House Panel Endorses Texting-While-Driving Ban
A bill that would ban texting while driving passed its first legislative hurdle Tuesday when lawmakers voted it out of the House Transportation Committee. Full Story
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The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.
A bill that would ban texting while driving passed its first legislative hurdle Tuesday when lawmakers voted it out of the House Transportation Committee. Full Story
State Rep. Sarah Davis on Tuesday warned that proposed changes to a women's health program — intended to gut funding for Planned Parenthood clinics — would put women's lives in danger. Full Story
A bill before a Texas Senate committee is bringing into focus the simmering debate over local control in the state. It's a charge that has been backed by Gov. Greg Abbott and state legislators who see cities overstepping their authority. Full Story
Speaking to a firefighters group on Tuesday gave U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz a chance to show how he might expand his following beyond a passionate conservative base in a general election. The reception he got was chilly. Full Story
Efforts to ban longtime politicians from double-dipping their salaries and their pensions — as former Gov. Rick Perry started doing in 2011 — went nowhere two years ago. But this year the idea is picking up steam. Full Story
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is stepping up to help raise money for a super PAC supporting his dad's likely 2016 presidential campaign. Full Story
A controversial immigration proposal scheduled for a public hearing Monday was postponed after a border Democrat argued that Republicans did not give the public sufficient notice about the meeting. Full Story
Researchers have found that the water supply in Vinton is making people sick, but local politics have gotten in the way of a solution to connect to nearby El Paso's utilities. This is part two of our five-story Undrinkable series on border communities that lack reliable, clean water. Full Story
If you listen to the early speculation about the 2016 presidential race, you won't hear Rick Perry's name mentioned much among national analysts. But Perry is taking on a strategy in Iowa that has proved successful in recent Republican contests. Full Story
On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics with host Jason Whitely, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey, talk turns to spending caps and constitutional amendments. Full Story
State Republican leaders selected Texas Republican Party treasurer Tom Mechler as the party’s new chairman Saturday, replacing Steve Munisteri, who is leaving to join U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's likely 2016 presidential campaign. Full Story
When they attend the Iowa Ag Summit on Saturday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and former Gov. Rick Perry will almost certainly be asked about their criticism of the Renewable Fuel Standard, an issue that packs a political punch in the Hawkeye State. Full Story
For all the legislative debate about border security and immigration, it's been nine years since anyone comprehensively studied the economic impact of undocumented Texans. A border lawmaker wants to fill that information vacuum. Full Story
GOP lawmakers, in their effort to put Planned Parenthood out of business, could change how they fund a cancer screening program for poor women. But private clinics unaffiliated with Planned Parenthood say they'd take a hit, too. Full Story
Attorneys for the state of Texas say the Obama administration started granting work permits to undocumented immigrants before it said it would, and misled a federal judge about it. They're demanding more details. Full Story
Congressional Republicans have never been able to retain a black lawmaker in a true swing district for more than a couple of terms. Could Texas' Will Hurd change that? Full Story
A visiting judge has ordered the removal of the current judge overseeing conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan's challenge against the Texas Ethics Commission. Full Story
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush just picked up a serious GOP fundraiser in East Texas. Gaylord Hughey Jr., the top GOP bundler of East Texas, said in an interview with the Tribune that he is backing Bush, should he follow through on a presidential run. Full Story
The Texas attorney general’s office said Tuesday that President Obama’s own actions should convince a federal judge to keep a controversial immigration plan on hold. Full Story
The 8,900 U.S. Border Patrol agents stationed on Texas’ border with Mexico can clock in next week knowing they’re still going to get paid after Congress on Tuesday voted to fund the Department of Homeland Security through September. Full Story