Gov. Greg Abbott orders special legislative session after vetoing 26 bills
Abbott will call lawmakers back to Austin to tackle Senate Bill 3, a proposed ban on THC products that he vetoed, as well as five others from his veto list. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott signs Senate Bill 2308, the Ibogaine Treatment Research law, at the Capitol in Austin on June 11, 2025.]()
Credit: Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes THC ban, calls for regulation instead
The move infuriated Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the powerful head of the Senate, who had called the ban among his top five bills over 17 years in the Legislature. Full Story
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![Various Delta 8 THC products on display at a convenience store in Spring Branch on Feb. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Supreme Court clears the way for temporary nuclear waste storage in Texas and New Mexico
The court’s decision is not a final ruling in favor of the licenses, but it removes a major roadblock. Full Story
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![The entrance to the Waste Control Specialists site, where radioactive and hazardous waste is being stored on Jan. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Under Trump, Texas reins in border spending and shifts focus to deportations
With border crossings at record lows, state authorities are being sent to arrest people accused of committing crimes in Texas after entering the country illegally. Full Story
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![Shelby Park, occupied by the Texas National Guard and other state agencies, is seen along the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Eagle Pass.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas again lowers restrictions on certain firearms, passes on regulations
Lawmakers passed a handful of bills aimed at easing access to guns as a new pediatric study links state legislation to increased firearm deaths. Full Story
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![San Antonio police officers collect firearms and ammunition during a gun buyback event that exchanges unused or unwanted firearms for H-E-B gift cards, at the Alamodome on Nov. 24, 2024.]()
Credit: Scott Stephen Ball for The Texas Tribune -
Migrant deported after DPS labeled him a gang member without evidence, lawyer says
Lawyers for Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo deny he is a gang member and say the DPS accusation hinges on a photo they found of him standing next to a man with tattoos. Full Story
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![Guards stand over prisoners at CECOT, or Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Center for Terrorism Confinement), El Salvador's mega prison in Tecoluca on Feb. 4, 2025.]()
Credit: Pool/Latin America News Agency via REUTERS -
With only 8% built, Texas quietly defunds state border wall program
Texas officials suggested the federal government could pick up construction. However, during President Trump’s first term, his administration built about one-third of what the state was able to put up in the same amount of time. Full Story
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![A section of state-built border wall under construction near the banks of the Rio Grande south of Laredo in Zapata Co. on Sept. 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Ben Lowy for The Texas Tribune -
Here are some of the Texas Democrats eyeing statewide runs in 2026
Democrats will need to sort through a pileup of potential candidates who see an opportunity to harness backlash to the Trump administration in next year’s midterms. Full Story
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![Beto O’Rourke speaks at the Texas Democratic Convention Reception Kick-Off in El Paso, Texas on June 6, 2024.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers laid the foundation for a housing boom. Here’s how.
The Legislature passed laws allowing smaller homes on smaller lots and making it harder for neighbors to block new housing. Full Story
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![Houses in a North Austin neighborhood on Oct. 9, 2020.]()
Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune -
As Trump celebrates military, Texans protest president’s aggressive immigration enforcement
Demonstrations in McAllen, Midland, Odessa, Austin and elsewhere in Texas were largely peaceful, as some protests went well into the night. Full Story
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![Beth Vaughan, at center, chants as protestors march up Walker Street during a No Kings protest at City Hall, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Houston.]()
Credit: Antranik Tavitian for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott to deploy 5,000 Texas National Guard to sites of planned immigration protests
Demonstrations against immigration raids began in Los Angeles last week and have spread across the country, including to Texas. More are planned this weekend. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to law enforcement officials during a Southern Border Coalition event in Austin on April 29, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Amarillo breaks ground on psychiatric hospital, part of the state’s $1.5B investment in mental health
The facility will bring mental health resources closer to the largely rural region that’s home to nearly 436,000 people. Full Story
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![Artist rendering of the new Panhandle State Hospital in Amarillo, expected to be completed in 2027.]()
Credit: West Texas A&M University website -
Texas foster care agency chief to step down this summer
Two years after Stephanie Muth became Department of Family and Protective Services commissioner, staff turnover is down and the number of children without a placement has dropped. Full Story
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![DFPS Commissioner Stephanie Muth listens to agency updates during a DFPS Council Meeting in Austin on March 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans pioneered in-state tuition for undocumented students. Now they’re celebrating its end.
In 2001, Texas Republicans saw expanding college access for certain undocumented students as a way to build an educated workforce. Now, some GOP lawmakers feel only U.S. citizens should receive those benefits. Full Story
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![Governor Rick Perry delivers his State of the State speech to a joint session of the Texas Legislature on Feb. 12, 2003.]()
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Speaker Dustin Burrows, once tagged as “liberal,” kept skeptics at bay by leaning into a conservative agenda
At the same time, some Democrats acknowledged the Lubbock Republican let them leave their mark on some of the GOP bills they disagreed with. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, gavels out the 89th Texas Legislature at the Texas Capitol on Sine Die, Monday, June 2, 2025]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas won’t force private companies to use E-Verify to check workers’ immigration status, despite leaders’ tough talk
Texas’ conservative Legislature has again and again refused to mandate that most private businesses use E-Verify. Experts say that Republican resistance is rooted in how the system could impact the state’s labor supply and economy. Full Story
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![A photo illustration showing Texas politicians superimposed against images of immigration documents and construction work, in a pattern that mimics torn paper, in green, orange, and black and white.]()
Credit: Photo illustration by Emily Scherer for The Texas Tribune and ProPublica. Source images: The Texas Tribune, Reuters and public documents. -
“I still lose sleep”: GOP Rep. Drew Darby reflects on voucher vote, THC ban and special session
The San Angelo Republican, at a Texas Tribune event, also weighed in on water and energy policy. Full Story
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Voters will have final say on billions of tax cuts for Texas homeowners, businesses
Texas is slated to spend $51 billion on property tax cuts over the next two years. Some worry that’s unsustainable. Full Story
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![An aerial view of new construction homes in a subdivision next to farmland and an irrigation canal in Edinburg, Texas on May 12, 2025.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers voted to ban consumable THC products. Will Gov. Greg Abbott sign — or veto — the bill?
Abbott faces pressure from both sides of the aisle. The prohibition was a priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, but some hemp farmers and veterans want it killed. Full Story
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![Displaying boxes of petitions, members of the Texas Hemp Business Council hold a press conference calling for Gov. Greg Abbott to veto SB 3, a bill which would ban THC products, at the Texas Capitol on June 2, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Dan Patrick and Greg Abbott are getting what they want this legislative session
In this week’s episode, Matthew and Eleanor talk with politics reporter Jasper Scherer about education funding, a THC ban and the success of conservative priorities this year. Full Story
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![The Texas House of Representatives debates and votes on bills on the House floor at the Texas Capitol on Monday, May 26, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune