The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
Senate Bill 1 would set new rules for voting by mail, boost protections for partisan poll watchers and roll back local voting initiatives meant to make it easier to vote, namely those championed by Harris County that were disproportionately used by voters of color. Full Story
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The law, which is one of the most restrictive in the country, is scheduled to go into effect Wednesday. Full Story
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The summer fight over voting and election law has been fierce. It may well be a prologue to a bigger battle just ahead: redrawing the state’s political maps. Full Story
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The House balked at a part of the Senate’s bill that would have barred charitable groups from posting bail for some defendants, but otherwise embraced new limits on letting people accused of violent crimes out of jail. Full Story
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The bill, which would provide funding through September 2023, will head back to the Senate before reaching Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. Full Story
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In this week’s episode, Matthew, Alexa and Cassi look back at months of political fights after the elections bill made it out of the Texas House. Full Story
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Some party activists had worried Rinaldi would be more of the same after West left the chairmanship to challenge Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this summer. Full Story
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The law, which takes effect Sept. 1, gives new mothers six months of postpartum Medicaid coverage instead of two. That’s less than many advocates and some lawmakers wanted. Full Story
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Democrats used every tool they had, fleeing the state en masse and forcing two special sessions, but a Republican bill to rewrite state election laws won final approval in the House on Friday. Once the House and Senate work out some differences, it appears headed to the governor’s desk. Full Story
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Navigating the quorum break, Speaker Dade Phelan said he was especially mindful of not doing “un-repairable harm” to the chamber, indicating that could have happened if members were physically detained and brought to the chamber. Full Story
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It’s unclear what the Legislature will be able to accomplish with just two weeks left on the 30-day clock. Key legislative deadlines are coming. Member relationships are frayed. Some Democrats warn the quorum could be broken again. Full Story
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After a standoff that lasted more than a month, the Texas House appears to have enough state representatives in Austin to conduct business. The divisions are deep, relationships are frayed and redistricting lies ahead. Full Story
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There were 99 members registered as present Thursday evening, the exact number needed to end the 38-day Democratic quorum break over the GOP’s priority elections bill. But not all of those members were physically on the floor. Full Story
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The return of three Democrats on Thursday allowed the House to reach a quorum, meaning enough members were present so lawmakers could work for the first time in nearly six weeks. Full Story
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Democrat Reps. Garnet Coleman, Armando Walle and Ana Hernandez were the latest to rejoin the House on Thursday, narrowly clinching a quorum. Full Story
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The ruling is yet another blow to reproductive rights advocates after Texas passed a law this year that goes into effect Sept. 1 banning abortions as early as six weeks. That law is also currently being challenged in court. Full Story
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On this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Karen, Cassi and James about whether the this pandemic wave will turn out to be Texas’ worst and why no Democrats have been arrested since their warrants were signed last week. Full Story
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As of Wednesday, there were no known cases of absent Democrats being arrested, and the chamber was still shy of the 100 members it needs for a quorum to conduct official business. That is despite its Aug. 10 vote to proceed with the arrests. Full Story
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It’s happening slowly, but during the Texas government’s long summer, with legislative walkouts, fights over voting rights, and new battles over what’s safe and what’s not, Gov. Greg Abbott is mostly getting his way. Full Story
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Five Republicans, one Democrat, an Independent and a Libertarian are vying to fill Ellzey's seat after he won a promotion to Congress last month. The filing deadline was 5 p.m. Thursday. Full Story
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