State government

Secret recordings in Texas: A brief history of some Capitol controversies

by Todd Wiseman

Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen announced he would not seek reelection a week after the release of an infamous recording of a conversation between him and a political activist. It's not the first time that secret recordings caused a stir in Texas politics.

Vice Chairman James D. Dannenbaum, right, and Regent Brenda Pejovich, left, at the Board of Regents meeting for The University of Texas System on Feb. 14, 2013.

Top Texas GOP donor resigns from company after copping to conduit contributions

by Patrick Svitek

James Dannenbaum, president and CEO of the high-powered Dannenbaum Engineering, was charged with a scheme to get employees to donate to three congressional candidates in 2017.

Campaign workers make pitches to voters outside the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston on Nov. 5, 2019.

Half of registered Texas voters turned out in 2018. Just 12% turned out this year.

by Alex Samuels and Stephanie Adeline

Turnout in odd-numbered years has always been historically low. While this year’s turnout is higher than in 2017, it's still overwhelmingly low.

Voter wait in line at Austin City Hall to cast their ballots on Nov. 5, 2019.

Texas 2019 constitutional amendment election results

by Carla Astudillo and Stephanie Adeline

Texas voters approved nine amendments to the state constitution, including a proposal making it harder to enact a personal income tax. One amendment was rejected.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks with the media after arriving at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019.

Sylvester Turner to face Tony Buzbee in runoff for Houston mayor

by Alex Samuels and Patrick Svitek

Vote counting continued through the night. When results were released early Wednesday morning, the incumbent was short of the total he needed to avoid a runoff.

The Texas State Capitol on May 22, 2019.

Texas voters approve state income tax ban, most other constitutional amendments

by Alex Samuels

While voters supported most changes to the Texas Constitution, they opposed a measure that would allow elected municipal judges to work in more than one jurisdiction.

Federal judge hammers Texas officials over failures to improve foster care system

by Edgar Walters

An exasperated U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack found the state in contempt of court for failing to comply with some of her earlier orders in the wide-ranging lawsuit filed on behalf of Texas foster children.

People wait to vote after polling places' official 7:00 closing time, at Tompkins High School in Katy in Fort Bend Co. on Nov. 6, 2018.

Both sides brace for a more action-packed runoff in special election for Zerwas seat

by Patrick Svitek

The Tuesday special election for the suburban Houston seat is expected to advance to a runoff between the sole Democratic candidate and one of three viable Republican candidates out of six overall.

The one where Willie Nelson sings Happy Birthday to The Texas Tribune

by Fatima Espejo, Todd Wiseman and Justin Dehn

What would Texas be without The Texas Tribune? Politicos, fellow journalists and yes, Willie Nelson, toast The Texas Tribune on our 10th anniversary.

Tenth Talks: Evan Smith on the next 10 years of media in Texas

by Emily Ramshaw and Michael Rey de Leon

In this episode of Tenth Talks, The Texas Tribune's yearlong video series on the next 10 years of Texas, CEO Evan Smith says that “nonpartisan is a business model” and that the future of sustainability in local news depends on it.

Presidential candidate Julian Castro spoke to supporters during a rally at Warehouse Live on Sept. 9, 2019, in Houston.

Julián Castro raises $800,000 in 10-day span to stay in presidential race

by Alex Samuels

With the money solidified, Castro’s campaign said it plans on making a push for the November and December Democratic primary debates — a lofty goal for a campaign that has been mired in low single digits in polls.

Michael Quinn Sullivan, president and CEO of Empower Texans, speaks during a Tea Party rally on the south steps of the Capitol in Austin on April 17, 2017.

Empower Texans helped topple House Speaker Dennis Bonnen. Did it further the conservative movement?

by Emma Platoff

The hardline conservative group can claim a victory for ousting Bonnen. But will that be good for its ideological interests?

Correctional Officer 5, Mike Warren, (background right) and Lt. Stacy Halbert (back left) look over the contraband dog, Gus, during a demonstration of how the dog seeks out cell phones around the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville on April 23, 2014.

Texas law requires retired police dogs be auctioned off. Proposition 10 would send them home with their handlers.

by Chase Karacostas

On Nov. 5, voters have the chance to change the Texas Constitution to ensure retired law enforcement animals can be adopted by their handlers, erasing a decades-old requirement that government property must be sold or destroyed when no longer in use.

An encampment site under the TX-71 and W. Ben White Blvd. overpass in Austin. Wind has blown belongings and trash across the floor despite the community's efforts to keep the site clean. Seen on Oct. 24, 2019.

As Texas gets ready to clear some Austin highway encampments, Gov. Abbott and Mayor Adler at odds over homeless residents

by Davis Rich and Carrington Tatum

The governor's decision to force homeless people from under state overpasses drew the ire of city leaders and homelessness experts, who criticized Abbott's "fear-based approach."

A long line of voters wait to cast their ballots at the Wonderland of the Americas Mall in San Antonio late Friday afternoon, Nov. 2, the last day of early voting.

Texas Democrats are suing the state over its move to end temporary voting locations

by Alexa Ura

The lawsuit — filed with the Democratic campaign arms for the U.S. House and Senate — alleges that a change in state law that effectively ends the use of temporary or mobile early voting sites is unconstitutional because it discriminates against young voters.

A mound of toxic coal mine waste left by an energy company, Luminant, sits near farmland, homes and businesses in Sulphur Springs.

Big coal gave a tiny Texas town free land. There’s a major catch.

by Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune and Naveena Sadasivam, Grist

Sulphur Springs leaders say they want Luminant — Texas’ largest electricity generator — to leave in place a 120-foot-tall mound of excavated dirt at the site of a shuttered coal mine so they can build an amphitheater. But the soil contains potentially dangerous materials, according to state regulators.

The San Miguel Electric Cooperative power plant can be seen in the background of a sign for the Peeler Ranch on April 26, 2019.

Texas coal companies are leaving behind contaminated land. The state is letting them.

by Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune and Naveena Sadasivam, Grist

An investigation by The Texas Tribune and Grist shows that regulators in the Lone Star State have given a hand up to struggling coal companies as they face millions of dollars in mandated land restoration costs.

The Alcoa power plant near Rockdale on August 1, 2019.

Texas signed off on the restoration of this old mine. Now a leaky landfill is contaminating groundwater.

by Kiah Collier, The Texas Tribune and Naveena Sadasivam, Grist

Alcoa has put its shuttered Sandow Mine site on the market for $250 million, advertising it as a country paradise. Testing has found that groundwater under a landfill in the middle of the property is contaminated with toxic heavy metals.

APD officers speak to people gathered on sidewalk in front of the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, or ARCH, in downtown Austin on Aug. 4, 2019

Texas getting ready to move homeless residents camping beneath Austin highways

by Davis Rich

The Texas Department of Transportation began posting notices Tuesday letting homeless Austin residents know they must leave encampments under state overpasses by early next week.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at the dais on the Senate floor on May 25, 2019.

Capitol insiders: Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is letting the state's budget agency fall apart

by Edgar Walters

The Texas Legislative Budget Board is hemorrhaging staff and has been without an executive director for a year.