The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
American Airlines and Dell Technologies on Thursday publicly declared their opposition to Republican legislative proposals that would impose new restrictions on voting. Full Story
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Senate Bill 7 is at the forefront of Texas Republicans’ crusade to further restrict voting in the state after last year’s election. Full Story
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Power outages during a winter storm have the Texas Legislature considering remedies — and a flaw in their response to a previous storm. Full Story
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Some experts have raised doubts whether the bill will hold up in court. Full Story
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The slate of bills must still go to the House for approval. Full Story
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Senate Bill 3 would require all power generators, transmission lines, natural gas facilities and pipelines to make upgrades for extreme weather. Its prospects are uncertain in the House, which is scheduled to take up a series of related, standalone bills on Tuesday. Full Story
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Agency data shows officers are finding just as many drugs — and writing up even more prisoners for having them — despite the restrictions. Contraband is most often brought in by staff, according to prisoners and employees. Full Story
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The latest fight over local control in the Texas Legislature is a rerun: Conservative lawmakers want to bar local governments from hiring lobbyists to represent them in Austin. And their effort has more support than before. Full Story
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Senate Bill 7 would make sweeping changes to Texas voting by limiting extended early voting hours, prohibiting drive-thru voting and requiring Texans to provide proof of disability to qualify for mail-in voting. Full Story
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Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy wants to build 10 electric plants in Texas, for use when demand peaks or other plants falter. And it’s the first time a price tag has been attached to a remedy since last month’s deadly storm. Full Story
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A provision that would remove police officers' legal shield against civil lawsuits has been pegged by multiple lawmakers as a sticking point in the Republican-led Legislature. Full Story
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The newly revised number is nearly twice the 57 that state health officials estimated last week and will likely continue to grow. Full Story
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The wide-ranging proposal includes a number of reforms that have been floating around the state Capitol since last month’s deadly winter storm left millions without electricity during freezing temperatures. Full Story
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The Texas Tribune joined several other news organizations in an effort to obtain copies of emails and text messages that the Texas attorney general sent or received while in Washington for the rally. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday there is an even greater urgency this legislative session to pass laws expanding gun rights because of Joe Biden’s presidency. Full Story
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The chamber signed off on House Bill 1024 to permanently allow beer, wine and mixed drinks to be included in pickup and delivery food orders. The measure still requires approval from the Senate. Full Story
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Texas has seen more mass shootings in the last two years than proven incidents of voter fraud, but legislators are more focused on election law than on gun violence. Full Story
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In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to former speaker of the Texas House Joe Straus about life as a civilian, what he’d do about repricing electricity, the conservative case for expanding Medicaid, why he didn’t vote for Donald Trump — twice — and whether he’ll run for something again. Full Story
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Ricardo Ramos, Ramon Fuentes III and Andres Arguelles were all 45. Loving husbands. Strangers who died with the coronavirus in neighboring South Texas cities. They left behind young widows who found each other in Facebook groups and bonded over the similarities in their stories. Full Story
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Fixing immigration and ending hate crimes was hard enough without elected policymakers in Austin and Washington D.C., stoking nativist and racial fears. Full Story
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