Texas Gov. Abbott signs bill to enforce reporting of police shootings
Starting in September, Texas law enforcement agencies could be fined $1,000 a day if they don’t report police shootings to the state in a timely manner. Full Story
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Abbott vetoes 50 bills passed by Legislature
Gov. Greg Abbott has vetoed 50 bills that were passed during the regular legislative session, his office announced Thursday. 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 -
San Antonio voted to annex his home. Now he's hoping the special session will give him a say.
Annexation reform died in the final moments of the regular session. Mike Stewart, whose home is under threat of annexation, will anxiously watch July's special session debate. Full Story
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![San Antonio city limit sign on U.S. Highway 90 west of the city.]()
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Abbott proposal would nullify city rules on distracted driving
Texas recently became the 47th state to pass a statewide texting-while-driving ban. The governor's proposal to pre-empt local ordinances on drivers' mobile phone use could weaken stricter city ordinances that have been in place for years. Full Story
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![A woman checks her phone while driving in Austin. A statewide texting-while-driving ban goes into effect Sept. 1, 2017.]()
Credit: Tim Park for The Texas Tribune -
North Texas mayors reject protectionist “Buy American” iron and steel bill
The mayors of Dallas and Fort Worth are siding with Canadian officials over the potentially negative impact a “Buy American” iron and steel measure could have on Texas-Canada trade relations. Full Story
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![Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings and Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price]()
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Will Texas lawmakers ax tree ordinances in more than 50 cities?
Dozens of cities and towns in Texas have ordinances aimed at protecting trees. During the special legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott wants to change that. Full Story
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![A tree is protected by wood planks during construction at a private residence in Austin on June 12, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price / The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Texas leaders couldn’t agree during the regular session. What’s changed?
Texas lawmakers will return to Austin in a month to take another swing at more than a dozen issues they couldn't resolve during the regular legislative session. So what has changed? Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott prepares to deliver his State of the State address, flanked by (l.-r.) Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, state Sens. Donna Campbell, R-San Antonio, and Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and House Speaker Joe Straus.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
State removes license for eyebrow threaders (video)
The Texas Legislature passed a bill deregulating eyebrow threading, which has for years required practitioners in Texas to pay licensing fees and undergo hundreds of hours of unrelated cosmetology training. Full Story
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Credit: Justin Dehn for The Texas Tribune -
After criticism, DPS restores extended hours at busiest driver's license offices
The Texas Department of Public Safety surprised customers last week when the agency trimmed office hours to save money. Full Story
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![A Texas Department of Public Safety Driver License Office.]()
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San Antonio pushes to lower emissions despite delayed regulations
After the EPA announced that the implementation of new, stricter standards for ozone levels in the air will be delayed a year, the city of San Antonio is forging ahead with plans to reduce emissions. Full Story
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![San Antonio is the second-largest city in Texas.]()
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Abbott grappled with local tree regulations targeted in special session
Before he became governor, Greg Abbott was asked to replant trees on his Austin property — a regulation he has set out to axe during the upcoming special session of the Texas Legislature. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott lays out items for a special session at a press conference on June 6, 2017. The session will start on July 18.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
What to expect in a special session
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is calling lawmakers back for a special session of the Legislature to address some key issues that failed to pass during the regular session. Watch how the session will work in a condensed time frame. Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: “Tax relief,” maybe, but no savings for taxpayers
In the midsummer special session, Texas lawmakers will be talking about your rising property taxes again. Don't get excited: That does not mean your tax bill is going to get any smaller. Full Story
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Abbott "shuttle diplomacy" tested as Straus, Patrick reached impasse
A review of Gov. Greg Abbott's schedule during May provides a glimpse into the final stretch of the legislative session, where the governor tried in vain to bring together lawmakers to avoid a special session. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott looks on as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (left) and House Speaker Joe Straus shake hands at the Capitol on May 27, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Why bills to bind Texas' Electoral College never reached Gov. Abbott
Late last year, after two Texas electors went rogue, top Republicans rallied around bills to "bind" Texas Electoral College members to the result of the statewide popular vote. Those bills never made it to the governor. Full Story
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![A closeup of the Electoral College ballot for president of the United States on Dec. 19, 2016.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
State capitol among lawmakers' summer travel destinations (video)
Members of the Texas Legislature have six weeks to prepare to tackle an ambitious agenda in a special session that begins July 18. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott just called a special session. What should you expect?
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday announced he was calling the Legislature back for a special session to address must-pass “sunset” legislation and 19 other measures. Here’s what Texans can expect ahead of July 18. Full Story
![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 -
Analysis: Raising money while making laws in Texas special session
A special session of the Texas Legislature reveals a hole in the state's ethics laws, allowing elected officials in Austin to make laws at the same time they're raising campaign funds — from the people most interested in those new laws. Full Story
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![Bills stack up on the Senate dais on May 24, 2017. The Senate is facing a midnight deadline to consider House bills less than a week before the end of the 85th Legislature.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Here's what Gov. Greg Abbott has said — or not said — about special session items
Some of the 20 topics Gov. Greg Abbott is asking the Texas Legislature to consider during a special session have been his priorities since his State of the State Address in January. On some of the other topics, though, he's been relatively quiet. Full Story
![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 -
Appeals court to weigh Texas voting law limiting language interpreters
The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Thursday over an obscure provision in the Texas Election Code that critics say makes it harder for Texans not proficient in English to get assistance while voting. Full Story
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![Voting precinct at the Parker Lane United Methodist Church in Austin, Texas]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera