Longtime U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess will not seek reelection
Burgess, a Dallas-area Republican who comes from a family of doctors, was a key critic of Democratic efforts to overhaul the country’s health care system. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, questions witnesses during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on June 23, 2020. Trump administration health officials will tell lawmakers that their agencies are preparing for a flu season that will be complicated by the coronavirus pandemic.]()
Credit: Sarah Silbiger/Pool via REUTERS -
Ken Paxton names administrative law expert with conservative bona fides Texas’ solicitor general
Aaron Nielson will take a one-year leave of absence from BYU’s law school to lead the influential unit within the attorney general’s office. Full Story
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![Aaron Nielson has been appointed Solicitor General by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.]()
Credit: Brigham Young University -
Pope removes Tyler’s Bishop Joseph Strickland after opposition to church reforms
Bishop Strickland, a Pope Benedict XVI appointee, has been a fiercely vocal critic of Pope Francis’ efforts to reform the Catholic Church. Full Story
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![Catholic bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas walks during a procession to protest the Los Angeles Dodgers honoring the pro-LGBTQ+ group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence during LGBTQ+ Pride Night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on June 16, 2023.]()
Credit: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports via REUTERS -
After controversy, Texas school board says transgender student can sing in school musical
After Max Hightower scored a role in the seminal American musical, administrators changed their policy on performers’ gender. After backlash, the school board directed the school to produce the original version “Oklahoma!” — not a youth version that cut Hightower’s solo. Full Story
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![Max Hightower, 17, poses for a portrait in a hotel in Denton on Nov. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Judge upholds 2022 Harris County election results, throws out most GOP lawsuits
The judge found that Harris County’s elections office made mistakes and violated the state’s Election Code — but that didn’t affect the outcomes of several 2022 races. He also tossed all but one Republican lawsuit challenging the results. Full Story
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![Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth speaks to the media during a press conference about the upcoming Harris County elections, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, in Houston.]()
Credit: Marie D. De Jesús/Houston Landing -
Texas House committee moves school safety funding forward
The two new measure could bring $1.3 billion more to schools to pay for security systems, fencing and personnel training. Full Story
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![A police officer monitors Maplewood Elementary School in Austin on Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, a few days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House committee advances school voucher bill, overcoming key hurdle
The committee action means school voucher legislation is poised to get its first House floor vote in recent history. Gov. Greg Abbott said if the Legislature fails to pass it this time, he will continue to call them back into session until they do. Full Story
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![A Nimitz Middle School student raises their hand during class Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Rep. Joaquin Castro warns of GOP’s adversarial rhetoric around Latino immigrants
Castro, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, has made improving discussion of Latinos and Latino issues in politics a focus of his time in office. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, poses for a portrait in his Rayburn House Office Building office, on Oct. 12, 2023, in Washington, D.C.]()
Credit: Julia Nikhinson for The Texas Tribune -
Senate fast-tracks passage of vouchers and border security legislation
The Senate revved to life Thursday, holding committee hearings with little advance notice and advancing four bills that satisfy Abbott’s agenda. Full Story
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![State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, speaks with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on the Senate floor during the first day of the second special session at the state Capitol in Austin, on June 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
School voucher critics remain largely unswayed during Texas House hearing
House Bill 1, which stagnated during the previous special session, finally received a hearing in the lower chamber, a crucial step that will decide whether the proposal gets a full vote. Full Story
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![Nimitz Middle School teachers Selena Olivares, center left, and Pricilla Martinez lead their 7th grade English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) in an activity Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa. Martinez said that due to the increased amount of families moving to the Permian Basin, they sometimes teach 38 to 40 kids per class. “It’s been six weeks and I still don’t know all of their names… Its embarrassing to me,” Martinez said.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texans approved billions for water and broadband infrastructure. Now what?
The legislation behind the historic investment directs state agencies to send money to the state’s smaller, cash-strapped towns that have difficulty paying for upgrades. Federal money is also expected to flow to regions that need broadband. Full Story
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![Tom Bailey flushes out a water line in Zavalla on April 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Felix/The Texas Tribune -
Texas schools asked voters for $18 billion in new debt to fix its campuses. They largely said yes.
The voter approval rate for school maintenance and construction costs dipped in 2021 after lawmakers required school boards to call them “tax increases.” Full Story
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![School bond supporters celebrate after one of Ector County Independent School District’s three bond propositions were passed during an election night watch party Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas' part-time Legislature has been at it all year. Now they're heading into a rare fourth special session
A full 30-day session amounts to about $1 million in per diem payments to lawmakers, which are meant to cover their expenses in Austin. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan ended the first special session on Aug. 6, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Legislature tries again with bills making illegal border crossings a state crime
Immigration experts say the most recent proposals would raise constitutional challenges in the U.S. and Mexico, as federal courts have repeatedly ruled that immigration law enforcement falls under federal jurisdiction. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Public Safety special agents oversee a group of four Honduran undocumented migrants that were caught in private property in Kinney County near Brackettville, Texas on Nov. 9, 2021. The owner of the property did not sign the affidavit to allow DPS to arrest undocumented migrants in their property, so they will be processed by Border Patrol.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
Nate Paul, the businessman at the center of Ken Paxton’s impeachment, charged with four new federal crimes
During the impeachment trial, whistleblowers testified they believed Paul to be a criminal and were concerned that Paxton was essentially turning the keys of the office over to him. Full Story
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![Nate Paul is the CEO of World Class, a real estate holding company.]()
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Tony Buzbee, Mary Nan Huffman advance to runoff for Houston City Council race
Buzbee is a high-profile lawyer who led the defense team in Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial. He is challenging Huffman, the incumbent council member. Full Story
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![Tony Buzzbee, left, and Mary Nan Huffman.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune | Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle -
Texas voters reject proposal to increase judges’ retirement ages
Texans soundly defeated a constitutional amendment that would have let judges stay on the bench longer. Proposition 13 would have increased the minimum retirement age from 70 to 75 and the mandatory retirement age from 75 to 79. Full Story
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![The county courtroom in the Camp County Court House in Pittsburg on June 21, 2023.]()
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Texas homeowners and businesses will get a tax cut after voters approve Proposition 4
The $18 billion property tax-cut package is aimed squarely at lowering school district property taxes, which make up the lion’s share of a Texas landowner’s property tax bill. Full Story
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![The Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.]()
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Texas voters gave retired teachers raises and approved new infrastructure funds as most constitutional amendments passed
Voters approved a massive property tax cut and several other measures, but refused to raise the mandatory retirement age for judges. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol at sunrise on Tuesday, June 6, in Austin, Texas.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Judge pauses Ken Paxton whistleblower lawsuit
Former top aides to the Texas attorney general are seeking damages for their firings after they reported Paxton to the FBI. The Legislature opted not to authorize a $3.3 million settlement in the lawsuit. Full Story
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![Whistleblower Ryan Vassar sits in the Senate Gallery on the ninth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial at the state capitol in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune