Texas Legislature 2019

The high-priority bill boosts per-student funding and reduces property taxes across the state. Full Story 

Previous state law explicitly permitted breastfeeding in public, but the bill adds a protection for women who choose to pump breast milk in public. Full Story 

The bill, which goes into effect Sept. 1, prevents cities and neighborhood associations from prohibiting or regulating children who sell nonalcoholic drinks on private property. Full Story 

Problems with the state’s data led to initial reports that Texas' maternal mortality rate was far higher than it is. Full Story 

Greg Abbott is done vetoing and signing bills for the 2019 Texas session. Here are the big bills that passed — and the ones that failed. Full Story 

We're livestreaming our conversation in Edinburg at noon recapping the 86th legislative session with Rio Grande Valley-area legislators, including state Sen. Chuy Hinojosa and state Reps. Bobby Guerra and Oscar Longoria, moderated by Tribune CEO Evan Smith. Full Story 

The bills would, among other things, strengthen mental health initiatives available to children, abolish the cap on how many school marshals can carry guns on public school campuses and allot money to school districts that can go toward “hardening” their campuses. Full Story 

Members of the Texas House and Senate wasted little time touting the never-ending "kumbaya" feeling that enabled them to reform school finance and property taxes. For those who covered the Capitol, a substantive, successful session meant a "boring" one. Full Story 

Some gun rights groups want Gov. Greg Abbott to veto a line item in the Texas budget that puts $1 million toward a public safety campaign on gun storage. But one powerful bloc isn't actively opposing the measure: the National Rifle Association. Full Story 

The bill would have required domestic violence survivors to be notified when offenders are released on bond. But the Republican governor nixed the legislation over a provision by Democratic state Rep. Poncho Nevárez that would have delayed a West Texas waste facility's increase in state fees. Full Story 

Gov. Greg Abbott added David Whitley to his state staff after Texas Senate Democrats refused to confirm Whitley as secretary of state. Whitley's handling of a botched voter citizenship review undermined his Senate support. But isn't the hiring a sign that the governor didn't mind? Full Story 

The bills aim to create a "hostile environment" for human trafficking in Texas and address sexual assault, said Gov. Greg Abbott at a bill signing ceremony Tuesday in Dallas. Full Story 

"We've got this," the governor tells plumbers worried as their profession faces deregulation next year in Texas. Full Story 

One bill awaiting action by the governor will require freestanding emergency rooms to clearly disclose the in-network health plans they accept and the fees patients may be charged. Full Story 

Lawmakers are gone, and the legislative season is over. Cue up the 2020 elections! Full Story 

Take a look at how Texas lawmakers reconciled major differences in their proposed two-year budgets, including funding for public schools, teacher salaries, women’s health, prison guard salaries and more. Full Story 

The marked difference between the 86th Legislature and its predecessors followed an election year that changed politicians' minds about who deserved their attention. Full Story 

Dennis Bonnen gaveled out on Monday with much of the same widespread support in the Texas House that accompanied his unanimous election to the speaker’s gavel in January. Full Story 

On this week’s bonus TribCast, political reporter Patrick Svitek leads a conversation on what happened — and what's next — now that the 86th session of the Texas Legislature has adjourned. Full Story 

Texas joins 18 other states that have passed similar laws restricting access to over-the-counter cough medicines like Nyquil and Robitussin that include the ingredient dextromethorphan. Full Story