In Texas House, uncertain fate of bathroom bill could reverberate
The Texas “bathroom bill” has made it to the House but chamber leaders are hinting that the controversial legislation may never reach the chamber's floor for a vote. Full Story
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![With less than a week before lawmakers convene, preparations are underway to welcome members of the state House of Representatives for the 85th session of the Texas Legislature.]()
Credit: John Jordan -
Former U.S. Rep. Stockman charged with violating federal election law
Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, has been charged with violating federal election law. Full Story
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![YouTube screenshot of U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Friendswood, from a Western Center for Journalism interview on Feb. 2, 2014.]()
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House committee makes changes to anti-"sanctuary" bill
More than 600 people signed up on Wednesday to testify before the House State Affairs Committee on the lower chamber's version of the controversial proposal to outlaw "sanctuary" jurisdictions. Full Story
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![State Affairs Committee member Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, at the hearing on Senate Bill 4, the "sanctuary cities" bill, on March 15, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Universities face funding cuts of 6 percent to 10 percent in Senate plan
In an attempt to make major changes in how higher education is funded, the Senate Finance Committee is proposing major cuts to each state university. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
After years of insisting on "repeal," Ted Cruz walks a fine line on health care
"If Republicans take this opportunity and blow it, we will rightly be considered a laughingstock," U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said Wednesday regarding divisions among Republicans on the leading proposal to overhaul the Affordable Care Act. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz was a keynote speaker at Dallas County Republican Reagan Day Dinner on March 11, 2017.]()
Credit: Laura Buckman for The Texas Tribune -
Texas bullet train firm calls provision added to budget a "job killer"
Officials with Texas Central Partners, the private firm developing the Houston-Dallas high-speed rail line, said the rider added to the state senate's proposed budget Wednesday would put their project at risk. Full Story
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![A high-speed Texas train is planned to run near railroad tracks along Hempstead Road in northwest Houston.]()
Credit: Brandon Formby for The Texas Tribune -
Texas sues feds — including Rick Perry — for failing to license nuclear waste facility
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accuses U.S. agencies of violating federal law by failing to license a nuclear waste repository in Nevada. Full Story
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![John Ward, operations project task manager at Waste Control Specialists' facility near Andrews, Texas, walks over to inspect concrete canisters that will house drums of nuclear waste.]()
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Analysis: Texas could find itself back in the voting rights penalty box
The federal judges who said the state's congressional maps are invalid last week are in position to take another step — to require Texas to get federal permission whenever it wants to change election and voting laws. Full Story
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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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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
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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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.]()
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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.]()
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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