To be safe, Texas Senate again approves political district maps
The vote ensured the Senate met its constitutional requirement to redraw districts in the first regular session after publication of the 2020 census results. Full Story
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GOP Texas senators pull their support for allowing some transgender kids to keep receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy
The Senate approved Senate Bill 14, which would ban transition-related care for transgender kids. Republicans had previously voted to allow kids currently receiving such care to continue doing so. Full Story
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![State Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, speaks on the Senate floor at the state Capitol in Austin on March 14, 2023.]()
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Texas drops effort to punish Harris County over its law enforcement spending
The fight is the latest skirmish between Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar and Harris County leaders over whether they “defunded” law enforcement. Full Story
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![Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar discusses the biennial revenue estimate with audience members at Texas Tribune’s Studio 919 in Austin on Jan. 9, 2023.]()
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Texas Senate votes to close employment loophole after Refuge foster care scandal
The upper chamber unanimously passed Senate Bill 182 after The Texas Tribune reported that a state-licensed foster care facility hired a caretaker whom the Texas Juvenile Justice Department previously fired for having inappropriate relationships with children. Full Story
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![The Refuge in Bastrop on Apr. 12, 2022]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar 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.]()
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Chinese Americans fight for their place in Texas as lawmakers push restrictions on foreign land ownership, social media platforms
Among the fastest-growing segments of the Texas population, Chinese Americans fear their rights are becoming collateral damage as Texas officials seek to limit investment from China and ban a popular app that many rely on to keep in touch with family. Full Story
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![Members of the Texas Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Collective hold signs during a press conference at the state Capitol on March 9, 2023.]()
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Nate Paul, real estate investor in Paxton corruption allegations, ordered to jail again after losing appeal
The Austin real estate developer is central to allegations that his friend, Attorney General Ken Paxton, abused his office to help Paul’s business affairs. Full Story
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![Nate Paul is the CEO of World Class, a real estate holding company.]()
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Rift grows between Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan over how to cut property taxes
The Senate wants to raise the homestead exemption. The House wants to tighten the appraisal cap. Both chambers’ leaders are skeptical of each other’s proposal. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan, left, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, center, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.]()
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TribCast: Weighing Donald Trump’s support among Texas Republicans
In this week’s episode, we discuss the Texas reaction to the indictment of Donald Trump and check in on how the leaders of the Legislature are getting along. Full Story
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![Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends his first campaign rally after announcing his candidacy for president in the 2024 election at an event in Waco, on March 25, 2023.]()
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Llano County officials must offer library books they’d removed, judge orders
Local officials are appealing the order in a lawsuit that drew national attention. Seven library patrons say the book removals infringed their First Amendment rights. Full Story
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![Cars pass by the the Llano County Courthouse in Llano on Monday, Dec. 14, 2021. The Commissioners Court for Llano County voted to close the public library to "inventory and catalog" their books after community pushback related to books that some deemed offensive. The pushback also led to a decision to immediately shut down an online library of thousands of books out of fears that children could access material not appropriate for children. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers’ attempts to ban school library books deemed inappropriate for kids spur confusion — and concerns
The authors of bills in both legislative chambers say their bills’ aim is simple: keeping sexually explicit content off school bookshelves. But opponents say the legislation is vague and broad enough to wreak havoc. Full Story
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![The library at Blanco Vista Elementary in San Marcos on Nov. 4, 2021.]()
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Texas Republicans quickly blast Donald Trump indictment, calling it “catastrophic” and politically motivated
Trump became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, in his case over alleged hush money payments made to an adult film star. Many of his fellow Republicans in Texas lambasted the legal development. Full Story
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![Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Waco on March 25, 2023.]()
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Staff of Houston state Rep. Jolanda Jones resigns, citing hostile work environment
Jones said in a new statement that she was outraged at the allegations the former employees made about her son, who works in the office, which she said are false. Full Story
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![State Rep. Jolanda Jones, D-Houston, speaks at a rally at the Texas State Capitol demanding lawmakers address the state’s overdose crisis in Austin on Feb. 15, 2023. Jones and other representatives from six Texas cities–– El Paso, Laredo, West Texas, San Antonio, Austin and Houston–– gave speeches to call for increased harm reduction in response to a spike in fentanyl deaths statewide.]()
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Texans who take custody of their relatives’ kids struggle to make ends meet — and to get more aid from the state
Relative caregivers, like grandparents who want to keep kids out of foster care, usually get half as much state assistance as strangers who take in children. Full Story
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![Beverly Morris says she was not aware that her six grandchildren were in foster care. When CPS called her, she decided to raise them herself but found that the foster care system pays grandparents much less than if she were an unrelated foster parent. Now a few years later, she is raising her six grandchildren at their home in Leander, Texas.]()
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Bills advance to close loophole allowing some lawmakers to increase their pay to $140,000
Two bills that advanced in House and Senate committees on Wednesday both exempt any lawmaker who has already taken advantage of the benefit. Full Story
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![State Representatives and their families sit on the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2022.]()
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Texas Observer will continue publishing after staff crowdfunds more than $300,000
The crusading liberal magazine had planned to lay off its staff and shut down. But the board has now reversed course. Full Story
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![S stack of Texas Observer magazines.]()
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Texas Senate scales back proposed restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender kids
Senate Bill 14 would now allow trans children who are already receiving some transition-related treatments to continue getting that care. The Senate gave initial approval to the reworked legislation Wednesday. Full Story
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![People chant during the Trans Kids Call for HELP! rally in front of the Governor's Mansion in Austin on March 13, 2022.]()
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Two Texas Democrats will vote for GOP bill to reverse their own party’s signature climate improvement initiatives
Gonzalez and Cuellar both represent oil and gas workers in South Texas and expressed misgivings about the Inflation Reduction Act, their party’s climate package last year. Full Story
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![U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen.]()
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Texas bill advancing in the Senate would block minors from updating gender on birth certificates
Opponents of the bill call it a “power play aimed at making the lives of transgender children as difficult as possible.” Full Story
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![A protester waves a transgender pride flag during a protest at the University of North Texas in Denton on March 23, 2022.]()
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Bill that would give parents state funds to pay for private schools moves to the full Senate for a vote
Education savings accounts, which are similar to vouchers, are a priority of Gov. Greg Abbott this session. Texas senators also advanced a bill that would give raises and other benefits to teachers. Full Story
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![Students eat lunch in the cafeteria at Chapa Middle School in Kyle on Aug. 24, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune