Analysis: Redistricting is boring, and that’s why it’s hazardous to voters
Most voters don’t pay a lot of attention to the redrawing of political maps every 10 years. That’s just the way legislators like it. Full Story
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![The sun sets behind the U.S. Capitol dome in Washington, D.C., on midterm election day, Nov. 6, 2018.]()
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With time running out on the Texas legislative session, health experts urge lawmakers to prepare for the next pandemic
Lawmakers this session have filed a flurry of proposals related to the pandemic. Some, experts say, constitute meaningful reform. Others could leave the state worse off. Full Story
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![Austin residents begin to head out following the Thunderbirds flyover in Austin on May 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas' medical cannabis program could expand under bill OK'd by House
The program would be expanded for a number of conditions including chronic pain and PTSD — as well as allow for more potent levels of THC. Full Story
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![Compassionate Cultivation, a home-grown medical cannabis company serving patients throughout Texas]()
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Texas lawmakers send Greg Abbott a bill that would allow Texans to purchase alcohol to go from restaurants
House Bill 1024 would allow beer, wine and mixed drinks to be included in pickup and delivery food orders, securing a revenue stream made available to restaurants in the last year during the pandemic. Full Story
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![Beer sits in a cooler behind the bar at Hops and Grain Brewery in Austin on June 26, 2019.]()
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Texas releases $11 billion of $18 billion in federal stimulus money for public schools
The newly released funds come after educators and state Democrats urged the governor to unlock the pandemic relief money as schools plan their budgets for the next school year Full Story
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![A student in a classroom at Cactus Elementary School in Cactus on Jan. 28, 2020.]()
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Texas Senate approves overhaul of pension plans for new state employees
Senate Bill 321 would also authorize yearly payments to shore up $14.7 billion in unfunded pension obligations. Full Story
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![The dome of the Texas Capitol on April 12, 2021.]()
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Texas lawmakers hope to exclude places of worship from emergency closures after COVID-19 pandemic shuttered doors
Even some religious groups are opposed to Texas legislation that would bar government officials from closing places of worship in any situation — even during a pandemic. Full Story
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![The interior of St. Mary Cathedral in downtown Austin on Jan. 30, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Lubbock voters will decide Saturday if the West Texas city will become the largest “sanctuary city for the unborn”
While proponents of the proposed ordinance view abortion as an “inconceivably wicked action,” detractors say it would be immediately challenged in court and that battles over abortion access are best fought at the state and federal levels. Full Story
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![A banner supporting a proposed city ordinance that would ban abortions inside Lubbock city limits hangs from Southcrest Baptist Church on April 27, 2021, in Lubbock. The ordinance goes to a public vote on the May 1 election.]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says he’ll sign bill allowing permitless carrying of handguns, believes Senate is “making progress”
The governor broke his silence Tuesday on the legislation that has been building momentum at the Texas Capitol. Full Story
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![Handguns for sale at a gun store in Central Austin on April 20, 2021.]()
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Gender-affirming medical treatment for transgender kids would be considered child abuse under Texas Senate bill
The upper chamber Wednesday passed Senate Bill 1646, which is among several other bills that advocacy groups say erode the rights of transgender Texans. But it’s unclear what the legislation’s chances are in the House. Full Story
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![People hold up a transgender flag at an event held by Equality Texas at the Capitol on April 14, 2021 in Austin.]()
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Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller alleges aid to farmers of color discriminates against white farmers in suit against Biden administration
The conservative Republican and rancher states in the lawsuit filed Monday in Fort Worth federal court that he is suing in his capacity as a private citizen — not on behalf of the state. Full Story
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![Helena Bottemiller Evich moderates the “Ag in the Modern World” panel with guests Sid Miller, Drew Springer and Tom Vilsack at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 28, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa for The Texas Tribune -
ERCOT names new, temporary leader two months after deadly winter storm
In the weeks since the winter storm, both the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the Public Utility Commission, the regulatory body that oversees it, have been lambasted for failures in preparing for and responding to the storm. Full Story
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![Reliability Coordinators monitored the state power grid during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor in 2012.]()
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Internet is “not a privilege; it’s a right”: Rural Texas students struggle without broadband access
As the Texas Legislature tries to address a lack of broadband internet access for millions of people, students in rural areas are struggling to keep up academically during remote school. Full Story
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![A colonia, unincorporated neighborhoods that lack basic services such as street lights, proper drainage, paved roads or waste management, is seen near Edinburg on March 25, 2020.]()
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As Austin voters weigh camping ban proposition, Texas lawmakers consider bills to prohibit homeless encampments statewide
If the legislation is approved and signed by the governor, cities could lose state grant money for failing to enforce a new statewide encampment ban. Full Story
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![Tents sit underneath the Interstate 35 bridge on Feb. 16, 2021 in Austin. A winter storm has caused icy roads and left millions of Texans without water or electricity.]()
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U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear Ken Paxton’s challenge to California law banning state-funded travel to Texas
California banned state-funded travel to Texas because of a 2017 religious-refusal law for adoptions in the state, which critics called discriminatory against LGBTQ families. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton addresses reporters on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court after the court took up a major abortion case focusing on whether a Texas law that imposes strict regulations on abortion doctors and clinic buildings interferes with the constitutional right of a woman to end her pregnancy in Washington March 2, 2016. At right is Texas Solicitor General Scott Keller.]()
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Analysis: A different way to look at Texans’ differences — by looking at similarities
A new look at Texas attitudes and preferences aims to find a way out of our politically polarized public square. Full Story
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![Crowds march through Austin in celebration of Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 20, 2020.]()
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Texas lawmakers, lobby firm react to allegations that a lobbyist gave date rape drug to Capitol aide
State lawmakers, staffers and other Capitol observers have denounced the alleged incident, with several House members declaring on social media that they were banning from their offices any lobbyist or lobby firm associated with the accusation. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol on April 12, 2021.]()
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State Rep. Dan Huberty arrested for DWI after accident Friday night
Huberty, authorities said, appeared flushed, dazed and his eyes were glassy and bloodshot. He smelled strongly of alcohol, slurred his speech and failed his walking and balance tests, according to the police report. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, listens to testimonies on the Texas Education Agency's uses of House Bill 3 and House Bill 22 during a committee hearing on Oct. 28, 2019.]()
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Relatives of Texans killed by police hope Derek Chauvin’s conviction will advance the state’s George Floyd Act
“If this doesn’t push it, we don’t know what will,” says Debbie Bush. She has been fighting for greater accountability for police violence since her nephew was shot in the back by a San Antonio officer seven years ago. Full Story
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![Deborah Bush, the aunt of police shooting victim Marquise Jones, spoke at a rally to support the Texas George Floyd Act outside of the Capitol in Austin on March 25, 2021.]()
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Texas House votes down budget amendment aimed at giving health coverage to more uninsured Texans
The Texas Legislature has declined to pass any broad expansion of state and federal health care coverage for uninsured Texans since the Affordable Care Act of 2010 required states to expand Medicaid — a provision later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Full Story
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![Dr. Spencer R. Berthelsen, M.D., saw a patient at the Kelsey-Seybold clinic in Sugar Land on Sept. 22, 2011.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune