A Senate committee discussed the potential pitfalls of artificial intelligence — and overregulating it.
Lois Kolkhorst
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State Government
Texas’ open records law is 50 years old — and routinely flouted
At the annual conference of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, two Republican lawmakers described how government officials fail to meet transparency requirements.
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Ken Paxton Impeachment
Senate Republicans say House managers failed to meet high burden of proof
Democrats, however, said their GOP colleagues “caved” to outside pressure in voting to acquit and return Ken Paxton to his job as attorney general.
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Texas Legislature 2023
More Texans would qualify for food stamps under a bill heading to Gov. Greg Abbott
The value of a household’s vehicles disqualified nearly 55,000 people seeking federal food assistance in 2022. House Bill 1287 increases the threshold of car values that lead to SNAP applicants being denied aid.
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Texas Legislature 2023
After abuse accusations at The Refuge, Texas will create new reporting and screening requirements for foster care workers
The legislation came after The Refuge, a Bastrop foster care facility, hired a caretaker without knowing she had a history of sexual misconduct with children at a state juvenile facility. Coworkers also concealed evidence of the abuse, which further put the foster girls at harm.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas Senate OKs extending postpartum Medicaid — with an anti-abortion amendment
New moms will be able to keep their health insurance for a full year under a proposal the Senate passed Sunday. A last-minute anti-abortion amendment means the bill will go back to the House.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Watch: Texas immigrants “shocked” by bill that would have prevented them from buying homes
Initially, Senate Bill 147 would have prevented legal Texas residents from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from buying land. Pushback from immigrant groups persuaded senators to soften the proposal.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas Senate passes bill limiting farmland sales to China, other countries
The amended bill is a dramatically watered-down version of an earlier proposal that sought to ban land and home purchases by citizens of China and three other countries.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas Senate approves $15 million bill to expand local mental health treatment options for children and families
The proposal would offer hospitals and nonprofits grant funding to expand child and family mental health services.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas senators, facing criticism, soften proposed ban on Chinese purchases of land
The measure, endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott, originally would have banned citizens of China, Iran, Russia or North Korea from buying land in Texas. Under a new version considered Thursday, the ban wouldn’t apply to dual citizens or lawful permanent residents.
