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.
Jeff Leach
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Texas Legislature 2023
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.
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Texas Legislature 2023
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.
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Texas Legislature 2023
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.
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Politics
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.”
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Texas Legislature 2023
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.
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Criminal Justice
Listen as Melissa Lucio learns her life has been spared
Lucio learned of her reprieve in a phone call from state Rep. Jeff Leach.
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Criminal Justice
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.
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The 2021 Texas Tribune Festival
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.
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Texas Legislature 2021
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.
