Burnet County judge allows Ken Paxton whistleblower lawsuit to proceed
Lawyers for employees fired by Paxton’s office after they reported him to the FBI say they plan to begin issuing subpoenas in the case. Full Story
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![State Attorney General Ken Paxton holds a press conference at the Houston Recovery Center on October 26, 2021.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
More women join lawsuit challenging Texas’ abortion laws
Twenty women are challenging the state’s abortion laws, saying they were unable to get the health care they needed for their medically complex pregnancies. Full Story
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![Kimberly Manzano, a new plaintiff joining nine women in a lawsuit against the state of Texas’s abortion ban, poses for portrait at a park in McKinney, TX on November 11, 2023. Manzano had a fatal fetal diagnosis and had to travel out of state to New Mexico for an abortion.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton names administrative law expert with conservative bona fides Texas’ solicitor general
Aaron Nielson will take a one-year leave of absence from BYU’s law school to lead the influential unit within the attorney general’s office. Full Story
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![Aaron Nielson has been appointed Solicitor General by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.]()
Credit: Brigham Young University -
“People aren’t thinking about us”: How new ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates impacts medically-vulnerable Texans
The ban applies to all private businesses, including health care facilities like hospitals, which can jeopardize the health of those with compromised immune systems or other underlying conditions. Full Story
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![Alice Barton looks through a rack of homemade masks in her South Austin home on Nov. 10, 2023. Barton, a retired physician, continues to take COVID precautions such as masking.]()
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Texans fill downtown Austin streets to demand ceasefire in Gaza
Thousands of Texans rallied in front of the state Capitol Sunday to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, where the death toll has surpassed 10,000 people. Full Story
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![Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather on the grounds of the state Capitol in Austin to protest the Israel-Gaza war on Nov. 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House committee moves school safety funding forward
The two new measure could bring $1.3 billion more to schools to pay for security systems, fencing and personnel training. Full Story
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![A police officer monitors Maplewood Elementary School in Austin on Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, a few days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Senate fast-tracks passage of vouchers and border security legislation
The Senate revved to life Thursday, holding committee hearings with little advance notice and advancing four bills that satisfy Abbott’s agenda. Full Story
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![State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, speaks with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on the Senate floor during the first day of the second special session at the state Capitol in Austin, on June 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
School voucher critics remain largely unswayed during Texas House hearing
House Bill 1, which stagnated during the previous special session, finally received a hearing in the lower chamber, a crucial step that will decide whether the proposal gets a full vote. Full Story
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![Nimitz Middle School teachers Selena Olivares, center left, and Pricilla Martinez lead their 7th grade English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) in an activity Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa. Martinez said that due to the increased amount of families moving to the Permian Basin, they sometimes teach 38 to 40 kids per class. “It’s been six weeks and I still don’t know all of their names… Its embarrassing to me,” Martinez said.]()
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Texas is not prepared for Austin-San Antonio population boom, experts say
The neighboring regions are projected to collectively grow from 5.2 million to 8.3 million people by 2050. But the state still lacks an overarching plan to address critical housing and transportation issues, experts said. Full Story
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Texans approved billions for water and broadband infrastructure. Now what?
The legislation behind the historic investment directs state agencies to send money to the state’s smaller, cash-strapped towns that have difficulty paying for upgrades. Federal money is also expected to flow to regions that need broadband. Full Story
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![Tom Bailey flushes out a water line in Zavalla on April 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Felix/The Texas Tribune -
Texas' part-time Legislature has been at it all year. Now they're heading into a rare fourth special session
A full 30-day session amounts to about $1 million in per diem payments to lawmakers, which are meant to cover their expenses in Austin. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan ended the first special session on Aug. 6, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Legislature tries again with bills making illegal border crossings a state crime
Immigration experts say the most recent proposals would raise constitutional challenges in the U.S. and Mexico, as federal courts have repeatedly ruled that immigration law enforcement falls under federal jurisdiction. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Public Safety special agents oversee a group of four Honduran undocumented migrants that were caught in private property in Kinney County near Brackettville, Texas on Nov. 9, 2021. The owner of the property did not sign the affidavit to allow DPS to arrest undocumented migrants in their property, so they will be processed by Border Patrol.]()
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Texas voters reject proposal to increase judges’ retirement ages
Texans soundly defeated a constitutional amendment that would have let judges stay on the bench longer. Proposition 13 would have increased the minimum retirement age from 70 to 75 and the mandatory retirement age from 75 to 79. Full Story
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![The county courtroom in the Camp County Court House in Pittsburg on June 21, 2023.]()
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Judge pauses Ken Paxton whistleblower lawsuit
Former top aides to the Texas attorney general are seeking damages for their firings after they reported Paxton to the FBI. The Legislature opted not to authorize a $3.3 million settlement in the lawsuit. Full Story
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![Whistleblower Ryan Vassar sits in the Senate Gallery on the ninth day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial at the state capitol in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 15, 2023.]()
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Appeals court considers Texas’ challenge to federal abortion guidance
The federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act requires hospitals to stabilize any patient in the emergency room, even, the Biden administration noted in recent guidance, if that requires performing an abortion. Texas sued over the guidance last year. Full Story
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![St. David's North Austin Medical Center on July 7, 2020.]()
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Abbott calls lawmakers back for fourth time to try again on school vouchers and border security
The governor announced the fourth special session would start an hour after the previous session adjourned. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott delivers remarks before signing a property tax cut bill at The Atrium Center in New Caney, on Aug. 9, 2023.]()
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Taxes, state parks, infrastructure: Texans will decide 14 constitutional amendments today
Texans are being asked to cut property taxes, create a new fund for water infrastructure and give child-care facilities a tax exemption among other propositions. Here’s a breakdown of each constitutional amendment and what you need to know to vote. Full Story
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![Voters wait to cast their ballots at the Dittmar Recreation Center in South Austin on March 1, 2022.]()
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Jill Dutton, Brent Money advance to runoff for Texas House special election
Five Republicans and one Democrat were on the ballot for the ruby-red seat, but most of the drama has focused on two GOP candidates, Dutton and Money. Full Story
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![Republicans Jill Dutton and Brent Money are running in a special election for state House District 2 seat, empty since former state Rep. Brian Slaton, R-Royse City, was expelled from the House.]()
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Sex trafficking, drugs and assault: Texas foster kids and caseworkers face chaos in rental houses and hotels
A report from Department of Family and Protective Services watchdogs paints a picture of a roughshod safety-net system that is unprepared to protect its youthful charges from predators and unable to keep them from endangering themselves. Full Story
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![Heart Galleries, portraits of adoptable children, on display at the Child Protective Services office at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas could spend federal funds meant to cut carbon emissions on highway projects
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act required Texas’ transportation agency to create a carbon reduction strategy to get $641 million federal dollars. Critics say the plan is unlikely to meaningfully cut greenhouse gasses from the state’s massive transportation sector. Full Story
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![Rush hour traffic passes by on Interstate 35 through downtown Austin on the evening of Sept. 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Julius Shieh/The Texas Tribune