UT-Austin’s Jay Hartzell praised by GOP leaders as university presidents nationwide take heat over protest response
Hartzell’s protest response has also resulted in condemnations from students and faculty. Full Story
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![The University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell on April 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
State district judge recommends overturning Melissa Lucio’s death sentence
In a rare joint statement, the district attorney and the defense agreed that prosecutors withheld evidence that could point to a Rio Grande Valley woman’s innocence in the death of her toddler. Full Story
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![Melissa Lucio was convicted and sentenced to death in 2008 for the murder of her her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Melissa Lucio's attorneys -
Texas House approves ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates by private employers
Violations could bring a $50,000 fine under an amendment adopted Wednesday. The bill’s sponsor said the ban would be the strongest in the nation. Full Story
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![A man carries a sign protesting Houston Methodist Hospital's COVID-19 vaccine mandate outside Houston Methodist Hospital in Baytown on June 7, 2021. Employees who chose not to inoculate themselves by the hospital's Monday deadline faced suspension without pay and job termination, a policy criticized by the protesters as unfair and unauthorized.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texas is set to improve in-person and mail-in voting for people with disabilities
Voters with disabilities have been pushing for more accessibility for years. This legislative session two bills gained bipartisan support. Full Story
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![Chase Bearden, 45, of Harlingen, the deputy executive director of The Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, poses for a portrait in his office in Austin on June 8, 2023. “Disability doesn’t discriminate,” Bearden said. “We want everybody to be able to vote independently.”]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers closed a background check loophole, but many gun measures failed to pass
Legislators passed a bill that requires courts to report certain involuntary mental health hospitalizations to the federal gun background check system. Many other measures that could restrict firearm access got little traction. Full Story
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![A Springfield Saint Victor AR-15 rifle is displayed during the National Rifle Association annual convention in Houston on May 27, 2022.]()
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Meet the Texas House impeachment managers who are taking aim at Ken Paxton
Led by Andrew Murr, a West Texas rancher and lawyer, and Ann Johnson, a former prosecutor, the team of 12 includes 11 with law degrees. Full Story
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![House General Investigating Committee impeachment managers, led by Rep. Andrew Murr, R-Junction, answer questions at a press conference on May 29, 2023. From left: State Reps. Erin Gámez, D-Brownsville; Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston; Murr; David Spiller, R-Jacksboro; Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park; Cody Vasut, R-Angleton; and Morgan Meyer, R-University Park.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
In dramatic vote, Texas House approves online sports betting measure
A resolution to let voters decide whether to legalize casino gambling, however, was delayed for a day while supporters worked to find enough support for passage. Full Story
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![A gambler stacks chips at a roulette table during the reopening of Bellagio hotel-casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 4, 2020.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Steve Marcus -
Journalists fear Texas Legislature could weaken law designed to protect free speech
News publications and First Amendment advocates are fighting a bill to revise a state law meant to prevent litigants from weaponizing the legal system to punish people for speech they don’t like. Full Story
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas business interests and family values collide as lawmakers debate legalizing gambling
House Bill 1942, written by Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, would permit regulated sports betting that is already legal in 29 states. House Bill 2843, by Rep. John Kuempel, R-Seguin, would permit casino gambling in Texas. Full Story
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![The gaming floor inside Resorts World Hudson Valley casino in Newburgh, New York on Dec. 21, 2022.]()
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Paxton whistleblowers urge lawmakers not to oppose settlement that will be paid with taxpayer dollars
In a statement, the attorneys for the four former top deputies who accused Attorney General Ken Paxton of crimes said state employees “cannot be expected to report government corruption in the future if they know the Legislature won’t back their rights.” Full Story
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![Dade Phelan addresses the House after being sworn in as speaker of the House on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Sports-betting advocates return to Capitol with narrower bill, new Republican author
The Texas Sports Betting Alliance threw its weight behind new legislation Monday to let voters decided whether to legalize online sports betting. Full Story
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![From left: Rep. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, and Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, discuss a property tax bill on the Senate floor on July 14, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Listen as Melissa Lucio learns her life has been spared
Lucio learned of her reprieve in a phone call from state Rep. Jeff Leach. Full Story
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![Melissa Lucio prays with a group of Texas lawmakers.]()
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More than half of the Texas House wants to stop the execution of Melissa Lucio, convicted of killing her toddler
Despite substantive doubts surrounding the cause of her child’s death and a suspect “confession” obtained after hours of interrogation, Lucio is set to be executed next month for killing her 2-year-old daughter. Full Story
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![State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, speaks during a press conference discussing the case of Melissa Lucio and the public push for her clemency at the State Capitol on Thursday, March 24, 2022. A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers are pushing for a stay of execution for Melissa Lucio saying that there is enough doubt in her case that it would be a miscarriage of justice to execute her despite the doubts.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Watch state Reps. Jeff Leach and Joe Moody discuss lawmakers’ criminal justice work at The Texas Tribune Festival
Leach, a Plano Republican, and Moody, an El Paso Democrat, co-chair the House Criminal Justice Caucus. Full Story
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![State Reps. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, and Joe Moody, D-El Paso.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
House committee advances anti-abortion bills, including ones aimed at outlawing the procedure in Texas
The bills now head to the full House for debate. Versions already passed by the Senate are also pending. Each measure will need to be approved by both chambers before becoming law. Full Story
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![Information and diagrams inside a medical room at a Planned Parenthood in south Austin on Jan. 14, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Collin County is the center of a political storm as the Texas suburbs become more competitive for Democrats
A Republican stronghold as recently as a few years ago, the county north of Dallas is now home to two of the most hotly contested state House races and a congressional contest about which Democrats are increasingly bullish. Full Story
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![The Republican Party of Texas office in downtown Austin.]()
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After defeats in 2019, a group of Texas lawmakers is teaming up to push criminal justice reform
The new Criminal Justice Reform Caucus in the Texas House will set its sights on changes in 2021. Full Story
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![State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, testifies on his bill that would let those serving a life sentence for crimes committed under the age of 18 become eligible for parole after 20 years rather than 40. Advocates have called this the "second look" bill, but numerous families of victims of the Santa Fe shooting testified against the bill. March 13, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune -
Bill lengthening amount of time child sex abuse victims can sue heads to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk
The House initially exempted churches and nonprofits from the extended statute of limitations, but the chamber agreed to include them Friday after sex assault victims pushed back. Full Story
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![State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, speaks at a presser following the testimony of Tasha Schwikert, Alyssa Baumann and Jordan Schwikert, three gymnasts who say they were abused by USA Gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar. The three women testified on House Bill 3809 during a Senate State Affairs Committee hearing on May 13, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas lawmakers struggling to find a lovable tax
Even in a legislative session that began with estimates of a generous increase in state revenue, lawmakers spent a lot of time talking about big, big tax bills — all the way to the end. Full Story
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![From left: Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston; Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick; Gov. Greg Abbott; House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton; and Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, speak at a Jan 31, 2019, news conference addressing property tax reform.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
A Lege wrap-up conversation with state Reps. Gonzalez, Leach and Springer
Watch our conversation about how the Texas House did during the 86th legislative session with State Reps. Mary Gonzalez, Jeff Leach and Drew Springer, moderated by Texas Tribune co-founder and CEO Evan Smith. Full Story
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