The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
The Biden administration’s latest plan to address opioid overdose deaths includes $30 million for harm-reduction measures, but many conservative states don’t allow them. During the 2021 legislative session, Texas lawmakers scuttled a bill that would have rescinded criminal penalties for possessing drug paraphernalia, such as clean syringes and fentanyl test strips. Full Story
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Police officials and law enforcement experts say there’s no guarantee that officers will follow their training and confront a shooter — no matter how much training they have. Full Story
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The Texas School District Police Chiefs’ Association met just weeks after the second-worst school shooting in U.S. history. Full Story
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Criticized by law enforcement experts for slowness in taking out the shooter, Pete Arredondo described an agonizing wait for a key that would work. In an interview with The Texas Tribune, he said he hadn’t spoken out sooner because he didn’t want to compound his hometown’s grief or point blame. Full Story
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A federal lawsuit claims Llano County leaders perpetrated a coordinated censorship campaign in how they limited the books that taxpayers could access. Full Story
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The survey, conducted by Texas American Federation of Teachers, comes two weeks after the Uvalde school shooting as Republicans call for more school employees to be armed. Full Story
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The ACLU and Lambda Legal filed the lawsuit on behalf of three families currently under investigation, as well as more than 600 Texas-based members of PFLAG, an advocacy group for LGBTQ+ families. Full Story
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Rittenhouse corrected himself on Monday saying he was attending the Brenham-based community college. Over the weekend, he made a splash when Texas A&M refuted his claim he was an incoming Aggie. Full Story
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In arguing over causes of the latest mass shooting, political debate often overlooks the range of incremental steps that could lessen the chances of mass killing and help address the nation’s persistent gun violence. Full Story
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Texas has filed a lawsuit seeking to shut down the Central American Minors Program, which could allow the woman’s 22-year-old son join her in the U.S. Full Story
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As Texas lawmakers untangle the law enforcement response to the Uvalde shooting, lawyers have requested marketing information from the manufacturer of the weapon used in the shooting. Full Story
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Patrick said he wants police in as many Texas schools as possible to have bulletproof shields before the fall. He’s asked other state leaders to move around money in the state budget to make it happen. Full Story
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On this week’s episode, James speaks with Kate and Josh about the effectiveness of increasing school security to prevent mass shootings and where the investigation into the law enforcement response to the Uvalde shooting stands. Full Story
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Phelan said it is an “outrage” that officials still do not have a clear picture of what happened during the shooting. The committee’s findings will inform the House’s legislative response. Full Story
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Gutierrez, a Democrat who has been critical of the state’s response to past shootings, said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also snubbed state senators whose districts were affected by shootings in El Paso and Santa Fe. Full Story
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Her opponent Ruben Ramirez is not conceding, saying the race is still too close to call. Counties have to submit final vote counts by end of day Thursday. Full Story
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The committees are different from a special legislative session, which Democrats — and at least a couple Republicans — have asked for after the shooting. Abbott has not ruled that out. Full Story
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The 1966 University of Texas Tower shooting remains clouded by myths, including the myth of the “good guy with a gun.” It left too many Americans with only evil to blame — and not our leaders, our policies and ourselves. Full Story
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O’Rourke became known on the presidential campaign trail for his “Hell yes” promise to ban assault weapons. He’s been less vocal about the policy in his run for governor but this week, after the school shooting in Uvalde, he’s been newly assertive about the issue. Full Story
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Longtime Uvalde residents say the city is a hunting mecca and the love for guns goes right along with it. But some would now support measures like raising the age limit to buy AR-style weapons or monitoring high-volume ammunition purchases. Full Story
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