The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
TribTalk is a place for opinions and editorials and even poetry (sometimes, if it’s great) written by people who are usually in the audience instead of on stage. Here are the best columns from this year. Full Story
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After the national spotlight shined bright on Texas politics last year — with a wild presidential race that drew in the state and its leaders — 2017 brought a focus much closer to home. Full Story
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This year, new laws went into effect in Texas that do everything from lowering fees for handgun licenses to requiring seat belts on new school buses. Learn more about the state's newest laws. Full Story
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Ruth Jones McClendon, the former longtime state representative from San Antonio, has died. She was 74. Full Story
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State Rep. Ron Reynolds recently lost his appeal to a 2016 conviction of five misdemeanor ambulance-chasing charges. If his last effort to have his conviction overturned fails, he faces a yearlong jail sentence. Full Story
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The state Constitution outlines the duration of each legislative session and how much each lawmaker makes per year. Changing either would require a constitutional amendment. Full Story
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Annie's List, a group that works to elect Democratic women in Texas, has called on state Sens. Borris Miles of Houston and Carlos Uresti of San Antonio, both Democrats, to resign following reports of sexual misconduct. Full Story
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Several state senators indicated at a Tuesday committee hearing that they would be open to closing at least some of Texas' five remaining remote lockups for committed youth. Full Story
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The revised Texas House sexual harassment policy includes language that strengthens protections against retaliation and provides specific steps to report inappropriate behavior. It comes about two weeks after The Texas Tribune detailed flaws in the former policy that often left victims to fend for themselves. Full Story
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Though poverty rates have remained consistent, Texas has significantly reduced the traditional welfare it provides to poor Texans through cash assistance over the last two decades. Full Story
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It’s not going to be any easier to police sexual harassment in the Texas Capitol than it is to police ethics violations; the difference, at the moment, is that lawmakers have spent more time regulating ethical transgressions. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers have promised to come up with better protection for women who are sexually harassed by legislators and others in the Texas Capitol. But lawmakers aren't like the rest of us: They're difficult to regulate, even by other lawmakers. Full Story
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Legislative leaders looking to create better training to prevent sexual harassment will likely face a roadblock if they want to get lawmakers in the room. Full Story
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The newly established Texas House Select Committee on Economic Competitiveness held its first hearing on how to effectively enact policies that bring business to the state. Full Story
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It's hard to argue that Texas lawmakers do as much as they could to protect the victims of sexual harassment in the state Capitol — staffers, lobbyists and even some female lawmakers. It's been a boys club for a long, long time. Full Story
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Lawmakers in the Texas House and Senate called for a review of sexual harassment policies Tuesday following a Texas Tribune story detailing how current procedures offered little protection for victims. Full Story
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Interviews with more than two dozen current and former lawmakers and legislative aides indicate sexual harassment regularly goes unchecked at the Texas Capitol. And sexual harassment policies rely on officials with little incentive or authority to enforce them, particularly in cases of harassment by lawmakers. Full Story
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For the first time since 1993, there will be an open race for Texas House speaker. With current Speaker Joe Straus announcing his exit, expect a clear turn in the fight between the state's business and movement conservatives. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is asking Texas senators to study whether free speech rights are being infringed on college campuses. Full Story
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In the Texas Senate’s first public hearing since Hurricane Harvey, members of the Committee on Agriculture, Water and Rural Affairs talked for hours about a host of ways to mitigate flooding related to stressed reservoirs in the Houston region. Full Story
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