Dreamers grateful efforts to repeal in-state tuition benefit never materialized
Efforts to strip undocumented students in Texas of their in-state college tuition benefit failed to pass during the latest legislative session. Full Story
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![Sam Cervantes, an undocumented immigrant out of Houston, pays in-state tuition at The University of Texas at Austin.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
New executive director picked for troubled Texas liquor agency
A lawyer with a lengthy military background has been tapped to clean up the embattled Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, which has been dogged by controversies and high-level departures in recent months. Full Story
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![Bentley Nettles, a decorated military officer and practicing lawyer, was appointed executive director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.]()
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With no relief from Legislature, West Dallas mom scrambles for a place to live
Noemi Pina is among hundreds of West Dallas residents who have been ensnared in a battle between their landlord and Dallas City Hall. Full Story
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![Noemi Pina, 43, and her mother Juana Rosas, 81, sit in their West Dallas living room. They are among scores of residents who will have to relocate from the neighborhood after the city tightened its rental housing standards.]()
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Lawmakers file dozens of bills as Abbott officially calls special session
Within hours of Gov. Greg Abbott issuing his proclamation announcing next week's special session, lawmakers had filed dozens of bills including two so-called bathroom bills from state Rep. Ron Simmons, a Carrollton Republican. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott lays out items for a special session at a press conference on June 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Acting director of Texas liquor agency abruptly quits
He had only been in the job for a few weeks, but the interim director of the troubled Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is out. Ed Swedberg abruptly quit Friday after saying he did not want to participate in the termination of another high-ranking official at TABC. Full Story
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![Ed Swedberg, deputy executive director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, answers questions during the House Committee on General Investigating & Ethics meeting on April 13, 2017. The committee was investigating TABC out-of-state travel to conference at taxpayer expense.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
When his child needed medical marijuana, he moved to Colorado
Emmanuel Garza moved from Texas to Colorado so his baby daughter could get the medical marijuana treatment she needed. Legislation to legalize the same treatment in Texas failed to pass during the regular legislative session. Full Story
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![Emmanuel Garza holds his daughter Madelynn, 1, while she experiences a seizure Tuesday, June 13, 2017 at their home in Aurora, CO.]()
Credit: Daniel Brenner for the Texas Tribune -
Austinite and former intern for House Speaker Straus killed in Greece
A 22-year-old Austin native on vacation with friends on the Greek island of Zakynthos was killed Friday in a bar fight; seven Serbians and a Greek have been arrested. Full Story
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![Bakari Henderson, a 22-year-old Austin native, was killed in Greece on July 7.]()
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Hey, Texplainer: Does the Texas lottery fully fund public education?
Under state law, lottery revenue — including ticket sales and money from unclaimed prizes — must contribute to Texas causes and programs. However, only 27 percent of that money goes toward Texas education. Full Story
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![A Texas Lottery display in Austin on April 3, 2017.]()
Credit: John Jordan -
Trump administration says Texas' new voter ID law checks all the boxes (video)
The U.S. Department of Justice argued in a legal filing Thursday that courts should drop any further action over the old version of Texas’ voter ID law. That story tops the Texas Political Roundup. Full Story
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Two more liquor regulators leaving troubled TABC
Two fresh departures from the troubled Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, announced Thursday, bring to five the number of high-level officials calling it quits since The Texas Tribune began publishing a series of stories about lavish spending, mismanagement and regulatory overreach at TABC. Full Story
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![Earl Pearson and Andy Peña from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.]()
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Power Trips: Who should regulate access to Texas bathrooms? Give us your take
The Texas Tribune wants to learn more about how the “bathroom bill” debate is affecting people across Texas. Full Story
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![Bathroom stall at the Austin Convention Center.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
New Yorker's Lawrence Wright: Here's what Speaker Straus told me on "bathroom bill"
During an interview on KUT's Texas Standard, Lawrence Wright talked about his latest piece in The New Yorker, including strong words from House Speaker Joe Straus on the "bathroom bill." Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: When Austin isn’t the summer getaway lawmakers had in mind
Texas lawmakers will be back in Austin for a special session in just two weeks. They'd rather be elsewhere, on vacation or — in some cases — for much more tactical reasons. Full Story
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Hey, Texplainer: Why can’t all Texans vote by mail?
Allowing all mail-in votes for elections is legal in 22 states, but not in Texas, where only certain voters can mail in their ballots. The Legislature's special session will address mail-in ballot fraud but won't expand mail-in voting. Full Story
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![Voters line up at an early voting station in Houston on Oct. 24, 2016. Poll workers said the lines were much longer than normal for early voting.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Why one of the largest counties in Texas is going back to paper ballots
After a disastrous November election, Denton County is planning a complete return to paper ballots. The move is in part a response to voter distrust of electronic voting machines. Full Story
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![A man casts his ballot in a 2014 election.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Embattled Texas liquor agency announces third high-level departure
A shake-up continues at the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission with the resignation of TABC General Counsel Emily Helm, the third top official to leave the agency in recent months. Full Story
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![Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission General Counsel Emily Helm at the TABC's quarterly meeting in Austin on May 23, 2017.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Emails show Abbott’s vetoes ruffled feathers at the Capitol
The emails reveal how the governor's vetoes caught some state lawmakers by surprise, while his staff has let evangelical Christian leaders know about vetoes of bills they opposed. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott lays out items for a special session at a press conference on June 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
School boards, cities sought to stop Gov. Abbott from signing drone bill
Organizations representing hundreds of Texas cities and school boards unsuccessfully urged Gov. Greg Abbott to veto a bill aimed at restricting drone use around the state. Full Story
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![Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi engineering student Adam Ersepke and lab coordinator Jack Edward Esparza prepare for the take off of the University’s RS-16 unmanned aerial vehicle, otherwise known as a drone, for a test flight over the Kennedy Ranch near Sarita, Texas on January 18, 2013.]()
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Texas liquor agency rebuked after investigation of Spec's
After a three-year probe, state liquor regulators asked an administrative court to cancel every permit held by Spec's, the state's largest liquor retailer, or fine it more than $700 million. Instead, the judges recommended nothing but a warning. Full Story
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![Spec’s Liquor President John Rydman, with wife and owner Lindy Rydman in blue and their daughter Lisa Rydman, granddaughter of the chain's founder, at the flagship store in Houston on June 29, 2017. Spec's got the green light to begin expanding again after an administrative court poured cold water on sanctions sought by state liquor regulators.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: A governor (belatedly) setting the Legislature’s agenda
The regular legislative session belonged to legislative leaders — primarily Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who aggressively set an agenda for the Senate. Now, with a special session looming, Gov. Greg Abbott is asserting himself. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott lays out items for a special session, at the Capitol on June 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune