Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin resigns to run for Texas House
McLaughlin, who led the small South Texas community through the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, was first elected in 2014. Full Story
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![Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin Jr. speaks at a Special City Council meeting at City Hall on June 7, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott signs $18 billion tax cut package for Texas property owners
At a time when the state has some of the nation’s highest property taxes, the initiative was a cornerstone of his 2022 reelection campaign. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about the recent 88th Legislative Session to an audience at the Texas Public Policy Foundation offices in Austin, on June 2, 2023. Abbott recounted policy victories in regards to fentanyl and the border crisis, as well as limiting gender affirming care and banning DEI practices in higher education. Abbott ended the event by promising to call a special session for school choice, after the current special session for property tax resolves.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton’s far-right billionaire backers are fighting hard to save him
With the attorney general’s impeachment trial set for September, supporters have risen to Paxton’s defense, fueled by the deep pockets of oil-rich West Texas donors. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton makes a statement to the press May 26, 2023 a day before a scheduled impeachment vote in the Texas House in a long-running ethics complaint.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Paxton lawyers seek to disqualify 3 Democratic senators as impeachment jurors
The motion asks Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to block the senators from voting on articles of impeachment, arguing that past statements critical of the attorney general show unacceptable bias. Full Story
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![From left: Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas, Sen. Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio, and Sen. José Menéndez of San Antonio.]()
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2021 statements about role of outside lawyer could play a part in Ken Paxton impeachment trial
Paxton’s top aide told senators that an agency-hired lawyer worked with the Travis County district attorney’s office to investigate a complaint by Nate Paul. County prosecutors dispute that. Full Story
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![First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster speaks during a press conference in the William Clements Building in Austin on June 9, 2022.]()
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Rep. Four Price declines to run for eighth term in Texas House
The Amarillo Republican has led six committees and was among the rural GOP members to oppose school voucher proposals. Full Story
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![State Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo (center), speaks with legislators before the House gavels in on Aug. 31, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Prisoners’ relatives and former inmates plead for help as deaths mount in sweltering Texas prisons
Several lawmakers supported a call for Gov. Greg Abbott to bring lawmakers back immediately to approve air conditioning for prisons, which the Legislature declined to do during its regular session. Full Story
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![Tona Southards, whose 36-year-old son died in a Texas prison during the June 2023 heat wave, falls to her knees as she leads a prayer circle outside the Texas Capitol on July 18, 2023. Southards and other prison rights advocates called for Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session to install air conditioning in Texas prisons.]()
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6 large donors fuel Ken Paxton’s post-impeachment campaign fundraising
The suspended attorney general’s campaign disclosure did not shed light on how he is paying for his impeachment legal defense. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton attends a campaign event during a Bulverde Spring Branch Conservative Republicans meeting on May 16, 2022, in Bulverde. Paxton criticized President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, championed voter fraud in Texas and praised the leaked SCOTUS draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune -
Acting as Paxton impeachment judge, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issues sweeping gag order
“Prejudicial and inflammatory statements” from both sides have jeopardized the ability of senators to offer fair and impartial justice, Patrick says. Violators can be found in contempt, jailed and fined. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gavels in the Senate at the state capitol in Austin on June 20, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton, impeached and suspended from office, raised $1.7 million in less than 2 weeks
Paxton’s campaign said 2,343 donors contributed to the Republican attorney general in 12 days when a fundraising freeze lifted after the regular legislative session. Full Story
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![Ken Paxton speaks at his primary election results watch party alongside his wife Senator Angela Paxton in McKinney, TX on March 1, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
A&M faculty leaders decry “appearance of outside influence” in botched hiring of journalism professor
The university announced the hiring of Kathleen McElroy, a Black former New York Times journalist, but later backtracked on its offer amid conservative pushback. Full Story
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![Texas A&M University in College Station.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Texas lawmakers approve property tax cuts after 7 months of trying
In this week’s episode, we discuss the winners and losers — politically and financially — after lawmakers approved an $18 billion tax cut bill. Full Story
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![A home in East Austin in 2017.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Property tax special session is over, but months of acrimony could complicate Texas lawmakers’ mission as more work awaits
Efforts to repair rifts, particularly among Republican leaders, begin as another contentious special session looms on Gov. Greg Abbott’s call for “school choice.” Full Story
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![Speaker of the House Dade Phelan gavels the House into session on the first day of the second special session at the state Capitol in Austin on June 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Harriet O’Neill, former GOP justice on Texas Supreme Court, joins impeachment prosecutors against Ken Paxton
After 18 years as a district and appellate judge, O’Neill returned to private practice in 2010. She called the case against Paxton “clear, compelling and decisive.” Full Story
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![Former Texas Supreme court Justice Harriet ONeill in a 2010 interview with The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Justin Dehn/The Texas Tribune -
Property tax cuts hit the fast track as Texas Senate advances long-awaited agreement
The package could land on Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk by the end of the week. Voters must pass the plan in a constitutional election in November for it to take effect in the 2023 tax year. Full Story
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![Construction in the Teravista neighborhood in Georgetown on May 18, 2016.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Abel Herrero announces he will not seek a 10th term
The moderate Democrat from Robstown chairs the Corrections Committee. Full Story
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![State Rep. Abel Herrero with his family on the House floor on the first day of the 2017 Texas legislative session, on Jan. 10, 2017.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
Former Texas Sen. Carlos Uresti, convicted for his role in Ponzi scheme, released from prison
The Democrat from San Antonio was initially sentenced in 2018 to 12 years in federal prison. His sentence was later reduced, and he will stay in a halfway house until December 2024. Full Story
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![Carlos Uresti talks with the media following his sentencing in Federal Court on June 26, 2018. The former state senator will be released today from federal prison after serving more than 4 years of a 12-year sentence.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Voting by mail in Texas will get a little easier with these legislative fixes
Two bipartisan bills passed this session will give voters more time and opportunities to fix mistakes when they request and return ballots by mail. Full Story
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![The Travis County Tax Office at 5501 Airport Blvd is now the only drive-thru location open for hand delivery of mail ballots in the county. The drop-off location photographed here on Oct. 2, 2020, will be open until Nov. 3, 2020.]()
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Texas House investigation widens to include Ken Paxton real estate purchases, report says
The Wall Street Journal says the impeached attorney general, his wife and a family trust spent nearly $3.5 million buying properties in four states in 2021 and 2022. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton makes a statement to the press May 26, 2023 a day before a scheduled impeachment vote in the Texas House in a long-running ethics complaint.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Jacey Jetton, called to military service, chooses his wife as temporary replacement
Under a provision of the Texas Constitution, Fanny Jetton will represent her husband’s Houston suburban district during the Legislature’s second special session. Full Story
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![Fanny Jetton is sworn in as a replacement for her husband, state Rep. Jacey Jetton, R-Richmond, after he was called away for active military duty, by House Speaker Dade Phelan at the start of the second special session on the House floor at the state Capitol in Austin on June 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune