Texas House votes to remove school vouchers from massive education bill
The outcome was an embarrassment to Gov. Greg Abbott, who spent seven months lobbying two dozen Republicans who signaled opposition to vouchers in April. Full Story
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![Bonham Middle School students enter the school’s cafeteria for lunch Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa. The school is part of the Ector County Independent School District.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Harris County election shows progress. But challenges remain ahead of 2024.
Officials in the nation’s third-largest county had little time to celebrate their successful election before a judge issued a ruling drudged up many of their past mistakes. The county clerk says her team will ensure a successful 2024 election. Full Story
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![Voters cast their ballots at the West Gray Multiservice Center in Houston on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Pat Fallon says he changed his mind about running for Texas Senate after pleas from his son and Mike Johnson
The second-term congressman pulled out of a run for Senate after both Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson courted him into their ranks. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Sherman, during a U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability meeting in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 31, 2023.]()
Credit: Julia Nikhinson/CNP/Sipa USA via REUTERS -
Texas appeals court weighing whether state bar can discipline Ken Paxton for challenging 2020 presidential election
The legal battle stems from the attorney general’s unsuccessful 2020 lawsuit that leaned heavily on discredited claims of election fraud in other states. Paxton’s lawyers argue that the bar’s lawsuit is an attempt to control how he runs his office. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton steps to the podium to make a statement to the press on May 26, 2023, a day before a scheduled impeachment vote. Behind him, from left: Tommy Tran, executive assistant; James R. Lloyd, associate deputy attorney general for civil litigation; Austin A. Kinghorn, associate deputy attorney general for legal counsel; Ryan Fisher, director of government relations; Joshua Reno, deputy attorney general for criminal justice; and Suzanna Hupp, special adviser.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Seeking lower electricity rates, residents in two East Texas towns hope the state will intervene
Livingston and Jasper residents hope a lawsuit will force their municipality-operated utility company to offer lower rates and create more transparency in setting rates. They’re among the 5 million Texans living outside the state’s deregulated market and cannot choose their energy provider. Full Story
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![Power lines outside of Whinstone's Rockdale facility on Oct. 22, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Texas secessionists feel more emboldened than ever
At a recent conference that featured a sitting state senator, so-called “TEXIT” supporters celebrated their movement’s incremental gains. Full Story
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Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Texas legislators approve bill allowing police to arrest people who cross the border illegally
The Texas House also voted to spend $1.5 billion on new state border walls, though that measure must be reconciled with the Senate version before it’s sent to Gov. Greg Abbott for consideration. Full Story
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![Migrants standing on the other side of barbwire speak to the Texas National Guard and Texas DPS officers along the banks of the Rio Grande, Tuesday, December 20, 2022, in El Paso, Texas. Over 400 personnel have been sent to this border sector by Governor Abbott after El Paso city officials declared a state of emergency. Photo by Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans divided on funding bill that would prevent a government shutdown
Thirteen Texas Republicans opposed the GOP-led legislation, which would keep the government funded as Congress negotiates federal appropriations. The bill passed after nearly all Democrats came to back it. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks to reporters as he arrives for a House Republican caucus meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 12, 2023, in Washington, D.C.]()
Credit: Julia Nikhinson for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon drops Texas Senate bid, will run again for Congress
Fallon, who made the decision 24 hours after filing to run for his old Texas Senate seat, did not say why he changed his mind. His staff said the congressperson would provide more information later. Full Story
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![Senator Pat Fallon on the senate floor. Jan. 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Burnet County judge allows Ken Paxton whistleblower lawsuit to proceed
Lawyers for employees fired by Paxton’s office after they reported him to the FBI say they plan to begin issuing subpoenas in the case. Full Story
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![State Attorney General Ken Paxton holds a press conference at the Houston Recovery Center on October 26, 2021.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Republican Pat Fallon to give up Congress seat and run for his old Texas Senate post
Fallon served in the Texas Senate for two years before running for Congress. He won’t see reelection in the U.S. House. Full Story
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![State Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper, at his desk on the Senate floor in 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
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.]()
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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.]()
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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.]()
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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.]()
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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