"I can do a better job": O'Rourke acknowledges need for campaign pivot
Two months in to his presidential bid — and no longer flying high — the former El Paso congressman is making clear he needs to do more to take his message national. Full Story
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![Democratic presidential candidate Beto OâRourke on The View on May 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Gina Ortiz Jones running again to unseat Texas U.S. Rep. Will Hurd
Jones, a former Air Force intelligence officer, lost to Hurd last year by a razor-thin margin. Full Story
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![Gina Ortiz Lopez, a candidate running for US Congress district 23 during an event at LiftFund in San Antonio on February 20, 2018]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
"People were giving us lip service": Texas cities' legislative efforts have struggled this year
When weighing in on issues like property taxes, the main interest group representing cities has encountered skepticism. Full Story
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![The Houston skyline on Dec. 17, 2018.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers see a more engaged Gov. Greg Abbott. Will it pay off?
Once knocked as detached, the governor has become more involved in a legislative session hinging on two big-ticket items he's prioritized: school finance and property tax reform. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott chats with state Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, on the House Floor on April 30, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Advocates say a Texas House bill could prevent arrests like Sandra Bland's, but multiple attempts to pass it failed
A measure to limit arrests for misdemeanors that only result in fines initially got House approval. Then it failed on a subsequent vote amid what some say was confusion over what the bill would do. Lawmakers tried to revive it Friday evening — after several lawmakers had left the chamber — but that attempt also failed. Full Story
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![Sandra Bland.]()
Credit: Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: When the Texas Legislature’s safest vote is no vote at all
Legislation swapping higher sales taxes for lower property taxes flopped this week, and for lawmakers, it flopped in the best way possible: They never had to cast a vote. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, speaks on the Texas House floor on House Joint Resolution 3 – which would have asked voters to increase the state sales tax to buy down school district property taxes – on May 7, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas narrows law barring contractors from boycotting Israel
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill weeks after a federal judge blocked the existing state law in response to a lawsuit. Full Story
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![Governor Greg Abbott and House at a press conference regarding property taxes on May 1, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: How did that tax swap fall apart?
On this week’s TribCast, Aman talks to Ross, Matthew and Shannon about how Texas lawmakers' plan to raise the sales tax collapsed, why the 2019 session is like the 1997 one and what we'll be watching out for in the session’s final three weeks. Full Story
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![From left: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Greg Bonnen discuss property taxes at a press conference at the Capitol on May 1, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas House passes bill to prohibit telemarketers from falsifying caller ID
The measure aims to prohibit caller ID spoofing — when callers tamper with information transmitted to people’s phones to disguise their identities. Full Story
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Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Beto O'Rourke, once the talk of the 2020 field, settles in for long haul
Two months into his campaign, the Democratic presidential candidate is pressing forward with an aggressive campaign under a dimmer spotlight. Full Story
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![Presidential Candidate Beto OâRourke addresses the press in Iowa on May 8, 2019.]()
Credit: Patrick Svitek/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House passes bill to include parents with young children in curbside voting
Current Texas law only allows curbside voting for voters with disabilities. The new legislation would allow — but not require — polling places to accommodate parents with young kids. Full Story
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![Curbside voting is currently available in Tarrant County for voters who have trouble standing for long periods of time or experience other forms of disabilities. A proposed House bill would expand the option to parents in Texas.]()
Credit: Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Red-light cameras could be removed from Texas intersections after House vote
But an amendment to the bill could keep the devices in place until cities' contracts with vendors expire. Camera proponents say they make intersections safer, but critics say they undermine due process. Full Story
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![A red light camera at the intersection of I-35 and 11th St. near downtown Austin on May 6, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
“Pain and heartache” in the Texas Senate during debate on Confederate monuments
In a party-line vote, the upper chamber advanced a bill that would make it more difficult for cities and state agencies to remove or alter historical markers. The legislation comes amid a larger debate over whether to keep or remove Confederate monuments. Full Story
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![The 1903 Confederate monument at the south entrance to the Capitol grounds says that Confederate soldiers died for states' rights.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas House passes second, more limited bill expanding access to medical cannabis
It was the second time in as many days that the lower chamber moved to increase which medical conditions allow Texans to use CBD oil for treatment. But both bills face an uphill battle in the Senate. Full Story
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![State Rep. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth, on the House floor on May 6, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
In a surprising turn, Texas House opts to delay consideration of sales tax swap legislation until 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott and other legislative leaders endorsed the sales tax increase, intended to help fund ongoing cuts to school district taxes. But it has been effectively killed this session. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, listens to testimony from State Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, on HJ3. Huberty seeks to postpone a vote on the bill related to a sales tax increase. May 7, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Pro-LGBTQ bills look dead in the Texas House, but advocates say they’ve still made progress this year
"Having a hearing is sometimes a victory," said state Rep. Celia Israel, D-Austin, whose conversion therapy ban was debated for the first time this year. Full Story
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![State Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Carollton, speaks to the press in Austin to announce the new LGBTQ Caucus on Feb. 5, 2019.]()
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In 1997, George W. Bush couldn’t deliver a tax reform plan. Will Greg Abbott face a similar fate?
State leaders are pushing a plan to drive down property taxes using revenue from a one-cent increase to the sales tax. They have said the plan would result in roughly $250 a year in savings on a $200,000 home. Full Story
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![Gov. George W. Bush and House Speaker Pete Laney on the dais, on May 8, 1997.]()
Credit: Texas House of Representatives -
Texas House passes bill to vastly expand access to medical cannabis
The bill by state Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, is one of two that aim to expand the scope of the narrow Compassionate Use Act and have gained traction this legislative session. Full Story
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![Michael Rubin, Director at Compassionate Cultivation, tends to home-grown medical cannabis in Austin that serves patients throughout Texas, on January 19, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott, legislative leaders assert confidence as deadline to cut property taxes nears
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen did not close the door on passing a sales tax swap with a simple majority instead of the current approach requiring two-thirds support of lawmakers and voter approval. Full Story
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![From left: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen speak at a press conference regarding property taxes on May 1, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Change in tax bill would let many cities and counties raise property tax levies by more than 3.5%
The revision was made in the House. But the high-priority property tax bill is expected to head to a conference committee, where negotiations could change or remove the provision. Full Story
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![The floor of the house on April 11, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune