Texas House lifts its mask requirement for chamber and committees
The resolution was passed in a 99-46 vote. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still suggest that people wear masks in public places, especially indoors. Full Story
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![Visitors are required to wear masks in the house chambers, but lawmakers will only wear masks at their discretion. Jan 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Bill allowing permitless carrying of handguns advances to Texas Senate floor, where its fate remains uncertain
The bill would nix the requirement for most Texas residents to obtain a license to carry handguns. Texans would also no longer be required to receive training before carrying a handgun in public. Full Story
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![A M&P Shield handgun, small enough to be ideal for conceal carry, in Austin on April 23, 2021.]()
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The criminal penalty for possessing small amounts of marijuana would be reduced under a bill passed by the Texas House
The measure likely faces an uphill climb in the Senate, where two years ago Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick opposed similar legislation. Full Story
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Texas House passes package of police reform bills, including measure requiring more substantive disciplinary action for police misconduct
The chamber approved three police reform measures that are part of a sweeping set of legislation following the in-custody murder of George Floyd last year. Full Story
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![State troopers stand guard at the state Capitol grounds to prevent protesters from entering during a protest over the death of George Floyd.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers consider bill that would prevent schools and workplaces from discriminatory bans on dreadlocks, other hairstyles
After holding a press conference on Tuesday, proponents of the CROWN Act to ban hair discrimination finally received a committee hearing on the bill Thursday morning. Several students, parents and workers testified before members about their experiences being targeted for wearing natural hair. Full Story
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![A committee hearing room featuring plexiglass dividers on Jan. 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
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 -
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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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]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
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.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
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.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for 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 -
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 -
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.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
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.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
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.]()
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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.]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune -
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.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque