Texas House passes sweeping border funding bill, guts proposed policing unit
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle threw their support behind a new requirement that the unit use only commissioned peace officers for enforcement actions. Full Story
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![Department of Public Safety agents arrest an undocumented migrant for trespassing private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville, Texas on Nov. 9, 2021.
Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune/ProPublica -
Lawmakers consider long-shot $2.3 billion proposal to keep struggling child care providers afloat
Three years after the COVID-19 pandemic upset the fragile child care industry, about a third of the state’s child care providers remain closed. Full Story
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![Childcare providers and families in Texas joined the nationwide “Day Without Child Care,” rallying for greater investment in daycare and early education, at the south steps of the Capitol on May 8, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Texas troopers renew inspections of commercial vehicles at Brownsville border bridge, triggering long delays
Truckers have reported waiting up to 24 hours to cross the border because of the inspections. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered similar inspections last year to stop smuggling, but troopers found no contraband after checking more than 4,000 vehicles. Full Story
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![Commercial trucks are inspected by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper at an inspection station near the Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville on April 12, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas likely will spend billions fixing its water systems. Will it reach these forgotten colonias?
An estimated 500,000 people live in thousands of colonias along the Texas-Mexico border. Largely built between the 1950s and 1980s, these communities have been promised water — but it has never come. Full Story
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![Maria Martínez’s son Jose Martínez removes a makeshift cover for plumbing near a water tank on April 21, 2023. Without the insulation during the winter, the pipes are prone to burst in the colder temperatures.]()
Credit: Jorge Salgado for Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers won’t shake it off. A new bill aims to stop ticket grabs by bots for hot concerts like Taylor Swift’s.
A Texas lawmaker’s daughter was one of several Swift fans blocked from purchasing a ticket to the new Eras Tour due to bots. Texas lawmakers want to make it illegal for people to use bots to grab excessive ticket sales. Full Story
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![American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift performs on her 'The Eras Tour' at AT&T Stadium, on March 31, 2023, in Arlington.]()
Credit: Javier Vicencio/Eyepix Group via REUTERS -
New economic incentive plan clears hurdle in Texas House
During the floor debate for a plan to replace the expired Chapter 313 program, House members added that the new version of the incentive must require companies to pay higher wages and create stiffer penalties for noncompliance. Full Story
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![A drilling rig in Pecos County on Feb. 4, 2023.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribune -
Texas towns need money, technical help and compromise to save their water systems
Water agencies have long resisted working together out of fear of losing their local powers. But an example from Florida could help save the Lone Star State’s water and infrastructure. Full Story
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![One of Wolfforth’s water towers on Wednesday, April. 26, 2023.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Everything you need to know about Texas’ beleaguered water systems
Texas has more than 7,000 water systems. A fraction of them self-reported that they lost 30 billion gallons of water due to broken pipes and leaks in 2021. Full Story
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![Water spews out of a fire hydrant as a San Antonio Water System crew works to fix a water main break near Hunt Ln. and Adams Hill in San Antonio, TX on August 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ water infrastructure is broken, jeopardizing quality and supply for a growing state
On a daily basis, water managers in cities across the state move from crisis to crisis hoping to keep the water flowing to residents. Full Story
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![Tom Bailey flushes out a water line in Zavalla on April 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Felix/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House OKs $5 billion for broadband, if voters give thumbs up
The legislation — which falls short of the $10 billion needed to ensure all Texans have reliable internet access — must still win approval in the state Senate. Full Story
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![A splice can that contains 432 fiber cables in Louisville, Kentucky on April 19, 2021.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Amira Karaoud -
Finding and keeping workers in post-pandemic economy is a struggle for West Texas, local leaders tell Fed
Local leaders told members of the Federal Reserve last week that families are facing financial stresses that make working hard. Educators say they need families more involved at school. Full Story
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![The Odessa Spire is lit in the colors of the Ukrainian flag in support of Odessa’s sister city in the Ukraine as the country faces war with Russia on March 16, 2022.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
SpaceX’s unmanned Starship explodes over Gulf of Mexico after Texas liftoff
There were no people on board the rocket that took off from South Texas on Thursday morning. SpaceX officials said the incident will still inform the company’s future flights. Full Story
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![SpaceX's next-generation Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket self-destructs after its launch from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on a brief uncrewed test flight near Brownsville on April 20, 2023. in a still image from video.]()
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Texas Senate passes $308 billion budget plan, kicking off high-stakes negotiations with the House
There are $5 billion and several political wedges standing between the House and Senate plans, which now move into conference committee with less than five weeks before session ends. Full Story
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![Lt. Governor Dan Patrick presides over the Senate at the Capitol in Austin on April 06, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
More than 18,000 cows are dead after dairy farm explosion in Texas Panhandle
The state fire marshal’s office is investigating. Full Story
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![A worker was critically injured and more than 18,000 cattle were killed in a massive explosion at Southfork Dairy Farm in Dimmit on Monday, April 10, 2023. Dimmit is about 60 miles south west of Amarillo.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Castro County Sheriff's Office -
Texas House passes $12 billion property tax relief package, setting up fight over appraisal cap with Senate
House Speaker Dade Phelan has said tightening the appraisal cap is the best way to cut property taxes, but Senate tax-cut proponents, housing experts and business groups predict the move would have dire consequences. Full Story
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![An East Austin neighborhood.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Senate budget panel approves $308 billion spending plan with new money for teachers, mental health, juvenile justice
The proposal for the 2024-25 budget cycle includes $142.1 billion in general revenue spending — about $5 billion higher than the proposal approved last week by the Texas House — at a time when lawmakers have a historic $32.7 billion surplus at their disposal this session. Full Story
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![State Capitol in the late afternoon on June 12, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
Budget day in the House: Texas lawmakers keep anti-DEI proposal
House Bill 1 is being debated on the floor of the lower chamber, where representatives are hammering out details on the next two years of state spending. Full Story
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![Lawmakers gather around House Parliamentarian Sharon Carter during budget discussions on the House floor of the state Capitol in Austin on April 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Retired state employees struggle through inflation while budget plans leave them out
Budget proposals in the Texas Legislature include billions in raises for current and retired teachers, as well as current state employees. So far, retired state employees are not mentioned in the budget plans. The state’s former public servants haven’t had a pension raise in 20 years. Full Story
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![Valentina Belmares, 73, left, and Gloria García, 68, pose for a photo at Belmares’ home in Alamo, Texas on Monday, April 3, 2023. García says, “If you don’t get a pension raise in 20 years like how social security gives raises, how are the middle class people supposed to make it with inflation?”]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
Texas beekeepers afraid this new legislation will sting
The Texas Legislature wants to crack down on who can claim their honey is made in Texas. Beekeepers say the proposed legislation is too stiff and doesn’t take into account real-world production issues. Full Story
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![A beekeeper's apiary in Bartlett, Tennessee, on June 20, 2022.]()
Credit: Joe Rondone/The Commercial Appeal-USA TODAY via REUTERS -
With more electric vehicles expected in Texas, two bills pave the road for fast-charging stations statewide
Two bills would form the foundation for companies to build more electric vehicle charging stations across the state, supporters say. Full Story
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![Phillips 66 Electric Fueling Station charges a Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck in Houston, on Friday, March 31, 2023.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune