Texas public health departments brace for another $119 million in federal cuts
Three months ago, Texas lost $700 million in unspent federal pandemic-era funding. Full Story
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![Mosquitoes are studied and tested for West Nile Virus, among other diseases, at the Texas Department of State Health Services Labortory, on May 1, 2025.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
A $20 billion effort to avoid calamity: Here’s what Texas lawmakers did to save the state’s water supply
Among other changes is a new law that says homeowner associations can no longer fine Texans for not watering their grass during a drought. Full Story
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![The secondary clarifier at the Bustamante Waste Water Treatment Plant expansion in El Paso, Texas on March 5, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Trans Texans brace for life under strict sex definition law
Texas has strictly defined man and woman, leaving trans Texans in legal limbo. Full Story
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![Leo Tyler Castillo-Anguiano poses for a portrait underneath an overpass in downtown San Antonio on May 26, 2025. Behind him is artwork of a woman holding a transgender symbol like a rosary, connecting the city’s predominant Catholic faith with a message of alliance with the transgender community.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Undocumented students ask judge to let them challenge sudden loss of in-state tuition
Their filing says the lawsuit that struck down in-state tuition for undocumented students was “contrived” to keep their voices out. Full Story
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![Students on the University of Texas at Arlington campus in Arlington on Sept. 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Desiree Rios for The Texas Tribune -
With Rick Perry’s backing and $50 million from the state, Texas set to become a leader in psychedelics research
Lawmakers have approved funding clinical trials for ibogaine as a treatment for addiction and brain trauma. It comes as Texas contemplates banning THC. Full Story
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![The Rotunda seen from the Capitol Extension in Austin on Aug. 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Here are the new Texas laws that will affect trans and LGBTQ+ people
Of the more than 100 bills aimed at LGBTQ+ people in the state, less than 10 were approved by lawmakers this session. Full Story
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![Austin Pride Parade attendees wave rainbow flags as they pass the Capitol building, on Aug. 20, 2022.]()
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Amarillo breaks ground on psychiatric hospital, part of the state’s $1.5B investment in mental health
The facility will bring mental health resources closer to the largely rural region that’s home to nearly 436,000 people. Full Story
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![Artist rendering of the new Panhandle State Hospital in Amarillo, expected to be completed in 2027.]()
Credit: West Texas A&M University website -
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s push to ban THC in Texas draws rare backlash from the right
It’s an unusual situation for the lieutenant governor, long viewed by GOP activists as a stalwart conservative responsible for driving the Legislature rightward. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks about Senate Bill 3 during a press conference in the Texas Capitol on May 28, 2025. Patrick, joined by representatives from the House and Senate, spoke about the bill and how its passage would be a service to Texans, saving their lives. The bill is set to head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk, which Patrick said he wasn’t worried about.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ abortion bans are here to stay despite narrow clarification
Legal challenges have failed, elections haven’t moved the needle and the fight for a narrow clarification shows how immovable these laws are. Full Story
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![Protesters chant on Congress Ave. in front of the Texas State Capitol building at a pro-choice rally Friday, June 24, 2022 in Austin, TX. The Supreme Court overturned Roe V Wade Friday leading to national protests in response from pro abortion advocates. The announcement of the overturning would trigger an immediate ban on abortions in several states, including Texas. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas foster care agency chief to step down this summer
Two years after Stephanie Muth became Department of Family and Protective Services commissioner, staff turnover is down and the number of children without a placement has dropped. Full Story
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![DFPS Commissioner Stephanie Muth listens to agency updates during a DFPS Council Meeting in Austin on March 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Staff vacancies hit Texas weather offices as they brace for a busy hurricane season
Houston’s National Weather Service office has lost its head meteorologist amid a federal requirement to cut 10% of NOAA’s staff. Full Story
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![The National Weather Service issued a Hurricane Warning for the Coastal Bend on July 6, 2024.]()
Credit: Pete Garcia for The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ swift surrender to DOJ on undocumented student tuition raises questions about state-federal collusion
Experts say Wednesday’s action to eliminate the long-standing policy could be a “collusive lawsuit,” where the state and feds worked the courts to get a desired outcome. Full Story
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![The Texas State Capitol on Sept. 24, 2022 in Austin, TX.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribune -
Lawmakers passed bills this session to boost the state power grid but failed to limit renewables
With demand expected to soar, the Legislature passed bills aimed at boosting supply and making the grid more reliable. Bills to impose more regulations on renewables died. Full Story
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![A pump jack operates near a gas turbine power plant in the Permian Basin oil field outside of Odessa, Texas, on Feb. 18, 2025.]()
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Texas will begin a summer lunch program in 2027, but only if feds don’t raise costs
The program would give low income families an extra $120 per child for summer lunches, but federal debate about food benefits could endanger the program. Full Story
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![Bonham Middle School employees watch as students begin to gather for lunch in the school’s cafeteria Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
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Texas lawmakers pull funding for child identification kits again after newsrooms report they don’t work
For the second time, lawmakers cut funding for kits meant to help find missing kids after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune documented the lack of evidence that the kits work. Full Story
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![The House chamber at the Texas Capitol during a session.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Speaker Dustin Burrows, once tagged as “liberal,” kept skeptics at bay by leaning into a conservative agenda
At the same time, some Democrats acknowledged the Lubbock Republican let them leave their mark on some of the GOP bills they disagreed with. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, gavels out the 89th Texas Legislature at the Texas Capitol on Sine Die, Monday, June 2, 2025]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas reined in recreational THC for more medical marijuana this legislative session
Texas passed sweeping changes to cannabis policy, including expanding the medical marijuana program and banning hemp products, while also boosting psychedelics research. Full Story
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![Hemp plants are seen at Caprock Family Farms, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Lubbock.]()
Credit: Annie Rice for The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill creating more weekend early voting could boost turnout, but delay election results
A bill headed for Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk may not go into effect until 2027. Election administrators say the changes could create staffing challenges. Full Story
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![The line wraps around the sidewalk at the Cinco Ranch Branch Library on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, in Ft Bend County.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas secretary of state refers 33 potential noncitizen voters for criminal investigation
The 33 potential voting violations are a tiny fraction of the roughly 11 million who cast ballots in the November 2024 election. Full Story
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![A sign warns non-citizens against voting outside of a polling location in Canyon Lake on Nov. 05, 2024.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas won’t force private companies to use E-Verify to check workers’ immigration status, despite leaders’ tough talk
Texas’ conservative Legislature has again and again refused to mandate that most private businesses use E-Verify. Experts say that Republican resistance is rooted in how the system could impact the state’s labor supply and economy. Full Story
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![A photo illustration showing Texas politicians superimposed against images of immigration documents and construction work, in a pattern that mimics torn paper, in green, orange, and black and white.]()
Credit: Photo illustration by Emily Scherer for The Texas Tribune and ProPublica. Source images: The Texas Tribune, Reuters and public documents.