New Texas law bans COVID mask, vaccine and shutdown mandates, but some Republicans want more
The bill, recently signed by Gov. Greg Abbott and set to take effect Sept. 1, does not restrict pandemic rules by private entities. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to local media before receiving a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine at Ascension Seton Medical Center on Dec. 22, 2020, in Austin.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott signs legislation barring trans youth from accessing transition-related care
Texas joins 17 other states restricting transgender minors from accessing puberty blockers and hormone therapies. Opposing legal groups have vowed to sue to stop the new law from taking effect. Full Story
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![People line the railing on all three levels of the outdoor rotunda of the state Capitol in Austin, and wave signs during the "Fight for our Lives" rally in opposition of anti-LGBTQ+ bills on March 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
North Texas lawmakers talk impeachment, property taxes, school choice
At a Texas Tribune event, Republican state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione said his vote to impeach Ken Paxton was akin to being a grand juror who found enough evidence to warrant a trial in the Senate. Full Story
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This class president is the model of a successful Texas teen. After a ban on trans health care, she can’t wait to leave the state.
For one Round Rock teen, getting accepted to Harvard was her ticket out of a state that she says is hostile to trans youth. Now Texas will ensure young people like her no longer have access to gender-affirming care. Full Story
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![Topher Malone’s mother helps her put on her graduation attire in their home in Round Rock the morning of the ceremony on May 26, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
In first session after Dobbs ruling, Texas lawmakers provide more support for pregnant and parenting college students
Now that Texas has a near-total ban on abortion, lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are trying to make sure colleges are serving students who are pregnant or have children. Full Story
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![Isabel Torres works at the welcome desk at Austin Community College at Eastview on May 25, 2023. Torres is a single mother, and while completing her associates degree, needed daycare for her daughter. When she was offered a spot at the campus daycare, “It was like winning the lottery,” she said.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Watch a Texas Tribune conversation on the 2023 regular legislative session
In a live edition of TribCast, the Tribune’s weekly podcast, we discussed the outcomes of the regular session, what’s happening in the current special session and more. Full Story
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Texas Legislature passes bill to offer new moms a year of Medicaid coverage
The Texas House and Senate voted for the proposal, capping a yearslong effort to extend coverage for low-income moms. Medicaid covers half of all births in Texas, and coverage currently expires after two months. Full Story
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![Patients wait to be seen at the People's Community Clinic in Austin, on Nov. 8, 2010. Founded in 1970, the People's Community Clinic is a primary care center for the medically underserved and uninsured.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
“Doctors have lost their voice”: Top trans care doctor leaves Texas as lawmakers pass ban
Pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Ximena Lopez started a clinic for trans youth in 2014. But she’s leaving Texas ahead of an expected law that would ban transition-related care for minors. Full Story
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![Demonstrators protest SB14, a bill to eradicate gender transition healthcare for trans kids in Texas, while the bill is heard in the House at the state Capitol on May 2, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
After doctors left Dell Children’s adolescent clinic, Austin teens and their families are scrambling to find specialty care
The adolescent clinic treated eating disorders and menstrual complications. It also offered gender-affirming care — which is still legal for now but triggered an investigation by Attorney General Ken Paxton. Full Story
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![People wave signs during the "Fight for our Lives" rally in opposition of anti-LGBTQ+ bills at the outdoor rotunda in the state Capitol on March 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate OKs extending postpartum Medicaid — with an anti-abortion amendment
New moms will be able to keep their health insurance for a full year under a proposal the Senate passed Sunday. A last-minute anti-abortion amendment means the bill will go back to the House. Full Story
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![Patients wait to be seen at the People's Community Clinic in Austin on Nov. 8, 2010. Founded in 1970, the People's Community Clinic is a primary care center for the medically underserved and uninsured.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House’s weekend off means key Senate bills die after missing a legislative deadline
Priority bills that died include a 10-year minimum sentencing for gun-related crimes, a ban on “critical race theory” at public universities and LGBTQ-related legislation. While the bills may be dead, lawmakers have a limited time to attach their ideas to legislation that is still alive. Full Story
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![State Representatives and their families gather on the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
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Texas attorney general investigating second children’s hospital for transition-related care
The Legislature recently passed a bill that would bar minors from receiving this medical care, but it has not yet been signed or gone into effect. Full Story
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![Marti Bier with Texas Freedom Network passes out signs that read "Trans healthcare is not up for debate" before a press conference on the stairs across from the House floor to protest SB 14, which seeks to ban puberty blockers and hormone therapies for transgender youth, at the state Capitol in Austin on May 12, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill barring anonymous reporting of child abuse heads to Gov. Greg Abbott
House Bill 63 is an attempt to reduce the amount of vindictive or false child abuse reports made to the state, but child advocates say it will deter valid reports, too. Full Story
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![A caseworker's badge hangs off her neck as she prepares to assist on a case for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) in June 2018.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texans would get one year of Medicaid coverage after giving birth under bill advanced by Senate committee
A bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and advocates have thrown their support behind extending Medicaid coverage for a full year after childbirth. The full Senate will now have the opportunity to consider the bill, which has already passed the House. Full Story
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![Patients wait to be seen at the People's Community Clinic in Austin, which provides state-subsidized women's health services to low-income women, July 15, 2014.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Texas expected to ban puberty blockers, hormone treatments for trans kids
Gov. Greg Abbott said he will sign Senate Bill 14 into law, which will make Texas one of over a dozen states that restrict transition-related care for transgender minors. Legal groups have already pledged to challenge it in court. Full Story
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![People gathered on the stairs across from the House floor to protest against SB 14, which seeks to ban puberty blockers and hormone therapies for transgender youth, before it is heard for debate in the House at the state Capitol in Austin on May 12, 2023.]()
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Appeals court appears likely to restrict access to key abortion pill
A panel of judges aggressively questioned lawyers for the Justice Department and for the manufacturer of mifepristone about FDA regulations that made the drug more accessible over time. Full Story
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![Women’s March leads a protest against federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling imposing a national ban on mifepristone, at the Supreme Court of the United States on Saturday, April 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
Texas schools say it’s time to stop tying mental health funding to school safety money
Federal pandemic aid helped build public school mental health services in Texas. School officials now brace for the expiration of those funds next year. They’re urging lawmakers to create a dedicated funding stream for mental health assistance in schools. Full Story
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![High school students between classes in the hallway at the high school in Buffalo on March 28, 2019.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Austin doctors who treated trans kids leaving Dell Children’s clinic after AG Paxton announces investigation
Attorney General Ken Paxton previously announced an investigation into “potentially illegal” activity. Parents are scrambling to find transition-related care for their kids as the Legislature appears poised to ban it altogether. Full Story
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![People line the railing on all three levels of the outdoor rotunda of the state Capitol in Austin, and wave signs during the "Fight for our Lives" rally in opposition of anti-LGBTQ+ bills on March 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Pivotal House vote moves Texas closer to banning puberty blockers, hormone treatments for trans kids
The House approved a bill Monday that would ban doctors from providing transition-related care to children. It now heads back to the Senate, which can accept the changes or ask for a committee to iron out the chambers’ differences. Full Story
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![Ricardo Martinez, CEO of Equality Texas, gives instructions regarding a press conference to people who have gathered on the stairs across from the House floor to protest against SB 14, which seeks to ban puberty blockers and hormone therapies for transgender youth, before it is heard for debate in the House at the state Capitol in Austin on May 12, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Abortion bills gain little traction as Texas Legislature turns its attention to LGBTQ restrictions
Texas’ abortion laws look likely to remain about where they were at the beginning of the legislative session, as key deadlines pass without any movement on abortion-related bills. Full Story
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![Addison Kardos, 15, walks with thousands of people in an abortion rights protest in San Antonio after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee Beal for The Texas Tribune