Texas Senate tentatively approves "bathroom bill"
After several hours of debate, the Texas Senate on Tuesday tentatively signed off on the “bathroom bill” on a 21-10 vote. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick confers with State Sens. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, Royce West, D-Dallas, on March 14, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Senators grill one another in tense hearing on property tax bill
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt's attempt to limit when cities and counties can increase property tax collections without an election drew bipartisan opposition Tuesday. But many supporters also came to the bill's defense. Full Story
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![State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, listens to testimony on SB2 at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on March 14, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Watch as Texas Senate debates "bathroom bill"
A week after a marathon hearing, the Texas Senate debated the "bathroom bill" on the floor Tuesday afternoon. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick looks around the Senate Chamber on Feb. 7, 2017 prior to bringing up SB 4 sanctuary city bill for debate.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Here’s what the revised Texas bathroom bill means in plain English
State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, the author of the so-called "bathroom bill," last week unveiled a revised version of Senate Bill 6. We've updated our plain English annotation of the bill to explain how it would impact communities across Texas. Full Story
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![An all-gender restroom at The University of Texas at Austin.]()
Credit: Qiling Wang / The Texas Tribune -
Will Senate bill provide tax relief or hamstring local governments?
State Sen. Paul Bettencourt says Texans are tired of seeing their property tax bills increase dramatically year after year. But local government officials say his Senate Bill 2 would limit their abilities to raise necessary revenues. Full Story
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Texas lost a ruling over its congressional map. So what's next for the state?
Here's what you need to know about Friday night's huge — and incredibly complicated — ruling that effectively invalidated Texas' congressional map. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Senate Committee approves Texas voter ID overhaul
A Texas Senate panel has advanced a bill that would overhaul the state voter identification rules, an effort to comply with court rulings that the current law discriminates against black and Latino voters. Full Story
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![Voters line up outside the Oak Cliff Sub-Courthouse in Dallas, Texas, for the first day of early voting on Monday, Oct. 24, 2016.]()
Credit: Laura Buckman for The Texas Tribune -
Mayors say Texas, U.S. politics increasingly undermine city needs
A major source of division among cities and state officials is differing opinions on what local control means — and to whom it provides the power to govern. Full Story
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![Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings was among a group of Texas mayors at a Feb. 17, 2017, news conference discussing their unified agenda in working with the 85th Texas Legislature.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A week to test local powers in Texas
The Texas Legislature is going to be busy this week with issues that ordinarily belong to other governments, as it considers the wisdom of local ordinances on restrooms, ride-hailing, short-term rentals, sanctuary cities and plastic bags. Full Story
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![A large crowd of transgender advocates opposed to SB 6 the bathroom bill converge on the Capitol Extension Rotunda during the Senate State Affairs Committee hearing on the bill March 7, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
With proposal to penalize men for masturbating, legislator aims to shake up health debate
State Rep. Jessica Farrar, a Houston Democrat, has filed House Bill 4260, which would fine men $100 for masturbating. Full Story
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![State Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, questions representatives of the Texas Department of State Health Services about state contracts for specific health clinics during an interim hearing on Aug. 15, 2016.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
At SXSW, Joe Biden pledges to work with Trump to end "cancer as we know it"
In Austin on Sunday, former Vice President Joe Biden said he hopes the Trump administration will be committed as the Obama administration was to the goal of eradicating cancer. Full Story
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![Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks about the Biden Cancer Initiative at South by Southwest in Austin on March 12, 2017.]()
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At Dallas County GOP event, Donald Trump Jr. says Texas “came through for this country”
Donald Trump Jr, the Dallas County Republican Party’s Reagan Day Dinner keynote speaker, said Texans’ fundraising efforts were key in helping his father secure a victory in the 2016 presidential election. Full Story
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![Donald Trump, Jr. speaks at the Dallas Republican Party Reagan Day Dinner on March 11, 2017.]()
Credit: Laura Buckman for The Texas Tribune -
Federal panel rules some of Texas' congressional districts illegal
Some of the state's 36 congressional districts violate either the U.S. Constitution or the federal Voting Rights Act, a panel of three federal judges ruled Friday. Full Story
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Ted Cruz sends school choice letter to every Republican in Texas Legislature
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz sent a letter to state lawmakers Thursday urging them to make Texas the next state that gives parents taxpayer dollars to send their children to private or religious schools, or educate them at home. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz talks with Sen. John Cornyn and Brooke Rollins, president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, during a TPPF Orientation conference on Jan. 13, 2017 at the Sheraton Hotel in Austin.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Homeland Security notes sharp drop in illegal crossings in February
The Trump administration on Wednesday celebrated what the Department of Homeland Security said was an unprecedented drop in illegal crossing on the country’s Southwest border since the president took office Jan. 20. Full Story
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![Customs and Border Protection agents constantly patrol wide gravel roads along the border fence. The traffic — which has increased as border enforcement budgets have soared — is another threat to border wildlife, according to scientists and conservationists.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Advocates urge Texas House panel to amend fetal remains bill by outlawing abortion
What started as a state House committee hearing hearing on a bill that would require Texas hospitals to bury or cremate fetal remains turned into a heated debate over whether the proposal should be amended to abolish abortion completely. Full Story
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![House State Affairs Committee Chairman Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, at a hearing on the disposal of fetal remains on March 8, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas poised to spend $2.5 billion on urban highway projects
As budget writers and lawmakers eye billions in voter-approved highway money for other matters, transportation officials are touting high-profile projects that will benefit from those funds. Full Story
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![Cars back up during afternoon weekday traffic on southbound Interstate 45 in Houston north of downtown.]()
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Committee sends Texas "bathroom bill" to full Senate
After 13-plus hours of emotional testimony, largely in opposition, the Senate State Affairs Committee voted 7-1 early Wednesday morning to advance the so-called Texas “bathroom bill" — a legislative priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Full Story
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![Transgender activists protest on the Capitol Extension Rotunda prior to a press event opposing passage of SB 6 the bathroom bill on March 7, 2017. Several hundred people have signed up to support and oppose the bill, one of Governor Abbott's emergency items in the 85th Legislature.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Judge to rule next month on dismissing some charges against Rep. Dawnna Dukes
Citing the statute of limitations, the Austin Democrat seeks to have four of 13 felony counts against her dismissed. Full Story
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![Texas State Representative Dawnna Dukes is honored at the unveiling of the African American Portrait Project at the African American Cultural and heritage Facility in Austin, Texas. June 9, 2014.]()
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"Bathroom bill" testimony runs late into Tuesday evening
The legislation, Senate Bill 6, would require transgender individuals to use the multi-stall bathrooms and locker rooms in schools and other government buildings that match their “biological sex," as well as nix some local anti-discrimination laws. Full Story
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![Witnesses signed up for the Senate State Affairs hearing on SB 6 pack the Extension hearing overflow rooms prior to testimony on March 7, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune