Texas Legislature 101: Understanding the state government and how it passes laws
Here’s a rundown of how a bill becomes a law, how the Texas Legislature works and the power players who keep things moving under the Pink Dome. Full Story
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![A visitor of the House gallery listens to legislators speak during a debate on an abortion bill being considered on the House floor on May 5, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
The Texas Legislative session begins today. Here are 6 things we’re watching.
Lawmakers begin work today for their biennial legislative session. They’ll debate over the state budget, school issues, border security and property taxes, among other issues. Full Story
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![A legislator fist bumps a House Administration staffer as they entered the House Chamber on Aug. 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers will have $188.2 billion available for the next budget after record-breaking revenue growth
It’s far more money than legislators have ever had at their disposal, with an increase in available funds that dwarfs any previous jumps between cycles. It’s also more money than lawmakers can constitutionally spend. Full Story
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![Glenn Hegar, Texas comptroller of public accounts, speaks one-on-one with Danielle Moran, financial journalist for Bloomberg News, at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 23, 2022 in Austin, TX.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Watch: After the Uvalde shooting, one Texas school district increases focus on mental health
Round Rock ISD is thought to be among the first school districts in Texas where social workers and police officers work directly with one another to provide mental health support to students. Full Story
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![The Robb Elementary School memorial for the victims of the Uvalde mass school shooting on June 15, 2022.]()
Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune -
Two Texas bills would restrict lessons about sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools
The legislation closely mirrors a Florida bill passed last year, dubbed by critics as the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which detractors say would further isolate LGBTQ students and open teachers and school districts to legal risks. Full Story
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![Pride flags, stickers and masks, pronoun buttons and other merch are handed out at the AISD "Pride Out!" Party in the Park event at Eastside Early College High School in Austin on March 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
“I want to fight”: LGBTQ Texans ready for legislative session as GOP lawmakers target them in dozens of bills
Republicans are backing legislation targeting gender-affirming care for children, classroom lessons about sexuality and drag shows. Full Story
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![Austin Pride Parade attendees wave rainbow flags as they pass the Capitol building, on Aug. 20, 2022.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo/The Texas Tribune -
Joe Biden tours El Paso for first border visit of his presidency
He was greeted by Gov. Greg Abbott upon arrival at the El Paso airport. Abbott has been a chief critic of Biden’s immigration policies and has frequently called on him to visit the border over the past year. Full Story
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![President Joe Biden shakes hands with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott upon his arrival in El Paso on Jan. 8, 2023. This is Biden's first visit as president to the U.S.-Mexico border.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque -
Watch: Four new Texas House members discuss immigration, property taxes and public school financing
They talked about their campaigns and journey to the Legislature, what has stood out to them so far about working in the House and what they hope to accomplish this session. Full Story
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Texans help elect Kevin McCarthy speaker after dramatic late-night votes
Texas Republicans were key players in the intraparty fight over how its leaders would run the U.S. House of Representatives, with right-wing members ultimately securing major wins in the fight. Full Story
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![A member-elect of the House of Representatives grabs Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, by the face as Kevin McCarthy walks away. Rogers had approached Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, and members of the House Freedom Caucus after Gaetz voted "present" rather than voting for McCarthy in a late-night 14th round of voting for a new House Speaker on Jan. 6, 2023.]()
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State police terminate another officer for response to Uvalde mass shooting
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw accused the suspended Texas Ranger of failing to perform his duty during the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School. Full Story
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![Texas Ranger Christopher Ryan Kindell outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24, 2022, when 21 people — 19 children and two adults — were killed by a gunman. Kindell was fired by DPS Thursday and said he plans to appeal.]()
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Newly elected Austin Mayor Kirk Watson hopes to find common ground to solve city’s housing crisis
The former state senator, returning for a second term as Austin’s mayor, spoke at a Texas Tribune event about how he can help reframe the conversation on affordability and the city’s relationship with state leadership. Full Story
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Texas Senate to ban reporters from chamber floor
The move to take news reporters off the Senate floor was implemented in 2021 as a COVID-19 precaution, but an official said Friday the measure would continue in the upcoming session. Full Story
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![A woman waits for the Senate to gavel in from the Senate gallery on Aug. 10, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Democrats enter session with bipartisan hopes — and a new leader who’s prepared to fight
There are 64 Democrats in the 150-member House, one fewer than before the election. There is also one fewer Democrat in the Senate. Full Story
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![State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, speaks at a press conference in reaction to a property tax reform proposal by Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen. The trio laid out their proposal earlier in the day. Jan. 31, 2019.]()
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Chip Roy and other Texas holdouts flip votes and now support Kevin McCarthy, who remains short in speaker bid
Roy, R-Austin, as well as U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Victoria, and Rep.-elect Keith Self, R-McKinney, switched their votes for McCarthy after voting against him 11 times. Full Story
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![From left: Leaders of the opposition to Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy becoming Speaker of the House, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin; Rep. Scott Perry, R-PA; and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-FL, talk as they gather on the floor of the House of Representatives for another expected round of voting for a new House speaker at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., on Jan. 5, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst -
GOP Harris County judge candidate contesting her loss after Election Day problems at polling sites
Democratic County Judge Lina Hidalgo beat Republican Alexandra del Moral Mealer by more than 18,000 votes. An assessment of Election Day problems at polling sites “has not yet revealed” whether any voters were turned away. Full Story
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![Alexandra del Moral Mealer, a candidate for Harris County Judge, poses for a portrait following a forum hosted by the Houston Super Neighborhood Alliance in Houston on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022. Mealer, who was recently endorsed by the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board, is challenging incumbent Judge Lina Hidalgo.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
How Texans helped plot, foment and carry out the Jan. 6 insurrection
From those who planted the seeds of Trump’s strategy to try to challenge the election, to others who sowed doubt and anger by spreading baseless election-fraud conspiracy theories, Texans played major roles in the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol two years ago. Full Story
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Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Biden administration over enforcement of “public charge” law for immigrants
Paxton has sued the Biden administration a dozen times over its immigration policies. Most of those lawsuits have been filed in Trump-appointed judges’ courts. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton walks to a news interview at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on April 26, 2022. Earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Texas v. Texas, the enforcement of the Trump-era “remain in Mexico” policy that required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico as they waited for hearings in U.S. immigration court.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Chip Roy, key McCarthy opponent, steps up as top negotiator in House speaker standoff
Roy has differentiated himself from peers like Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, who are referred to as the “Never Kevins,” amid a historic House vote. Full Story
![From left: Leaders of the opposition to Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy becoming Speaker of the House, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin; Rep. Scott Perry, R-PA; and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-FL, talk as they gather on the floor of the House of Representatives for another expected round of voting for a new House speaker at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., on Jan. 5, 2023.]()
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Ahead of El Paso visit, Biden says U.S. will allow 30,000 migrants from four countries to enter monthly
Migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela will be allowed entry and given work permits. The administration will also expand the use of Title 42 to expel more migrants to Mexico. Full Story
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![President Joe Biden speaks about U.S.-Mexico border security and enforcement during remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington on Jan. 5, 2023.]()
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After a hospital stopped delivering babies, Deep East Texas faces a growing maternity care crisis
Women in Deep East Texas drive over an hour to give birth after the last obstetrics unit in the area closed in 2019. But if closing the unit was hard, reopening it is proving nearly impossible. Full Story
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![Chloe Walker pushes around her sixteen-month old daughter, Everleigh, outside the home they share with her parents and grandmother in Newton, TX, on Jan. 3, 2023.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune
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