Senate Bill 7 would make sweeping changes to Texas voting by limiting extended early voting hours, prohibiting drive-thru voting and requiring Texans to provide proof of disability to qualify for mail-in voting.
Texas Legislature 2021
The 87th Texas Legislature approved hundreds of new laws during its regular session that ended in May 2021, including a near-total ban on abortions. Lawmakers then returned to Austin for three special sessions aimed at passing additional conservative priorities. Although House Democrats fled the state for weeks, lawmakers eventually passed new voting restrictions. They also approved new political maps and a proposed constitutional amendment that could lower property tax bills.
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Texas Legislature 2021
After slow start, Texas lawmakers pick up the pace on GOP priorities as legislative session passes halfway mark
After some early tension, the Legislature’s Republican leaders say they are on the same page with the business that remains.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas’ George Floyd Act seeks to reform violent police behavior. But a sticking point centers on protecting officers from lawsuits.
A provision that would remove police officers’ legal shield against civil lawsuits has been pegged by multiple lawmakers as a sticking point in the Republican-led Legislature.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas’ natural gas and power generators would have to prepare for extreme temperatures under bill Senate committee approved
The wide-ranging proposal includes a number of reforms that have been floating around the state Capitol since last month’s deadly winter storm left millions without electricity during freezing temperatures.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Alcohol to go from restaurants gets closer to becoming permanent as Texas House gives approval
The chamber signed off on House Bill 1024 to permanently allow beer, wine and mixed drinks to be included in pickup and delivery food orders. The measure still requires approval from the Senate.
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Texas Legislature 2021
After Atlanta and Colorado mass shootings, Texas GOP leaders double down on protecting gun owners
Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday there is an even greater urgency this legislative session to pass laws expanding gun rights because of Joe Biden’s presidency.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Analysis: Not all emergencies are priorities in the Texas Capitol
Texas has seen more mass shootings in the last two years than proven incidents of voter fraud, but legislators are more focused on election law than on gun violence.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas Republicans begin pursuing new voting restrictions as they work to protect their hold on power
Democrats moved to delay committee hearings that were set for today on the first major bill in a push by Republican lawmakers to further tighten the state’s already restrictive voting rules and raise new barriers for some voters.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Analysis: When elected problem-solvers become part of the problem
Fixing immigration and ending hate crimes was hard enough without elected policymakers in Austin and Washington D.C., stoking nativist and racial fears.
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Texas Legislature 2021
After House stalls on readjusting electricity prices, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick urges Gov. Greg Abbott to use emergency powers
“The governor of Texas is a very powerful person,” Patrick said at a Capitol news conference, ramping up his dayslong campaign to get Abbott to intervene. “He can do anything he wants.”