The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection called the state inspections ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott “unnecessary” and said commercial traffic at the Texas-Mexico border has dropped 60% since they began. Full Story
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Public education in Texas — like everywhere in the country — is hurting after more than two years of pandemic. But many in the political class are preoccupied with reforms that have more to do with social issues than with education. Full Story
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The lawsuit against the University of North Texas argues out-of-state American citizens shouldn’t pay more than undocumented Texans. A federal judge agreed. Full Story
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In a press conference, O’Rourke said the president should have given border communities a plan before ending a pandemic-era immigration rule that will lead to an increase in migrants. Full Story
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Commercial traffic at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge stopped Monday and a similar protest affected traffic into and out of El Paso. The blockades could impact the flow of produce to restaurants and grocery stores. Full Story
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School districts are not required to adopt the agency’s recommendations but can use them as guidance as they develop new procedures or alter their policies for selecting or removing library books. Full Story
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Other investigators don’t want to follow an order they believe harms families but worry about the impact of a mass employee exodus on the state’s most vulnerable children. Full Story
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Candidates hardly ever talk about improving the safety net for kids — unless the holes in the safety net have become big enough to get the attention of voters. Full Story
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued San Antonio officials over how police handled a 2017 smuggling incident, and the city agreed to pay $300,000 to settle the lawsuits. Full Story
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It’s unclear whether landlords face any penalties from state agencies for improperly evicting tenants while receiving rent relief dollars intended to help those tenants stay housed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Full Story
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The results of the state’s $3 billion border security effort don’t match the up-front promises, and Gov. Greg Abbott is flipping the political script with loud opposition to a change in federal border policy. Full Story
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The governor is pushing for more border security measures, some of which he acknowledges will slow traffic across the Texas-Mexico border. Full Story
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Fabiana Chaparro will join the multimedia team, and Caroline Covington will join the data visuals team. Full Story
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Rural Texas communities often don’t have the resources, technical experience, or ability to take on large amounts of debt to pursue state funds for water supply and quality projects. So, many simply don’t apply. Full Story
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“The team’s coverage of a large winter storm was not just hard-hitting accountability journalism, it was public service at its best,” judges for the Investigative Reporters and Editors award wrote. Full Story
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Abbott said he’s responding to the Biden administration announcement that it will lift a pandemic-era emergency health order that allowed immigration authorities to turn away migrants at the border, even those seeking asylum. Full Story
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Figures released by the Texas secretary of state show that more than 24,000 Texas voters had their ballots rejected in the March primary. The rejection rate is a significant increase over previous elections. Full Story
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Powell, a Democrat, had won Senate District 10 by winning over a coalition of diverse voters in Tarrant County. The GOP redrew the district to branch out to counties to the south and west that made it more rural and more white. Full Story
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The next session of the Texas Legislature is months away, but by the time it actually starts, a lot of the work will already be done. Lawmakers are working on early versions of their legislation right now — before some of them have even been elected. Full Story
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Texas Military Department leaders say they’ve addressed many of the issues that arose late last year when the mission ramped up to 10,000 service members — but more money is needed to run the mission at its current pace. Full Story
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