A look at the wins rural Texas scored in this year’s legislative session
Lawmakers sought to close gaps in education and support funding for agriculture, disaster preparedness and health care this year. Full Story
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![The Texas State Capitol on March 17, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Texas may put restraints on new big businesses hoping to tap into the energy grid
According to ERCOT, the state’s energy demand may double in six years. Full Story
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![The recently-opened Edge Data Center in Amarillo on March 19, 2025.]()
Credit: Angelina Marie for The Texas Tribune -
Texas will share equipment database with local fire departments to help beat wildfires
The legislation, which won unanimous approval in both chambers, was written following the state’s historic Panhandle wildfires last year. Full Story
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![A firefighter with Forest Bend Fire Department extinguishes flames at the site of the Borrega wildfire on March 31, 2022. The wildfire burned through a large part of the King Ranch and surrounding areas in Brooks, Jim Wells and Kleberg counties.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas hemp farmers fear full THC ban would nip industry in the bud
As lawmakers work to close loopholes that allow minors access to cannabis consumables, hemp farmers warn a total THC ban would strangle a once-hailed crop. Full Story
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![bin of proccessed hemp at Bingham Family Venards outside Meadow, TX.]()
Credit: Trace Thomas for The Texas Tribune -
Legislation creating statewide emergency communication system advances in Texas House
The legislation was written after the state’s largest wildfire scorched more than 1 million acres in the Panhandle last year. Full Story
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![The Rolling Pines Fire blazes through Bastrop State Park on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Bills introduced a year after state’s largest blaze seek to limit wildfires
Among the proposals is a bill that would force more inspections of power lines, which a committee concluded ignited a blaze that burned more than 1 million acres last year. Full Story
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![A plane prepares drops retardant on the Roughneck fire Sunday, March. 3, 2024, in Sanford, Texas.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Three months after the Texas’ largest wildfire, Panhandle residents are preparing for the next one
Short of an immediate statewide response, Texans who lost homes and livestock are taking matters into their own hands to better prepare their property for a wildfire. Full Story
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![Green grass grows around plants and trees scorched by Smokehouse Creek wildfire on April 3, 2024 near Canadian. “The lands recover faster than the people,” said Janet Guthrie, a Canadian resident who raises cattle in Hemphill Co.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Public blasts Texas agencies, regulators for poor communication and oversight at wildfire hearings
Thursday’s hearing marked the end of the Legislature’s three-day marathon of public hearings. Full Story
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![Craig Cowden gives testimony to the house committee investigating the Panhandle wildfires Thursday, April 4, 2024 in Pampa.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Utility pole inspection company declines to testify at Texas Panhandle wildfire investigation hearing
The Texas A&M Forest Service concluded that a fallen decayed utility pole caused the Smokehouse Creek fire. Full Story
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![State Rep Ken King, R-Canadian, speaks during an investigative house committee hearing on the Texas Panhandle wildfires Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Pampa. In late February, the largest wildfire in Texas history raged across the panhandle, burning just over a million acres.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Texas emergency director calls for firefighting air force after historic Panhandle fires
A special legislative committee is investigating what caused the Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest in state history. Full Story
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![From left, Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief Wes Moorehead, Director of Texas A&M Forest Service, Al Davis, and Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management Nim Kidd, sit before a House Committee investigating the Panhandle wildfires Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Pampa. On Tuesday, testimony focused on topics relating to the largest wildfire in Texas history.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Texas legislative committee to investigate cause of Panhandle wildfires
The panel of three lawmakers and two residents will also look at disaster preparedness. Full Story
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![Charred ground left by the Smokehouse Creek fire after the fire burned through Currie Smith’s ranch Sunday, March. 3, 2024, in Hemphill County, Texas.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott vowed to campaign against anti-voucher GOP House members. Why did these six candidates get spared?
With the March 5 election just a few days away, six anti-voucher House GOP incumbents managed to sidestep Abbott’s revenge warpath. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott during a property tax cut bill signing ceremony in New Caney, on Aug. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune -
How Gov. Greg Abbott lost a yearlong fight to create school vouchers
The governor projected confidence throughout 2023 that vouchers would pass. But his insistence on universal eligibility ensured his failure to convince 21 House Republican holdouts. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks on the north steps of the State Capitol to supporters at a Texas Public Policy Foundation Parent Empowerment rally on March 21, 2023. Abbott has called lawmakers to Austin for a special session Monday targeted at passing private school vouchers.]()
Credit: Ricardo Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via REUTERS -
Lawmakers approve school safety bill that would require an armed person at every Texas campus
The bill comes in response to the Uvalde school shooting last year that left 19 children and two adults dead. Full Story
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![On The Mark Enhanced Tactical Training CEO Ray Dunn inside the Harrold ISD K-12 school where he teaches a gun training class for educators. The North Texas ISD was the first in the nation to arm teachers for safety in 2007.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate committee revamps school funding bill to revive voucher-like proposal
The Senate education committee has drastically changed House Bill 100 after Gov. Greg Abbott signaled he would call a special session if a voucher-like program didn’t pass. Full Story
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![Chana Jones' classroom in Snyder Primary School in Snyder on Monday, April. 17, 2023.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ private and rural schools again brace for a showdown on school choice
Rural school leaders in Texas have been able to stave off the legislative priority of some of the state’s most prominent Republicans. But private school officials hope this year will be different. Full Story
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![Jacey Eagle, a freshman, takes a test during advanced biology as students attend classes at Lufkin High School in Lufkin, Texas, U.S., on Friday, January 27, 2023. Public school officials in rural areas like Lufkin face budget challenges because of proposed school choice legislation, which provides taxpayer-funded alternatives to sending a child to a local public school.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
House passes bill on inappropriate teacher-student relationships
The House passed Senate Bill 7, which would penalize principals and superintendents who purposely hide incidents of teachers having sexual or romantic relationships with students. Full Story
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![State Reps. (l-r) Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, Ken King, R-Canadian and Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont at a Public Education meeting on March 7, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas educators criticize discrepancies between new A-F and past ratings
Educators argue the preliminary A-F grades contradict past distinctions they have received from the state. Proponents of the new rating system say it more accurately represents how schools are doing. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Benjamin Hasson