How does the government use eminent domain to seize land from Texans?
And should Texans expect to give up more of their property to the government as border wall and high-speed train projects move forward? Full Story
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![Randa and Charlie Calhoun raise pigs and cattle on their land in Bedias, Texas, on Sept 15, 2018. A proposed high speed rail would be built along existing power lines.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Catch up on some of The Texas Tribune's top projects from 2018
The Texas Tribune produced several deep-dive investigations in 2018 that examined various issues that affect Texans across the state. Here's a look at some of those standout projects. Full Story
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Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera / Reynaldo Leal / Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Does Texas still have straight-ticket voting?
Most states have ended straight-ticket, or “one-punch,” voting, but Texas kept it going — as long as it helped the majority party. The state is getting rid of it starting in 2020. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Why is college in Texas getting so expensive?
Tuition and fees at Texas universities have more than doubled since 2003. There's plenty of blame to go around. Full Story
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![Tuition costs are rising in Texas as per-student state funding for higher education shrinks.]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / The Texas Tribune -
Texas Ethics Commission fines Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller $500 over 2015 rodeo trip
The fine comes nearly four years after Miller, a champion calf roper, used taxpayer money for a trip to the National Dixie Rodeo in Jackson, Mississippi. Full Story
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![Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller speaks at the Republican Party of Texas convention on Saturday, June 16, 2016.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Former state Sen. Kevin Eltife named new chair of the UT System board
Appointed to the University of Texas System's Board of Regents in 2017, the Republican has been an outspoken critic of system-level spending. Full Story
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![Special called meeting of the UT Board of Regents where they named J.B Milliken as the new Chancellor on August 4, 2018]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
As most states raise their minimum wages, Texas refuses to budge
This year alone, 18 states increased their minimum wage and 30 states now have a minimum wage that exceeds the federal government's $7.25-per-hour rate. Many of Texas' major cities have boosted pay, too. Will the state follow suit? Full Story
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![Frances Sanchez and her three children (from left) Samaria or Sammy Sanchez, 9, Pedro Sanchez, 6, and Katrina Sanchez, soon to be 13, pose for a portrait in the home of a friend where they are staying in Garland.]()
Credit: Leslie Boorhem-Stephenson -
What ideas are Texas lawmakers exploring to keep schools safe?
The national debate came home to Texas again this year when a 17-year-old opened fire at Santa Fe High School, killing 10 and wounding several others. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Audit questions how DPS verifies eligibility when issuing Texas driver's licenses
The audit says the Texas Department of Public Safety lacks the controls to ensure necessary documents are collected and retained. Full Story
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Dennis Bonnen has spent half his life in the Texas House. Is he ready to run it?
Twenty-two years after joining the Texas House as its youngest member, state Rep. Dennis Bonnen is poised to take over the chamber's reins on Jan. 8. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton]()
Credit: Photo Illustration by Emily Albracht / Robert Daemmrich and Anneke Els Paterson for the Texas Tribune -
In the Texas Legislature, bills filed on marijuana, daylight saving are all fair game
Watch the first episode of our mini-documentary series, “Under the Dome,” chronicling the cast of characters passing laws in the Texas State Capitol. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman / The Texas Tribune -
What's the point of Texas' rainy day fund?
Texas' Economic Stabilization Fund holds more than $11 billion and is the largest in the country. There's a lot of disagreement over how and when to spend the money. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / The Texas Tribune -
Texas has failed to close educational gaps for kids of color. In Edgewood ISD, the fallout has lasted generations.
Edgewood ISD has faced consistent problems in preparing its students for college and the workforce. The district's struggles shine a light on Texas’ long record of neglecting schools that educate mostly students of color. Full Story
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![Carlos Lopez is a freshman at The University of Texas studying Biochemistry, while also holding down a part time job at HEB. He graduated high school from John F. Kennedy, a small school on the west side of San Antonio and feels unprepared for what he has experienced at UT. He studies at the Student Academic Center on campus, December 7, 2018. Although he feels his public education underprepared him for UT and an advisor suggested changing his major, he does not want to give up.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
In Texas, "a perception that tuberculosis no longer exists" raises alarm for legislative attention
Tuberculosis is a rare disease, but public health experts are urging Texas legislators to invest in expensive medication, nurses who can help patients and supporting local health departments to test and treat people who may have been exposed. Full Story
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![Nurse Paul Chege prepares to deliver meals to patients at the Texas Center for Infectious Disease in San Antonio on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
A Texas school contractor says she lost her job because she won't promise not to boycott Israel. Now she's suing.
The school severed its contract with the speech pathologist because of state law banning Texas government contracts with companies that boycott Israel. Full Story
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![The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announces the filing of a lawsuit against Texas' "No Boycott of Israel" law, on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 in Austin. Speaking is plaintiff Bahia Amawi, a teacher in the Pflugerville Independent School District who was forced to sign a pledge against her beliefs in order to get paid. She later quit her job as a speech therapist in the district. In the back are attorney Gadier Abbas and CAIR director Mira Sheikh.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott selects deputy chief of staff as new secretary of state
David Whitley was named Texas' top election official on Monday, years after he started working for Abbott when the governor served as the state's attorney general. Full Story
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![David Whitley was appointed as Secretary of State of Texas.]()
Credit: Image via Governor Greg Abbott's -
Texas still hasn't expanded Medicaid. That's leaving a gap in coverage for hundreds of thousands.
More and more states have decided to expand Medicaid, but Texas has not budged. With more than a half million Texans in the so-called health coverage gap, will the politics of the issue shift in next year's legislative session? Full Story
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![Tanya Walker, who now lives in Wichita, Kansas, said it was difficult to manage her diabetes without having health coverage.]()
Credit: Jason Massingill for The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Joe Pickett to resign from Texas House after nearly 24 years in office
Citing health issues, the El Paso Democrat announced Saturday that he would step down from his post effective Jan. 4, four days before the start of the next legislative session. Full Story
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![House Transportation Commitee chair Rep. Joe Pickett, D-EL Paso, leads an interim hearing August 30, 2016, at the Texas Capitol. The committee grilled TxDOT director James M. Bass and listened to a Texas Transportation Institute study on ride-hailing companies.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Federal judge rules Obamacare unconstitutional, handing Texas an early win
Fort Worth U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor ruled that the individual mandate — a critical component of Obamacare — is unconstitutional, rendering the rest of the law invalid as well. Full Story
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![Dr. Javier Saenz, who has a medical practice in the Rio Grande Valley town of La Joya, prepared his clinic’s X-ray machine in 2012.]()
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Dennis Bonnen isn't Texas House speaker yet but he's hiring people like he is. How does that work?
The Texas House is about to get a new speaker and more than two dozen new members. While they all have started transitioning into their new roles, they can't do much until they are officially sworn in to their new positions next month. Full Story
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![The House chamber at the Texas Capitol on Aug. 16, 2017, the morning after the end of the special session.]()
Credit: Austin Price / The Texas Tribune