol, the Texas Department of Public Safety announced Thursday evening. Full Story
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In the time it has taken the state and federal governments to hold a Koch Industries affiliate responsible for a South Texas oil spill, 17 different quarterbacks started games for the Dallas Cowboys. Full Story
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A federal judge has given the state an Aug. 24 deadline to recognize same-sex marriages on death and birth certificates. Full Story
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More than a decade after the power market was deregulated for 85 percent of the state, some Texans are finding better deals on electricity. But most have paid thousands more than customers still served by monopoly utilities, a new report says. Full Story
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It’s a service that makes a bride’s big day less stressful. But getting hair and makeup done on location can cause a stylist to worry about the consequences of working outside of the salon. Those fears will disappear starting Sept. 1. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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It’s a service that makes a bride’s big day less stressful. But getting hair and makeup done by a stylist on location is actually illegal in Texas. On Sept. 1, that changes. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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Nearly two years before the murder of six Houston siblings, a state district judge denied a request by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to keep them in foster care, according to a memo sent to members of the Legislature on Tuesday. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said last week that its new beard policy for inmates would cost taxpayers $500,000. Now, the agency says there will actually be no cost to taxpayers. Full Story
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A new law will allow more consumers to challenge surprise medical bills they get from out-of-network doctors, but only if the charge is more than $500. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series. Full Story
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Months after he was put on paid administrative leave amid an investigation into the Texas Health and Human Services Commission's contracting procedures, Cody Cazares has left the agency. Full Story
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