The Texas Legislature is more bipartisan than Congress, historically speaking. But a unique set of issues to address and an atmosphere of division emanating from Washington, D.C., could test that in the session that starts Tuesday.
Economy
Get the latest on jobs, business, growth, and policy shaping the state’s economy with in-depth reporting from The Texas Tribune.
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The Texas Tribune-ProPublica Investigative Unit
A lender sued thousands of lower-income Latinos during the pandemic. Now it wants to be a national bank.
Oportun, which lends in only a dozen states, applied for a bank charter late last year. Consumer and Latino civil rights groups are pushing back, citing the findings of a joint investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune.
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Economy
Trump signs stimulus bill granting most Americans $600 in pandemic aid
The president’s decision to back down and sign the measure released $900 billion in stimulus funds into the economy that had been held up for nearly a week.
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Coronavirus in Texas
A grieving daughter, a dedicated teacher and a former bar owner: We check back in with Texans about the pandemic and 2020
Like so many people, everyone we spoke to for this special edition of The Brief podcast said they’re ready for this year to be over.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Analyzing 2020: The COVID-19 pandemic
We’ve selected some columns from 2020 on the coronavirus.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Hungry and homeless Texans are waiting anxiously for Congress to act. The day after Christmas, pandemic jobless aid expires.
President Donald Trump has suggested he will veto COVID-19 aid legislation, creating uncertainty about when assistance may reach Americans. Meanwhile, Texans are living in cars and the state is sitting on unspent relief money.
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Economy
Trump suggests he won’t sign relief bill into law unless Congress makes changes including increasing stimulus checks to $2,000
The outgoing president described the groundbreaking legislation as “a disgrace” and suggested he would not immediately sign off on aid for millions of Americans.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas extends rental assistance program designed to avoid evictions until March 15
The move comes after Congress passed a stimulus bill Monday extending the federal moratorium on evictions through the end of January. The moratorium order was set to expire at the end of the year.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Those $600 relief checks could soon be on their way to many Americans
The relief bill, passed Monday night, will reinstate supplemental unemployment benefits of $300 per week and extend eviction protections through the end of January. The legislation also allocates another $284 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program.
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Criminal Justice
The pandemic, protests and the polls: Texas’ 2020 in photos
Photojournalists captured the unforgettable images that defined an epic year in Texas as people grappled with the pandemic, protested police brutality and made their voices heard at the polls.