Starbase, Texas' newest city, has liftoff; seeks $1.5 million loan from Elon Musk’s SpaceX
City leaders held their first public meetings this week since voters approved the South Texas city’s incorporation. Full Story
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![Starship S28 & B10 on the launch platform in Starbase, Texas, on Thursday March, 14 2024.]()
Credit: Scott Schilke/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Texas moves close to ban on some land sales to foreigners
The Legislature has approved a conference committee report that lists sales to certain people from China, North Korea, Russia and Iran as threats to national security. Full Story
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![A horse grazes on a farm in Milam County on March 16, 2025.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Oil companies win protections from Texas Legislature ahead of selling fracking water
At least four companies say they are prepared to treat the water well enough to be released into rivers in West Texas. Environmental groups say the state is moving too fast. Full Story
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![Produced water ponds, constructed by Martin Water, in Lenorah, on Feb. 24, 2024. The Railroad Commission approved the construction of the ponds, used to treat and recycle produced water from fracking, next to the Circle 6 Baptist Camp in the Permian Basin.]()
Credit: Julian Mancha for The Texas Tribune/Inside Climate News -
Texas oil companies face new deadlines to plug inactive wells
Senate Bill 1150, which is on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott, is a rare example of the Texas Legislature regulating the state’s oil and gas industry. Full Story
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![A plugged well on the Scouras’ property in Lee County on July 12, 2021. The Scourases are two of many Lee County residents whose water sources have dried up as a result of Vista Ridge Pipeline Project.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill allowing smaller homes on smaller lots amid housing affordability crunch advances in House
Senate Bill 15, a top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, is part of a broad push by lawmakers to put a dent in the state’s high home prices. Full Story
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![A construction worker builds homes in far west San Antonio on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Scott Stephen Ball for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmaker abruptly spiked his bill to punish cities that don’t deal with homeless encampments
The bill would have withheld some tax dollars from cities that did not comply with state law. Full Story
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![A tent stands in a field after being removed from a homeless encampment underneath Interstate Highway 45 in Dallas, Texas on Friday, July 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Texas to increase funding to state film incentive program by $300 million
The Senate accepted amendments to a bill that initially sought $500 million over the next two years into projects filmed in Texas. Full Story
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![Charles Steen, an operator during a film production showcase hosted on the Texas Capitol grounds on Wednesday, March 12, 2025.]()
Credit: Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman/USA TODAY Network via REUTERS -
Legislature clears the way for Texas Lottery to continue under a different state agency
SB 3070, which awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature, would move the lottery game to Texas’ Department of Licensing and Regulation and includes new restrictions on ticket purchases. Full Story
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![Members of the Texas Lottery Commission at a public meeting in Austin on April 29, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Bill to allow smaller homes on smaller lots resurrected in Texas House
A top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the legislation would make it easier to construct homes on smaller lots. A House Democrat briefly killed the bill. Full Story
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![A stretch of suburban homes line the landscape southeast of San Antonio on July 26, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Eviction bill now focuses on squatters in Texas House rewrite
The chamber jettisoned a provision tenants’ advocates warned would make it easier for Texas landlords to evict renters. Full Story
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![A tenant walks her puppies outside of an apartment where the tenants were evicted and the apartment emptied at the Life at Jackson Square apartments in Houston on April 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Food aid cuts and other changes: What the U.S. House spending bill could mean for Texans
Many low-income families would see cuts in health care and food benefits. The state hopes for a big reimbursement for border security spending. Full Story
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![A volunteer loads a box of groceries into a truck for delivery to a nearby community in the the panhandle.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Meet the Tribune’s 2025 summer fellows
Fellows learn from experienced Tribune professionals, while bringing fresh perspectives, enthusiasm and valuable skills. Full Story
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![The Texas Tribune welcomes a new group of fellows this summer.]()
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Texas is about to ban THC products. Here’s what to know.
The ban aims to remove products — made legal through a 2019 loophole — that provide a similar high to marijuana and are easily accessible to the general public. Full Story
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![Various Delta 8 THC products at a Valero station on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023 in Spring Branch TX. Delta 8 products are currently legal in Texas due to its low amount of THC but often the amount of THC is not tested and simply possessing THC products can be enough to be arrested and charged with possession. (Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
It’s “Texas Time”: Legislature OKs permanent daylight saving time, but Congress must also act
Federal action would be needed to make the change legal. Lawmakers at both the state and federal levels have debated the question for decades. Full Story
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![Sunrise over the historic Alamo in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Water bills face deadline threat as Texas lawmakers negotiate spending priorities
Gov. Greg Abbott and other leaders have called for a major investment to save the state’s water supply. How to spend the money has caused friction at the Capitol. Full Story
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![Workers conduct maintenance on the Fred Hervey Water Reclamation Plant El Paso, Texas on March 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Texas braces for an imminent screwworm infestation, a threat to the state’s cattle industry
U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz hope to fund an operation to kill the parasitic fly before too much damage is done. Full Story
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![Cattle are brought across the U.S.-Mexico border at the livestock import/export facility in Santa Teresa, New Mexico on January 22, 2021.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Major energy consumers will face new limits if Texas House approves proposal
The legislation would give ERCOT the ability to turn off power to major consumers in an emergency. Full Story
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![Construction workers build a portable building that will be used to house computers cooled by immersion technology on Oct. 22, 2021.]()
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Vacant offices, strip malls may get new life as housing in Texas’ largest cities
The bill is part of a suite of GOP proposals aimed at curbing the state’s high housing costs — chiefly by allowing more homes to be built. Full Story
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![Empty real estate in downtown Brownwood on Sep 9, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Another big tax cut for Texas homeowners appears imminent
Providing bigger tax breaks to homeowners is a key component of a deal brokered by Republicans in the Texas Legislature to lower tax bills for Texans. Full Story
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![A farmhouse on U.S. Highway 190 in Milam Co. on March 16, 2025.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Why a Central Texas farmer is on a one-man mission to stop renewable energy
The Texas Legislature is considering a proposal that would add restrictions on renewable energy expansion. Full Story
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![Robert Fleming watches over his cattle as they feed in a pasture that borders the Blevins solar project on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Blevins. Fleming is concerned that the solar development could damage the environment, his cattle and human health.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune