Democrats declined to support Senate Joint Resolution 87, which sprinted through the Senate and needed 100 votes to clear the lower chamber.
Criminal Justice
Get the latest Texas Tribune coverage on criminal justice, including crime, courts, law enforcement, and reforms shaping the state’s justice system.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Texas Republicans want to block cities’ gun buyback programs
Much of the debate focused on the tense relationship between cities and the Texas Legislature. The bill is head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.
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Texas Legislature 2025
“Anti-Red Flag Act” that would limit when guns can be taken from people advances in Texas House
Senate Bill 1362 would prevent officials from taking someone’s firearms if they haven’t been charged with a crime or aren’t subject to a protective order under the Texas Family Code.
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Criminal Justice
Nearly flown to El Salvador, Venezuelans await an uncertain fate in Texas
Detainees say they’re being held in solitary confinement after family members helped them post about their situation on social media.
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Criminal Justice
Texas inmate executed for killing woman he set on fire inside Garland store
Matthew Johnson, who testified he did not intend to kill the elderly clerk, received the death penalty in 2013. The execution is Texas’ fourth and may be the last for 2025.
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Criminal Justice
A Texas teen was the victim of fake AI nudes. Now a new law requires platforms to remove such content.
A high school victim was one of the victims, but she and her mother fought back, with the help of Senator Ted Cruz.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Bill requiring air conditioning in all Texas prisons wins House approval
House Bill 3006 would require the installation of climate control in state prison facilities by 2032.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Proposal to enhance Texas’ pioneering junk science law approved by Texas House
Last year, lawmakers waded into a dramatic feud over the case of death row inmate Robert Roberson, seen as the embodiment of the failures of Texas’ junk science law.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Pressing deadlines, unfinished business: Where the Legislature stands on abortion, water, property tax and more
A raft of social conservative priorities backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick hang in the balance, including efforts to infuse more religion into public schools.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Bill to ban child marriages in Texas advances in the House
Before the House takes a final vote on the bill, it could face a proposal that would allow adults and minors to marry if their age gap is three years or less.