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.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune -
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 -
Texas GOP once again tries to ban local governments from hiring lobbyists in Austin
Critics of the bill say the state’s smallest cities and school districts will be silenced at the Capitol. Full Story
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![Texas state senators take care of business at their desks during floor debate on SB5 the THC regulation bill on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. Clockwise from upper left are Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, Sen. Adam Hinojosa, D-Corpus Christi, Sen Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown and Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Seven House Democrats making day trip to New Mexico amid redistricting battle
With a quorum break on the table for the minority party as a way to thwart a GOP bid for more congressional seats, members travel out-of-state for a third time. Full Story
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![New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) speaks during the Democratic Party of New Mexico Election Night Watch Party at the Isleta Casino and Resort on Nov. 5, 2024 on the Pueblo of Isleta, New Mexico.]()
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Texas Republicans, including Gov. Abbott, were reluctant to redraw the state’s congressional maps. Then Trump got involved.
The governor eventually agreed to include redistricting on his special session agenda after discussing the matter with the president on a phone call. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott at the state Capitol in Austin on June 11, 2025.]()
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Texas lawmakers largely ignored recommendations aimed at helping rural areas like Kerr County prepare for flooding
Texas lawmakers’ inaction on flood prevention often hits rural and economically disadvantaged communities the hardest, experts said. Full Story
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![Photos and flowers hang on a fence as a memorial to flood victims.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Why Greg Abbott refuses to release his emails with Elon Musk
The governor’s office said some of the correspondence with the billionaire and his companies contains “intimate” information that isn’t of “legitimate concern to the public.” Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference.]()
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Texas leaders have repeatedly claimed the state’s voting maps are race blind. Until the Trump DOJ disagreed.
Gov. Greg Abbott has acknowledged DOJ concerns that some districts were drawn “along strict racial lines.” Critics say it’s a political ploy. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a bill signing creating a Texas DOGE office at the capitol building in Austin on April 23, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Abbott orders special session on Hill Country flooding, redistricting, THC and unfinished GOP priorities
The Republican governor laid out an ambitious agenda that includes an unexpected array of conservative bills that failed during the regular session. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference at the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville on Saturday, July 5, 2025.]()
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Sirens, gauges and flood prevention: What the Texas Legislature could do in response to Hill Country disaster
Gov. Greg Abbott has promised to add flood response to the agenda for the July 21 special session, with an expected focus on alert systems and local recovery. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott holds an emergency proclamation during a press conference at Hill Country Youth Event Center on Saturday July 5, 2025, in Kerrville, Texas.]()
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House Democrats, California leaders weigh tit-for-tat redistricting if Texas Republicans redraw maps
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s aides have signaled their boss’s willingness to counter Texas redistricting with a similar move to offset GOP gains, lawmakers said. Full Story
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![California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks next to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass as he announces a $750 million film and TV tax credit to help boost one of California's hallmark industries and the local economy from The Ranch, a Warner Bros. production facility, in Burbank, California, U.S., July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake]()
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Texas lawmakers have gotten used to state budget surpluses. That era may be ending.
As federal pandemic aid ends and sales tax revenues cool, analysts say it could constrain the Texas Legislature in coming years. But they don’t see an immediate budget crisis on the horizon. Full Story
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![Dense fog blankets the dome of the Capitol in Austin on March 12, 2019.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott sets Nov. 4 special election for open state Senate seat
The contest coincides with the state’s November uniform election, when voters across Texas will already be at the polls to decide local offices and ballot measures. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick presides over the Senate on July 14, 2021.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott, AG Ken Paxton do not have to release Uvalde or Jan. 6 emails, Texas Supreme Court rules
The decision, stemming from a 2022 lawsuit, narrows the public’s legal options to challenge Texas officials under the state’s open records law. Full Story
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![Family members and friends participate in a march in support of those killed and injured in the school shooting at Robb Elementary, in Uvalde on July 10, 2022.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott orders preemptive strike on screwworm in Texas
Abbott ordered two Texas agencies to begin working together and with residents and business leaders to stop the spread of the invasive fly before it even starts. Full Story
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![Cattle at a ranch in Cedar Creek on March 28, 2021.]()
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Majority of Texans oppose total THC ban like the one vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott, poll finds
The statewide survey also found that Texas Republicans are closely divided on the issue. Full Story
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![Hemp plants at Caprock Family Farms in Lubbock on May 23, 2025.]()
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Lt. Gov. Patrick rips Gov. Abbott for vetoing THC ban, digs in against calls for regulation
The clash marks a rare break between two of the most powerful Republicans in Texas after a legislative session that ushered in a series of conservative victories. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks to a reporter during a press conference at the Texas Captiol in Austin, Texas on Monday 23, June 2025.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune