Texas received $203.4 million in 2021 to help build community mental health programs at libraries and churches, among other efforts. Those funds expire Dec. 31.
Texas Legislature 2025
Texas lawmakers are in Austin for the 89th Texas Legislature’s second, 30-day special session. They are redrawing the state’s congressional map, considering limits on consumable THC products and pushing flood preparedness measures. A first special session ended without successful legislation after House Democrats fled the state to block Republicans’ proposed congressional redistricting map. The regular session ran from January to June and resulted in a new school voucher program, a ban on DEI initiatives in public schools and proposals to increase the state’s water supply.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Advocates say there aren’t enough of them in Texas long-term care facilities
Officials hope state lawmakers will boost the budget of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman office, an independent state agency, which can often be an elderly Texan’s only lifeline to the outside world.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Texas lawmaker files bill to reduce “forever chemicals” in sewage-based fertilizer
The bill would require companies to test fertilizer made from sewage sludge for PFAS and meet limits before selling them to Texas farmers and ranchers.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Texas Republicans want voters to provide proof of citizenship. Arizona’s law holds lessons.
A Votebeat analysis shows how such requirements risk disenfranchising key voter groups, including Native Americans and college students.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Texas GOP threatens House members who support Dustin Burrows in speaker race with attack mailers
This is the latest example of the Republican Party of Texas spending its resources attacking its own members.
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Texas Legislature 2025
A school voucher program in Texas is more likely than ever. Can lawmakers craft a bill they agree on?
Some voucher opponents are ready to compromise; others are hoping supporters will fumble over the program’s size, eligibility and accountability.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Dustin Burrows walks a tightrope seeking Republican and Democratic support for Texas House speaker bid
Five years after weathering a major Republican House leadership controversy, Burrows finds himself at the center of another skirmish — this time as he seeks the speaker’s gavel himself.
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Texas Legislature 2025
A new Texas GOP rule could alter the House speaker’s race — and ban some Republicans from appearing in primaries
Republicans who vote against party leaders’ preferred candidate could be barred from running in primaries. Lawsuits could follow.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Dustin Burrows on bipartisanship, school vouchers and why he still thinks he’ll be Texas House speaker
In a Q&A, Burrows said he’s still confident he’ll win. But he says the leadership race is bigger than any one person and his supporters are trying to protect the integrity of the House.
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Texas Legislature 2025
A South Texas lawmaker’s 15-year fight for a Rio Grande Valley law school
Advocates say a law school in one of the state’s poorest regions would exponentially help communities with legal aid.