In long-winding case, court considers federal oversight of Texas redistricting
A panel of three judges heard arguments in the high-stakes fight that could return Texas to the days of federal supervision of its political maps. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
With business groups’ backing, House panel adds non-discrimination protection to Senate bill
State Rep. Dade Phelan added the provision to a Senate bill that would bar cities from enacting rules on how businesses schedule their employees’ shifts. LGBTQ groups worried that without the language, businesses could pick which employees get certain benefits. Full Story
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![Chairman Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, listens to testimony during the State Affairs committee hearing in Austin on Feb. 27, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joins fight targeting Texas State Bar
The lawsuit has the potential to upend the structure of the entity responsible for regulating Texas' legal profession. Critics suggest that Paxton's involvement may be politically motivated. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton during a press conference on Jan. 12, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Execution stopped for Dexter Johnson, sentenced to death after Harris County rape and murder
Johnson was convicted in the 2007 murders of Maria Aparece and Huy Ngo in Harris County, a crime he committed at 18. He was set for execution Thursday before a court ruled that his new lawyer should have more time to look into federal appellate issues. Full Story
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![Dexter Darnell Johnson.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
Texas House offers a new way to determine whether a defendant has intellectual disabilities — and is ineligible for execution
The lower chamber gave initial approval to a bill creating a pretrial process to determine if a capital murder defendant is intellectually disabled — more than 15 years after the U.S. Supreme Court said executing such prisoners is cruel and unusual punishment. Full Story
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![State Rep. Senfronia Thomson, D-Houston, gives a seconding speech in favor of electing state Rep. Dennis Bonnen as the new House speaker.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas will end its botched voter citizenship review and rescind its list of flagged voters
The state had questioned the citizenship status of almost 100,000 registered voters, but many on the list turned out to be naturalized citizens. Full Story
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![Voters lined up at the Austin Community College Highland Campus in Austin for the first day of early voting on Oct. 24, 2016.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas speech pathologist celebrates temporary free-speech win, hopes it inspires
A former school contractor spoke Friday about a Texas law that prohibits state government agencies from doing business with contractors who boycott Israel. A federal judge temporarily blocked the law Thursday. Full Story
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![Bahia Amawi speaks to media at the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) office on April 26, 2019. CAIR won a victory in a First Amendment lawsuit on behalf of Amawi, who lost her job as a speech language pathologist after refusing to sign a "no boycott of Israel" clause. Standing next to her is her husband, Mohammad al Bedaiwi.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Judge temporarily blocks enforcement of Texas law banning contractors from boycotting Israel
The order came in a case brought by a Pflugerville school speech pathologist who was told she could only continue her contract work if she promised not to boycott Israel. Full Story
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![The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announces the filing of a lawsuit against Texas' "No Boycott of Israel" law, on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 in Austin. Speaking at the press conference is plaintiff Bahia Amawi, a teacher in the Pflugerville Independent School District who was forced to sign a pledge against her beliefs in order to get paid. She later quit her job as a speech therapist in the district.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina charged with orchestrating an illegal voting scheme
Molina has dismissed the investigation as politically motivated. Full Story
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![Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina surrendered to authorities on illegal voting charges on April 25, 2019.]()
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Conservative group Empower Texans sues lawmaker to gain state House media credentials
The group, which was granted credentials in the Senate but denied them in the House, argues that the lower chamber's administration chairman engaged in "unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination." Full Story
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![Destin Sensky and Brandon Waltens, two employees of Texas Scorecard, a product of the influential political group Empower Texans, sit at the end of the Texas Senate press table on Jan. 16, 2019. Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
State Supreme Court rules Texas can hide the identity of execution drug supplier
Citing security concerns, the state has fought for years to keep the supplier's name secret. Full Story
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![Texas' execution chamber in Huntsville.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
Former Steve Stockman aide gets 18-month sentence in campaign finance scheme
The former congressional staffer, Jason Posey, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Houston. Full Story
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![Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Friendswood, arrives at the United States District Courthouse in Houston on Monday, April 9, 2018 for closing arguments in his federal corruption trial.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating San Antonio for banning Chick-fil-A from its airport
“The Constitution’s protection of religious liberty is somehow even better than Chick-fil-A’s chicken,” Paxton wrote in a Thursday letter to San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and the rest of the council. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Court decisions have weakened Texas' open-government laws. Advocates hope that's addressed this year.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate have filed bills that aim to address a pair of 2015 court decisions seen as threats to open government. Full Story
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![Austin, Texas May 24, 2017: House and Senate coverage Rep. Dan Huberty on school finance, House pallbearers, Senate bills piling up, Dan Patrick selfie with Drew Springer, and Rep. Garnet Coleman feature.]()
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Environmentalists take petrochemical giant Formosa to court over plastics pollution
For years, Diane Wilson has tried to get Formosa Plastics Corp. to stop discharging plastic pellets from its sprawling petrochemical complex on the Central Texas coast. This week, she's getting her day in court. Full Story
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![Diane Wilson organizes bags of that contain plastic pellet samples she's collected over the past three years. Seadrift, Texas. March 20, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
Texas officials say it would cost $1 billion to cool prisons – but they’ve grossly overestimated AC costs before
An estimate to put air conditioning into one prison changed from more than $20 million to $4 million last year. Full Story
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![Telford prison in New Boston.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate confirms Brett Busby for Supreme Court post
Busby, a Republican judge and former U.S. Supreme Court clerk, served on an appellate court in Houston until voters rejected him in November as part of a Democratic sweep. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott's influence has shifted Texas bail reform efforts toward a bill that would give him more control
There are now two sets of bail reform bills named after a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who was murdered while the suspect was out of jail on a $15,500 bond after allegedly assaulting a sheriff’s deputy. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott. joined by DPS Director Steve McCraw (seated, left) and Kasey Allen, widow of Damon Allen, speaks at a press conference in Waco on August 7, 2018. Abbott announced a proposal to reform the bail system in Texas. The proposal is in honor of State Trooper Damon Allen, who was killed while on duty in 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
A fight over paid sick leave is turning into a fight over LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinances
A now-erased provision in Senate Bill 15 explicitly said a potential new state law would not supersede local nondiscrimination ordinances. Without that language, many LGBTQ advocates fear Texans could be exposed to some discriminatory employment practices. Full Story
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![State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, explains parts of House BIll 214 to Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, on August 12, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Trump to nominate Texas Supreme Court Justice Jeff Brown to the federal bench
If the U.S. Senate confirms Brown, the state's highest civil court would see its second vacancy in a period of months. Full Story
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![Justice Jeff Brown listens to Philip Durst during the Texas Supreme Court hearing for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice v. Maurie Levin, et al. case on Jan. 23, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune
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