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.
Courts
Stay up to date on Texas courts with in-depth coverage of major rulings, judicial elections, criminal justice, and the judges shaping state law from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Public Education
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.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina charged with orchestrating an illegal voting scheme
Molina has dismissed the investigation as politically motivated.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
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.”
Posted in
Criminal Justice
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.
Posted in
Congress
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.
Posted in
Politics
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.
Posted in
Courts
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.
Posted in
Environment
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.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2019
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.
