GOP state Rep. Lyle Larson, who has increasingly broken with his party, won’t seek reelection
The San Antonio Republican announced Wednesday he will not run for another term in 2022. Full Story
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![State Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, speaks with colleagues on the House floor on Tuesday, August 10, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Former state Rep. John Wray vying for old seat in Tuesday special election
Wray is among eight candidates, including five Republicans, on the ballot Tuesday to fill a vacancy in his old House District 10. Full Story
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![State Rep. John Wray, R-Waxahachie, chats with state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst R-Brenham, on the House floor on May 22, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott announces special legislative session starting Saturday, covering elections, federal COVID-19 funding, quorum rules
The governor said Thursday the second special session will get underway at noon Saturday, with a 17-item agenda. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott holds a border security briefing with sheriffs from border communities at the Texas Capitol on July 10, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Speaker offers Democrats free plane ride home to return to state
The plane will be on standby at Dulles International Airport, and Dade Phelan’s team said his political campaign, not taxpayers, will pay for the flight. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan behind the dias on July 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: There’s plenty still to play out ahead of 2022, but Greg Abbott is starting to run up the score
With a big endorsement and a record-setting fundraising period behind him, Texas' governor is in a political sweet spot. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott spoke to the Senate at the Capitol on the first day of the 2021 Legislature on Jan. 12, 2021.]()
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Analysis: A “special” session of culture wars, politics and unfinished business
The agenda for the special session that begins today previews some of the issues you're likely to hear about during the 2022 election cycle. Full Story
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sets July 8 date for special legislative session on voting bill, other issues
Abbott’s office did not specify what legislative priorities will be included on the special session agenda and said in an advisory that such items “will be announced prior to the convening of the special session.” Full Story
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott could be upsetting balance of powers with threat to veto Texas Legislature’s pay
A governor targeting the Legislature’s budget would be unprecedented in Texas history. Full Story
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Analysis: A conservative Texas legislative session, with more — maybe — to come
Some conservative lawmakers are worried right now about bills falling to end-of-session deadlines, but several top Republican priorities have either crossed the finish line or are very close. Full Story
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![The House will hear dozens of bills and hundreds of amendments on the house floor on April 22, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Allocating $16 billion in coronavirus relief funds will be part of special legislative session in the fall, Gov. Greg Abbott says
Abbott already planned to call a special session later in the year for the Legislature to do its decennial redrawing of Texas political maps. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a press conference regarding Texas’ emergency response to an unprecedented winter storm gripping Texas on Feb. 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House Democrats ask Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session after two mass shootings
Members of the House minority say they want to consider legislation “closing the background check loopholes” and “banning the sale of high-capacity magazines.” Full Story
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![A person attending a vigil for Leilah Hernandez, one of the victims of the Texas shootings in Odessa and Midland, lights a candle on Sept. 2, 2019.]()
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Gov. Greg Abbott says he can keep plumbing board alive without special session
"We've got this," the governor tells plumbers worried as their profession faces deregulation next year in Texas. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott in the Governor’s Mansion on Jan. 8, 2018.]()
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Does the Texas Legislature work full time?
Texas is one of a handful of states that convenes its Legislature once every two years. And in Texas, a session lasts only 140 days. Full Story
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![Senate Calendar Clerk Tracy Ortiz checks in a few Senate bills on her desk on July 10, 2017. The first-called special session of the 85th Legislature starts Tuesday, July 18th.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A victory for the locals, at least for a while
The cities and counties won the latest round of the state's war on local government. But it's a temporary win, at best. Full Story
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The Texas bathroom bill saga in 5 minutes (video)
From Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's announcement last summer that he would push for a bathroom bill to the bill's quite demise this month in the special session, this video will take you through the story of the intense political fight in 5 minutes. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott weighs in on Confederate monument debate
In the Roundup: In the wake of the white nationalist rally in Virginia, Abbott weighs in on the removal of confederate statues, and Texas A&M blocks a similar rally from happening on campus. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott signs bill restricting city tree removal policies
Just two months after vetoing a bill aimed at restricting city rules on tree removal, Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday signed a similar measure into law passed during a summer special session. Full Story
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![State Rep. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, and Rep. Wayne Faircloth, R-Galveston, read Dr. Seuss to a crowd on the east side of the Texas Capitol on August 2, 2017. The event, sponsored by Texas Campaign for the Environment, included lobbying of legislators over HB 70 and SB 14, to rescind tree ordinances statewide.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
Analysis: It’s never the ending that you expect
The Texas Legislature's special session ended with a bang, but it wasn't the sound of the property tax bill the governor was hoping for. Will he call state lawmakers back for more? Full Story
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![Texas House members huddled near the dais on Aug. 15, 2017. The House adjourned sine die one day before the Legislature's special session would have been forced to conclude.]()
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Analysis: Broken school finance system spawns wild solutions
In Austin — the poster child for property tax recapture in Texas right now — the school district is telling taxpayers they’ll be sending $2.6 billion to the state over the next five years. That's inspiring some crazy ideas. Full Story
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![Downtown Austin on June 27, 2017.]()
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Senate approves bill restricting abortion insurance
A bill requiring Texas women to pay a separate health insurance premium to get coverage for non-emergency abortions — what opponents have dubbed "rape insurance" — is close to becoming law. Full Story
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![State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, explains parts of House BIll 214 to Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, on August 12, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune
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