Watch Greg Abbott, Dennis Bonnen and Dan Patrick speak at a joint news conference
Watch live coverage of a news conference featuring Gov. Greg Abbott, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, courtesy of KXAN-TV. Full Story
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![The Texas state Capitol on the first day of the 86th legislative session on Jan. 8, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas House names Dennis Bonnen new speaker on celebratory opening day
Bonnen’s unanimous election marks a new era of Texas House leadership for the first time in a decade. Meanwhile, the leader of the Texas Senate, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, was conspicuously absent on opening day. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, is sworn in as House speaker by U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. Looking on is Speaker Bonnen's wife Kimberly.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Retirement and low pay caused Texas agencies to lose nearly 29,000 employees last year
Advocates for state workers are calling for increased pay after a State Auditor’s Office report released in December found that agency turnover was at 19.3 percent in the 2018 budget year. The top reasons employees said they left were retirement, better pay and benefits and poor working conditions. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Former Texas HHSC executive commissioner named acting director for Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services
Chris Traylor's new position comes after joining the federal government in July as deputy administrator for strategic initiatives at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Full Story
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![Chris Traylor, acting director of the Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 22, 2012.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Everything you need to know about the first day of the Texas Legislature
The 140-day sprint to the finish line will finally begin today, when state lawmakers convene in Austin for the Texas Legislature's 86th regular session. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
As judge weighs the fate of a sweeping Texas abortion lawsuit, confusion remains
Amid a packed Austin courtroom Monday, U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel told attorneys he was confused by their arguments in a sweeping lawsuit challenging dozens of Texas abortion laws. Full Story
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![Abortion access advocates pose for a photograph outside of the U.S. District Court in Austin. The court is set to weigh in on whether abortion funds and health care providers can challenge restrictions to abortion access. Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / Texas Tribune.]()
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Here’s how the federal government shutdown is affecting Texas
Court cases are slowing down and it’s taking some people longer to buy a home, but national parks are open and the Border Patrol is still working. Full Story
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Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar gives lawmakers cautiously optimistic revenue estimate for 2019 session
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Monday that the state will have $119.1 billion for lawmakers to use in putting together the state's 2020-21 budget. Full Story
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![Comptroller Glenn Hegar discusses the Biennial Revenue Estimate for the 2020-21 biennium at the state Capitol on Jan. 7, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Two years ago, the Texas Legislature started with a bang. This year, it's quieter.
Lawmakers have coalesced behind school finance and property taxes as top priorities, a stark contrast with the hot-button social legislation that headlined the 85th Legislature in 2017. Full Story
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![Left to right: Outgoing House Speaker Joe Straus, presumptive House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at a Legislative Budget Board meeting in Austin on Nov. 16, 2018.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: To the relief of Texas lawmakers, voters just aren’t into state budgets
Most of what the state government does is spelled out in the budget Texas lawmakers write every two years. Lucky for them, most voters don't pay close attention to what's in that big stack of numbers. Full Story
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![Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announces his office has picked a private vendor to run the Texas Bullion Depository, which will be designed to store gold for both the state and private citizens, at the Capitol on June 14, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Rep. Ron Reynolds released from jail
The Missouri City Democrat has won re-election several times since his 2015 conviction on misdemeanor charges for illegally soliciting clients. Full Story
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![Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, during a House Environmental Regulations Committee meeting on April 16, 2013.]()
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"I don't do this for fun." Patients are hopeful Texas will expand access to medical cannabis
The Texas Legislature is about to kick off its first session since three licensed marijuana dispensaries opened in the state, providing cannabis products for hundreds of patients. Now advocates are hopeful that lawmakers are ready to dramatically expand that program to thousands more Texans who stand to benefit. Full Story
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![Joshua Raines, an Afghanistan combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient, smokes from his marijuana vape pen after returning home early from his son's choir performance due to experiencing PTSD symptoms.]()
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8 file in special election to replace Carol Alvarado; 3 sign up for Joe Pickett's seat
There will be special elections on Jan. 29 in two Texas House districts to fill vacant seats, and the filing deadline was 5 p.m. Thursday. Full Story
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![State Sen. -elect Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, and outgoing state Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Democratic states appeal ruling declaring Obamacare unconstitutional
A federal judge ruled last month that the sweeping health care law is unconstitutional in its entirety. Full Story
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![Obamacare sign in east Austin on Dec. 1, 2015.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles/ The Texas Tribune -
Abbott-led board to consider removal of Confederate plaque from inside Texas Capitol
A meeting is scheduled for Jan 11. Full Story
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![The "Children of the Confederacy Creed" plaque has drawn controversy for its denial that preserving slavery was an underlying cause of the Civil War. Dec. 5, 2018.]()
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How law enforcement can seize Texans' cash and property — without filing criminal charges
Police use asset forfeiture to seize cash, cars and other property that they suspect is part of criminal activity. As our December story explains, they don't have to get a conviction, but property owners have to prove they're not a criminal. Full Story
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This Texas program sinks thousands of citizens into debt to pay for trauma centers
"I hate the program," said one lawmaker; another said it's created a "permanent underclass." So why is the much-maligned Driver Responsibility Program still around? As our August story points out, lawmakers haven't yet figured out another funding source for the trauma centers that the DPR helps support. Full Story
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![A driver license reclamation clinic held in Austin on June 22, 2018.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune -
Can the Texas Legislature override local ordinances?
It can and it has. Last year, Texas lawmakers voted to override several local ordinances with new statewide measures — including relaxing regulations for ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. Full Story
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![Uber and Lyft, two San Francisco-based transportation networking companies, have launched services in several Texas cities.]()
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In fiery filing, Ken Paxton prosecutors ask Texas court to undo "patently absurd result" in pay case
The state's highest criminal court must reconsider a November decision to ensure its proceedings "appear fair to all who observe them," prosecutors argued. Full Story
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![Special prosecutors Brian Wice, left, and Kent Schaffer enter the Collin County Courthouse during a pre-trial motion hearing for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, in McKinney.]()
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Does the Texas Legislature work full time?
Texas is one of a handful of states that convenes its Legislature once every two years. And in Texas, a session lasts only 140 days. Full Story
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![Senate Calendar Clerk Tracy Ortiz checks in a few Senate bills on her desk on July 10, 2017. The first-called special session of the 85th Legislature starts Tuesday, July 18th.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune
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