Ted Cruz introduces bill incentivizing K-12 scholarships
The bill, titled the Universal School Choice Act, would provide a tax credit to match an amount donated to organizations that provide K-12 scholarships. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, arrives for the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee nominations in the Russell Senate Office Building on Tuesday, May 13,2025.]()
Credit: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
The 2025 Texas Legislature is over. See how far some of the most consequential bills made it.
Get up to date on the status of the session’s major bills, including some on their way to the governor’s desk. Full Story
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![Four squares with four icons: the top left icon is of the Texas capitol with a yellow question mark over it, the top right icon is of a bill with with a yellow question mark over it, the bottom left icon is of the Texas capitol with a red checkmark over it and the bottom right icon is of a bill with a green checkmark over it.]()
Credit: Illustration by Ben Hasson -
Texas Senate passes bill that would require public schools to use Christian B.C./A.D. system to track years
The legislation would prevent schools from using materials that do not use the terms “Before Christ” and “Anno Domini.” Many historians have moved away from them to be more inclusive. Full Story
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![The historic Old City of Jerusalem on May 14, 2025.]()
Credit: ddp/dts Nachrichtenagentur via REUTERS -
Stricter bail rules win final passage in Texas Legislature, will go to voters in November
The House passage of the measure asking voters to amend the state Constitution to tighten the state’s bail laws hands a major policy win to Gov. Greg Abbott. Full Story
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![State Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, urges his fellow representatives to vote for his bill regarding bail bonds in Texas on May 19, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
A Texas teen was the victim of fake AI nudes. Now a new law requires platforms to remove such content.
A high school victim was one of the victims, but she and her mother fought back, with the help of Senator Ted Cruz. Full Story
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![President Donald Trump signs the the Take it Down Act into law during a ceremony at the White House in Washington on May 19, 2025.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque -
Oil companies want protection as Texas considers allowing treated fracking water released into rivers
As the state grapples with a threatened water supply, industry and lawmakers have invested millions in research to clean the toxic backwash for use in for agriculture. Full Story
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![Tanks of produced water sit outside the Texas Pacific Water Resources research and development project site as they undergo oxidation using hydrogen peroxide Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, outside of Midland. The hydrogen peroxide helps separate out hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and oil in addition to managing bacteria found in the water.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers are poised to ban minors from social media
The Texas Legislature has already passed a bill requiring age verification to download apps and is seriously considering another to ban children from social media. Full Story
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![Cell phone illustration.]()
Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune -
Judge places temporary block on rule requiring urban DAs to hand over case data to AG Ken Paxton
Over half of the district attorneys affected by the rule filed lawsuits challenging it, saying it violates state and federal law. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Long-running lawsuit against Texas’ foster care system appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court
Lawyers representing foster children asked the high court to reinstate a contempt order against the state, and the judge who issued it. Full Story
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![Heart Galleries, portraits of adoptable children, on display at the Child Protective Services office at Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
SpaceX wins federal approval to launch more rockets in South Texas
The federal approval comes after vote from residents — mostly SpaceX employees — to form a new city at the Rio Grande Valley beach. Full Story
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![SpaceX's Starship lifts off from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight before exploding, near Brownsville on April 20, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Joe Skipper -
Texas lawmakers want penalties for local governments’ campaign finance posting failures
ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found nearly three dozen school districts were missing required campaign finance reports online. Now lawmakers are pushing to impose steep penalties on local governments that fail to abide by the law. Full Story
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![Republican state Rep. Carl Tepper has issued a new bill to strengthen a law that requires local governments to post campaign finance reports online, citing ProPublica and The Texas Tribune’s reporting.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribune -
Juvenile detention, imported shrimp, forever chemicals among hundreds of bills cut off by House deadline
Some measures that made it through before midnight dealt with jail bonds, an unconstitutional ban on gay sex, and the liability of vaccine manufacturers. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dustin Burrows speaks at his dais as house members gather during a point of order on May 15, 2025. May 15 was the final day for the House to file bills.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Faculty and students blast Texas House panel for limiting testimony on bill that targets state universities
The House's higher education committee closed registration to testify on Senate Bill 37 less than half an hour after the hearing started. About 20 people said they didn't get to address lawmakers. Full Story
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![University students and faculty gather at the Texas Capitol’s outdoor rotunda on May 15, 2025 to speak against Senate Bill 37, which would allow the government to reshape courses and governance in higher education.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Bill requiring air conditioning in all Texas prisons wins House approval
House Bill 3006 would require the installation of climate control in state prison facilities by 2032. Full Story
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![Birds fly overhead at the Hilltop prison unit in Gatesville on Nov. 25, 2019.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza for The Texas Tribune -
Bill that would give the Texas Lottery “a two-year lease on life” gets Senate approval
Senate Bill 3070 would allow the Texas Lottery’s games to continue under a new department, abolish the agency and create restrictions on ticket purchases. Full Story
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![A Texas Lottery display at Winners Corner, a board game, lottery and gift store, in Austin on Feb. 20, 2025.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate panel approves $8 billion school funding plan as it seeks middle ground with House
The proposal would heavily invest in teacher pay and special education. It includes a modest $55 increase to schools' base per-student funding, significantly lower than what the House had sought. Full Story
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![Third grade teacher Eran McGowan helps students work through math problems at the Eddie Bernice Johnson STEM Academy in Dallas, Texas on Feb. 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott wants to stop allowing federal benefits in Texas to be spent on unhealthy, high-processed food
Texas’ governor joins other Republican governors making similar requests to ban purchases of candy and soda through the SNAP program. Full Story
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![The fresh produce section of a Brookshire Brothers grocery store in Buffalo on June 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House bill allowing online voter registration got a public hearing — after missing deadline to become law
Texas is one of eight states without universal online voter registration. A lawmaker pushing for it says he’ll continue the fight. Full Story
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![Online voter registration application from the Texas Secretary of State. Voters in Texas cannot register online — nce filled out, the application must be printed, signed, and sent by mail.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
As the Rio Grande runs dry, South Texas leaders look to new water supplies to sustain growth
Leaders hope to treat groundwater and capture more rain as the water from one of the nation’s most iconic rivers becomes less reliable. Full Story
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![An aerial view of the Tres Lagos neighborhood development in McAllen on May 12, 2025. Thousands of homes span the development which includes restaurants and a food truck park.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House votes to repeal ban on “homosexual conduct”
An unlikely group of Republican allies joined Democrats to approve repealing the ban, which has been unenforced since 2003. It is the first time the bill has made it to the House floor since it was first proposed decades ago. Full Story
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![Activists and members of Austin's LGBTQ community gather on the steps of the capitol to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. These riots signify a key moment in the birth of the modern LGBT movement in America. June 28, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune