The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
After nearly two years of navigating life during a pandemic, many Texans are now scrambling for COVID tests, delaying plans and worrying about relatives who have been exposed to the virus. Full Story
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Abbott vetoed legislation in June that would have helped shore up the Universal Service Fund, which supports telecommunications in rural Texas. He said it would have “imposed a new fee on millions of Texans.” Full Story
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Abbott unveiled the first 900 feet of border barrier Saturday. But the state has been mum on where it plans to build additional barriers and how many miles it can afford. Full Story
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While Texas’ controversial abortion law strictly refers to women in its phrasing, it also limits access to the procedure for transgender and nonbinary people who are able to become pregnant. Full Story
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A rural Texas landowner is battling Texas Central in a lawsuit that hinges on whether the company can forcibly take parcels needed to connect the state’s two biggest urban areas. Full Story
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The effort to charge Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir came at a time when many Texas Republicans questioned the integrity of last year’s election despite there being no evidence of widespread voter fraud. Full Story
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Some Texas residents are asking for greater say in what titles appear on public library shelves. Full Story
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Political people in Texas know that the Rick Perry on the 2022 Republican primary ballot is not the former governor of the state. Do voters know? Full Story
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Abbott launched the construction of a wall along the Texas-Mexico border using state money and crowdfunded private donations. The state has at least $1.05 billion for the border barriers. Full Story
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Just as many legal experts predicted, the enforcement provision in Texas’ new law restricting abortion has become a magnet for other states that want to limit constitutionally protected rights. Full Story
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Advocates are worried that a last-minute law change means that students who need information about dating violence and child abuse will be the least likely to receive it. Full Story
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Some Texas Republicans are busy raising questions about what's in the books in the state's public school libraries. The real problem isn't in the books. Full Story
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The fight over race and how to deal with the pandemic has split the Fort Worth community, showcasing what’s being seen across the state and country. Full Story
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With the candidate filing deadline behind them, the attorney general’s challengers jockey to establish themselves as best person to unseat him. Full Story
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Every statewide office, legislative seat and U.S. House district will be on the ballot next year when the state’s new political maps are expected to be used. Full Story
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A Springtown man with the same name as the former governor filed Monday to run for the state's top post against Gov. Greg Abbott, raising the prospect of dirty political tricks. Full Story
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State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who wrote the law, was dismissive of Newsom’s effort to restrict gun rights by using Texas’ legal strategy to ban many abortions. He said he didn’t think his enforcement mechanism would be “effective against firmly established constitutional rights.” Full Story
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Dallas-area Latinos hoped their growing numbers would finally translate into political clout this year through the creation of a new congressional district anchored by their communities. Instead, their neighborhoods were splintered between numerous white-majority districts. Full Story
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Republicans in Austin have been after local governments for years, pushing aside local laws and rules on a long list of issues where local and state powers overlap. Now they're recruiting fellow Republicans for local offices, to try to change things at the ground level. Full Story
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Mark Lee Dickson helped Texas towns ban abortion. On Friday, the Supreme Court declined to block a state law modeled on his ordinance. “We can go anywhere now,” he said. Full Story
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