Michelle Beckley, one of the Texas House’s most liberal members, joins Democratic primary for lieutenant governor
The Carrollton Democrat hopes Beto O’Rourke’s run for governor will help down-ballot Democrats next year. Full Story
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![House Elections Committee member state Rep. Michelle Beckley, D-Carrollton, listens to testimony from Rep. James White, R-Hillster, regarding HB 1708 on April 8, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott calls for criminal investigation into availability of "pornographic books" in public schools
It’s unclear why the governor tasked the state's education agency, which does not employ law enforcement officers, to perform the investigation. Full Story
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![The library at Blanco Vista Elementary in San Marcos on Nov. 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Sara Stapleton Barrera, 2020 primary challenger to state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., announces comeback bid as he retires
Lucio announced Thursday that he is not seeking reelection after three decades in the Senate. Full Story
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![Sara Stapleton Barrera, a Brownsville lawyer who last year challenged state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., in downtown Brownsville on July 4, 2020. Stapleton Barrera said she is again running for the seat after Lucio decided against seeking reelection.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Texas voters split on whether voting laws should be more strict, UT/TT Poll finds
The October poll found that the percentage of Democrats who said voting rules should be less strict increased significantly, with 64% of voters taking that position compared to the 51% in August. Full Story
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![People vote inside the gym at the Metropolitan Multi-Services Center in Houston on Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Democrat Eddie Lucio Jr., known for voting with Republicans on key issues, to retire after three decades in Texas Senate
The Brownsville Democrat, who made the announcement Thursday, has served in the upper chamber since 1991. Full Story
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![State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, on the Senate floor on April 11, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Maps bolster Republicans in the Texas Senate, especially the top one
The new political maps drawn by the Texas Senate don't just favor Republicans; that much was expected from a Republican majority. The maps help Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pick which Republicans he wants in the Senate. Full Story
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![State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speak at a press conference held regarding Democrats breaking quorum and voting legislature at the Texas Capitol on July 21, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott signs off on Texas’ new political maps, which protect GOP majorities while diluting voices of voters of color
Texas lawmakers drew new maps for the state House and Senate, congressional delegation and State Board of Education. Here’s what Texans should know about the 2021 redistricting outcomes. Full Story
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![2020 Census data and redistricting maps at The Texas Tribune office in Austin on Oct. 7, 2021. The state population grew by nearly 4 million and was mostly driven by people of color.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ new political maps create safer districts for incumbents — and put an end to some challengers’ runs
The redistricting process in the GOP-dominated Legislature made many political districts less competitive, which some experts believe might hurt civic engagement. Full Story
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![Salman Bhojani, a former candidate for Texas Senate District 9, at his offices in Irving, on Oct. 17, 2021. Bhojani suspended his campaign after state legislature adopted new district maps which draw Bhojani's home out of District 9.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott’s pick for top Texas election post worked with Trump to fight 2020 results
As secretary of state, Fort Worth attorney John Scott would oversee election administration in Texas. Full Story
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![A Texas Historical Commission plaque on the Capitol grounds on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
In fast-growing Central Texas, redistricting sparks political reshuffling in upcoming statehouse and congressional races
The fast-growing region likely will see a considerable number of new state and federal lawmakers after the 2022 election. And in many cases, they will be representing districts whose boundaries have significantly shifted. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Texas state Sen. Kel Seliger, a Republican willing to buck his party leadership, will not seek reelection
Seliger has served in the Senate since 2005 and led the higher education committee. He was seen as a champion of public education and local control but was derided as too soft on social conservative issues near the end of his tenure. Full Story
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![State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, speaks to his colleague on the Senate Floor on April 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Five takeaways from Texas’ third special legislative session
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office says there’s no plan for a fourth special session at this time. If this was the final special session of the year, what did we learn from it? Full Story
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![The north side of the Capitol building on Oct. 6, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Houston state Rep. Dan Huberty, who spearheaded Texas’ 2019 public education overhaul in Legislature, to retire
Earlier this year, Huberty was arrested in Montgomery County after he crashed his car into another vehicle and failed a sobriety test. The lawmaker was driving home from the Capitol in late April. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, speaks from the dais at the Capitol on May 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas legislators pass most — but not all — of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priority measures in final flurry of lawmaking
Lawmakers approved new political maps and decided how to spend COVID-19 relief money. But they didn’t pass bills about vaccine mandates or the criminal penalty for illegal voting. Full Story
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![Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan listens to a colleague while presiding over the chamber on Oct. 18, 2021, shortly before the Texas Legislature ended its third special session of the year.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Texas voters will decide whether to lower their property tax payments after Legislature completes last-minute Hail Mary
If voters approve the measure next year, it will raise the state’s homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000 for school district property taxes, netting the average homeowner about $176 in savings. Full Story
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![An Aerial image of a suburban neighborhood in San Marcos on October 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House passes proposed new map for chamber’s 150 districts, aiming to protect Republicans’ majority for the next decade
Members considered more than 50 amendments to the proposed map during debate that began Tuesday and ended early Wednesday. Some of the biggest changes focused on Dallas and Harris counties. Full Story
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![The House floor at the Capitol on Sept. 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate passes bill to direct federal relief money to state agencies, hospitals and tourism industry
Allocating those dollars, which the state received under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, was among the items on Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session agenda for the Legislature’s third overtime round of the year. Full Story
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![The U.S. Capitol looms in the background as a woman walks among flags at the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. on May 27, 2020.]()
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Analysis: When Texas legislators admit they don’t know what they’re doing
When lawmakers find something in the law that they don’t like — or that their voters don’t like — they can always say they didn’t know what they were voting on. It happens more than you’d think. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol grounds are covered in snow on Feb. 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate takes another run at supposed election fraud, approving audits of 2020 results and tougher illegal voting penalties
The bills reflect GOP efforts to further tighten voting laws, and pressure from former President Donald Trump on Texas Republicans to help advance his baseless election fraud claims. They are not expected to go far in the House. Full Story
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![Harris County election workers process the MBB data cards which contain ballot results at the NRG Arena in Houston on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Two Black Houston members of Congress decry redistricting map that pits them against each other as discriminatory
Despite the objections of U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green, the Senate committee voted out the redrawn congressional map Monday without addressing the district overlap. The map heads next to the full Senate for a vote. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, speaks as the House Judiciary Committee meets on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on May 8, 2019.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Leah Mills