The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Oil and gas industry groups provided a list of names to the Railroad Commission for appointment to a council formed in response to the February power crisis. All four of the industry's top choices were selected. Full Story
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Seliger has served in the Senate since 2005 and led the higher education committee. He was seen as a champion of public education and local control but was derided as too soft on social conservative issues near the end of his tenure. Full Story
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In a tweet, Patrick said he supported Abbott calling lawmakers back to Austin to increase the penalty for illegal voting and approve a “forensic audit bill.” Full Story
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The controversial issues you’ve heard Texas lawmakers debate for most of the year aren’t going away; many of them will be argued all over again during the 2022 elections. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott’s office says there’s no plan for a fourth special session at this time. If this was the final special session of the year, what did we learn from it? Full Story
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The comment further hints at a possible fight between the state and the Biden administration over transgender rights. Full Story
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The latest special session ended without lawmakers passing two of Abbott’s priorities — legislation to increase an illegal-voting penalty and to ban vaccine mandates by any entity in Texas. Full Story
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The U.S. Senate is expected to vote this week on the Freedom to Vote Act, which would supersede some of Texas’ new elections law. Full Story
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Earlier this year, Huberty was arrested in Montgomery County after he crashed his car into another vehicle and failed a sobriety test. The lawmaker was driving home from the Capitol in late April. Full Story
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Lawmakers approved new political maps and decided how to spend COVID-19 relief money. But they didn’t pass bills about vaccine mandates or the criminal penalty for illegal voting. Full Story
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If voters approve the measure next year, it will raise the state’s homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000 for school district property taxes, netting the average homeowner about $176 in savings. Full Story
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A prohibition on vaccine mandates was one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priorities for the special session, but it did not have enough support in the Legislature. Full Story
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“Turn Texas Blue” was the Democratic rally cry in the 2020 elections. It didn’t happen, and with the maps the Texas Legislature is drawing, it’s not in the cards for 2022, either. Full Story
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Before ending the special session Tuesday, Texas lawmakers reached a deal to allocate roughly $3.3 billion to higher education institutions for capital projects. The price tag went up from the Senate's original proposal. Full Story
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Though people of color drove nearly all of Texas’ population gains in the last decade, the proposed map gives white voters control of both of the two new congressional districts the state earned. Full Story
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Lawmakers say schools are misinterpreting a new measure designed to keep critical race theory out of public schools. Full Story
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Republican lawmakers have faced pressure to provide some form of property tax relief this year. Critics of a new proposal say it’s politically timed. Full Story
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Two proposed amendments — one regarding religious services and another related to nursing home visitors — stem from restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early voting begins Oct. 18. Full Story
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Under House Bill 25, K-12 student athletes would be prohibited from competing on school sports teams aligned with their gender identity. The bill will now head to the Senate, where it is expected to pass. Full Story
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Senate Bill 51 would make any entity, including hospitals, vulnerable to discrimination lawsuits if they mandate vaccinations for all employees. Full Story
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