Texas House votes to legalize the farming of industrial hemp
Hemp is a cousin of the marijuana plant, but it contains low levels of the psychoactive element in marijuana known as THC. The House's bill will now go to the Senate. Full Story
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![State Rep. Tracy King, D-Batesville, on the House floor on April 23, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Solitary confinement worsens mental illness. A Texas prison program meant to help can feel just as isolating.
Prisoners who volunteered for a mental health diversion program say promises of therapy and time out of their cells weren't fulfilled. And Texas prison officials aren't regularly tracking success rates — even as they ask lawmakers to fund an expansion of the program. Full Story
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Credit: Jolie McCullough / The Texas Tribune -
Is Texas leading on disaster preparedness? Yes and no, experts say
During the first legislative session since Hurricane Harvey, state lawmakers are poised to make an investment in storm recovery and flood mitigation that some have described as unprecedented. But it's more complicated than that. Full Story
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![Debris covered a street corner in Rockport in December, more than three months after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in the tiny town that sustained extensive damage.]()
Credit: Brandon Formby / The Texas Tribune -
Closed on Sundays: A guide to some of Texas' confusing alcohol regulations
You can't use credit to buy beer from wholesalers, but you can own more liquor stores if you do business with family. Full Story
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![Colorado-based Oskar Blues, which has a tap room in Austin, is opposed to a bill that would require it to pay what critics call an "extortion fee" to beer distributors.]()
Credit: Erika Rich for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The Texas Legislature is stuck. Don’t worry about it.
The Texas Legislature is in its biennial spasm of drama, with big bills stuck and some state leaders saying it will take a special session to get property taxes, school finance and all of that done. But they have six weeks to go, and they often do their big work on deadline. Full Story
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![From left: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen speak at a joint press conference addressing property tax reform. Jan 31, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
"It was a setup": House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, gun rights activist come face-to-face at Texas GOP fundraiser
After a man angry about a "constitutional carry" bill languishing in the House visited the speaker's home, Bonnen admonished him and lawmakers said the legislation was dead. Then lingering tensions flared up when the two were seated near each other at an event. Full Story
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![Speaker Dennis Bonnen on the House floor during the House School Finance plan deliberation on April 3, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: The Texas Legislature’s tax bills aren’t only about money
Tax policy and state policy get mixed in unexpected ways in the Texas Legislature. Lawmakers are considering tax bills that would regulate vaping and trying to work out the social policy kinks in what could be the largest tax proposal of this legislative session. Full Story
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![Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, listens to testimony at the Ways and Means hearing on SB 2. Feb 27, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate passes two-year budget with money for property tax cuts — but no plan for how to spend it
The Senate budget also includes a $6.3 billion boost for public schools, about $4 billion of which would increase teachers’ and librarians’ annual salaries by $5,000. Full Story
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![State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound on the Senate floor on April 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Texas reports on state government efficiency were kept secret. We're publishing them.
Since 2005, state lawmakers have received the agency's biennial report detailing inefficiencies in government, but this year the report was not made public. Full Story
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![Left to right: Outgoing House Speaker Joe Straus, presumptive House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at a Legislative Budget Board meeting in Austin on Nov. 16, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Crisis mode at the Texas-Mexico border
On this week’s TribCast, Emily talks to Ross, Dave and Alexa about the immigration crisis in El Paso, Congress’ investigation of the state’s voter roll review and culture wars heating up at the Texas Capitol. Full Story
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![A group of migrants wait inside a holding area under the Paso Del Norte international bridge to be taken to area processing facilities in El Paso on March 27, 2019.]()
Credit: Rudy Gutierrez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate panel advances budget bill that mirrors House plan on education, property tax reform spending
The two-year plan, which must still pass the full Senate, includes a $9 billion infusion for public schools and property tax relief and up to $900 million in cuts to Medicaid. Full Story
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![Chairmain of the Senate Finance Committee and state Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, during a committee meeting on April 3, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Many Texas teachers have second jobs or live paycheck to paycheck. They're watching the teacher pay debate.
"I never anticipated that I would take a summer job at Wendy’s just so that I could replace a broken dishwasher,” said one high school English teacher who makes $45,000 per year. Full Story
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![Portrait of Brady Mayo in the Texas State Capitol ahead of testifying on the House Finance Bill on March 12, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate approves occupational licensing bill LGBTQ advocates call a "license to discriminate"
The bill passed on a 19–12 vote, with one Republican voting against it and one Democrat voting for it. It requires one more approval in the Senate before it heads to the Texas House. Full Story
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![Dave Edmonson, Executive Director of Texas and the Southeast region for TechNet, speaks against discriminatory legislation during a press conference on March 27, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
“Republicans have been turned French”: Hardline Texas conservatives worry their allies have gone soft
Activist conservative groups have long been aligned with the lawmakers they helped elect, like Texas House Freedom Caucus members and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Are they still on the same page? Full Story
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![Debate on HB1, the House state budget bill, continues into its 12th hour as Drew Springer, R-Muenster, and Jonathan Stickland laugh over Stickland's attempt at killing an amendment.]()
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Texas Senate aligns with House on how much to spend on education, property tax reform
Both chambers now want to put $9 billion toward public schools and levy reductions. But they disagree about how to spread it out. Full Story
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![Senate Education Committee Chariman and state Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, during a committee meeting on Mar. 5, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
In last-minute ruling, U.S. Supreme Court stops execution of “Texas Seven” prisoner
Patrick Murphy was one of the escaped convicts sentenced to death for the murder of Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins during a robbery. The high court stopped his execution because Texas officials wouldn’t let a Buddhist chaplain into the death chamber with him. Full Story
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![Patrick Murphy.]()
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Everyone wants a piece of the Texas budget. It's hard to succeed when most of the money is accounted for.
Disability advocates want the Texas Legislature to invest in pay raises for home care workers. Even in a year of surplus, it's a difficult battle. Full Story
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![Susie Angel on the back patio of her home with her attendant Sandy White in Austin on Jan. 30, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas lawmakers will obviously need a special session, right? Not so fast.
Halfway through the session, the Capitol's hallways are full of talk of a special session on school finance and property taxes. That won't happen — unless the Legislature makes a mess of the time it's got left. Full Story
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![Speaker Dennis Bonnen and state Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, with other House members hold a press conference to announce their school finance bill on Mar. 5, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Texas officials say it would cost $1 billion to cool prisons – but they’ve grossly overestimated AC costs before
An estimate to put air conditioning into one prison changed from more than $20 million to $4 million last year. Full Story
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![Telford prison in New Boston.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers eye a rainy day fund withdrawal that could set a new record
Proposals in the Texas House would spend $6.6 billion from the state’s savings account; the Senate would spend $4.4 billion. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman