Texas House approves bill that would limit water exports from East Texas — for now
A Dallas businessman has proposed studying the aquifer to see if he can pump millions of gallons out of East Texas, a plan that residents distrust. Full Story
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![The Houston County Lake in Houston County, Texas on on Wednesday, November 30, 2022. (Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
The Texas redistricting fight has been the backdrop for the Trump administration to test a new legal strategy
The administration has been testing a strategy of using the courts as leverage to force political outcomes. In Texas, the state’s leaders and conservative activists have been willing, if not eager, collaborators. Full Story
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![A photo collage showing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, and President Donald Trump in red and black alongside bits of a letter mentioning “unconstitutional racial gerrymanders” and threatening to “seek legal action against the State.”]()
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Fresh off Texas Senate’s approval, new congressional map is target of lawsuits
One lawsuit, filed by LULAC on behalf of 13 Texas residents, states that the redrawn districts in the new map are racially discriminatory and violate voter protection laws. Full Story
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![A map of the proposed changes to Texas congressional districts sits on a Texas House member’s desk on Aug. 20, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott asks for new penalties for lawmakers who flee to halt legislative sessions
The governor announced he was expanding his special session agenda shortly after the Texas House passed a congressional map that Democrats had delayed by leaving the state. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference Friday, Aug. 15, 2025 in Austin, Texas. Abbott spoke about Texas’s response to screwworm as well as addressed California Governor Gavin Newsom's comments and actions regarding redistricting.]()
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Texas Senate fast tracks THC ban, flood prep and bathroom restrictions for transgender people
Senators moved fast on Gov. Greg Abbott’s agenda for the second special session. With House Democrats back in Texas, bills can now move through that chamber. Full Story
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![State Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, speaks on the Senate floor at the Capitol on July 21, 2025.]()
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U.S. will build sterile fly factory in Texas to stop screwworm from devastating livestock industry
Mounted patrol officers, known as tick riders, who typically patrol the southern border to protect cattle from fever tick, will also now serve as the first line of defense against screwworm. Full Story
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![Forty to fifty head of cattle down from 5,000 due to restrictions on cattle imports from Mexico at the Vaquero Trading stockyard in Sunland Park, New Mexico on January 8, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Riding political wins, a once-restrained Gov. Greg Abbott is increasingly steamrolling foes
The third-term governor appears determined to win any battle — even if it means scorched-earth primary crusades or trying to boot duly elected legislators from office. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott responds to a reporter during a press conference at the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville on Saturday June 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Will 13 Democrats be expelled from the Texas House?
In this week’s episode, Matthew and Eleanor ask University of Houston law professor David Froomkin to help them break down the legal cases seeking to remove 13 Democrats from the Texas House. Full Story
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![State Rep. Ramón Romero, D-Fort Worth, speaks at a press conference with members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus at Painters District Council 30 in Aurora, Ill., on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate approves new congressional lines as House Democrats remain out of state
Democrats' absence has halted work in the Texas House, which must also approve the new boundaries, for more than a week. Full Story
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![A newly released redistricting map of Texas is visible on a laptop during a Senate session on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.]()
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Abbott vows to immediately call Texas lawmakers back to work if special session ends without new maps
The leaders of both chambers said they would adjourn for the session Friday if Democrats do not return, while the governor said he might add more items to his agenda. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dustin Burrows, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at a bill signing ceremony at the Capitol in Austin on April 23, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
In redistricting clash, Texas GOP flexes power to shut down Democrats' last tool of resistance
Since Democratic lawmakers left Texas to delay Republicans’ new map, state leaders have challenged the limits of traditional democratic norms to break the impasse. Full Story
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![Streetlights and building lighting illuminate the Texas State Capitol through early morning fog on the ninth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 15, 2023.]()
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Republican Party of Texas sets stage to censure members who stepped out of line in likely bid to block them from primary ballot
Republicans who are censured by their county party leaders may be blocked from the primary ballot under a new party rule passed last year, that is expected to be tested by the courts. Full Story
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![Republican Party of Texas Chair Abraham George speaks during the Texas GOP Convention on May 25, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
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Texas Democrats know they may lose redistricting protest, but hope to spark a national fight
Democrats concede there’s only so much they can do to keep Texas from redrawing its maps. But they want to encourage blue states to retaliate. Full Story
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![Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin speaks during a press conference surrounded by members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus at Painters District Council 30 in Aurora, Ill., on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott’s bid to expel the House Democratic leader goes to a court filled with his appointees
The Texas Supreme Court said in 2021 the Constitution allows members to thwart legislation by leaving the state. Abbott wants them to reconsider. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott look on as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas Jimmy Blacklock swears in state senators during the opening of the Texas Senate in Austin on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Bruce Bugg, chair of the Texas Transportation Commission, dead at 70
The San Antonio banker previously served as a senior adviser to then-Gov. Rick Perry and chaired the Texas Economic Development Corporation. Full Story
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![Prominent San Antonio banker Bruce Bugg has died, a source close to him said Wednesday.]()
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Texas Senate OKs stricter limits on city, county property tax revenue
The proposal would put tighter limits on how much property tax revenue cities and counties of a certain size can collect each year. Full Story
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![Republican legislators talk amongst themselves during the 89th legislative special session in the Senate Chambers on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025 in Austin, Texas.]()
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The Texas redistricting fight spurring a legislative standoff: What you need to know
Texas Republicans are trying to redraw congressional districts to pick up five additional U.S. House seats. Democrats face financial and political risk in their bid to block the GOP plan. Full Story
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![Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu speaks during a press conference alongside dozens of fellow Texas lawmakers and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in Carol Stream, Ill., on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025.]()
Credit: Jamie Kelter Davis for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott threatens Texas House Democrats with removal from office for fleeing state
The governor also alleged absconding Democrats may have committed felonies by fundraising to cover the $500-a-day fines they will face under House rules. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott at a bill signing ceremony at the state Capitol in Austin on June 11, 2025.]()
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Denying quorum has been a Texas political strategy since 1870
While the Democrats could technically derail the GOP’s redistricting map, such efforts have been largely symbolic and had limited success blocking past legislation, experts say. Full Story
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![At least 50 House Democrats that Texas left the state held a press conference in Washington D.C. The democrats broke quorum and stopped Republicans from taking up GOP priority bills on July 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
How a rural Texas sheriff became a poster child for serving Trump’s immigration goals
Roy Boyd has also become one of the loudest cheerleaders for partnerships between sheriffs and ICE to offer the federal agency unprecedented access to jails and deputies. Full Story
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![From left: Tom Homan, President Donald Trump's "border czar," Goliad Co. Sheriff Roy Boyd and Gov. Greg Abbott in a panel discussion during the Sheriff's Association of Texas 147th Annual Training on July 15, 2025, in Fort Worth.]()
Credit: Camilo Diaz Jr. for The Texas Tribune