Bill requiring that Texas sheriffs work with federal immigration authorities heads to governor’s desk
Senate Bill 8 would further expand the state’s role in enforcing immigration laws, long the sole jurisdiction of the federal government. Full Story
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![U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents escort detained migrants off a bus in Laredo on June 15, 2022.]()
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Texas lawmakers to allow smaller homes on smaller lots
State legislators passed an array of bills this year aimed at reining in the state’s high home prices and rents. Full Story
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![Homes under construction in the Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.]()
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Bill to scrap STAAR test dies in the Texas Legislature
The state standardized test has long been criticized for taking instructional time away from teachers and putting unnecessary pressure on students. Full Story
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![STAAR themed decorations adorn the hallways of Wharton Elementary School in Wharton on April 21, 2018.]()
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Texas Legislature gives new city of Starbase authority to shut down local beach for SpaceX launches
Local organizations strongly opposed the measure, hosting phone banking events to urge lawmakers to vote against the bill. Full Story
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![A visitor stands on a dune at Boca Chica Beach near the SpaceX launch site on Aug. 8, 2024.]()
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Long-awaited raise for Texas judges in limbo over legislative pension clash
A bill to increase judicial salaries from $140,000 to $175,000 a year stalled amid a disagreement over lawmakers’ own retirement benefits. Full Story
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![Members of the Texas House of Representatives during their budget discussion on April 10, 2025.]()
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Texas attorney general won’t get new powers to prosecute election crimes after legislative deadlock
Ken Paxton sought more power for his office to take up election cases. But lawmakers haven’t agreed on a measure that would give it to him. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to the media on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, during a press conference following arguments in the case “Free Speech Coalition, Inc., et al. v. Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas,” at the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C.]()
Credit: Luke Johnson for The Texas Tribune -
Democrats lash out as Legislature bans school clubs that support gay teens
Tensions flared and the debate turned personal as Republicans said their bill empowered parents and denied predictions that the ban will endanger children. Full Story
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![Pride flags, stickers and masks, pronoun buttons and other merch are handed out at the AISD "Pride Out!" Party in the Park event at Eastside Early College High School in Austin on March 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Legislature approves $338 billion two-year spending plan with a focus on property tax relief
A boost in public school spending, school vouchers, and money for water systems are other highlights of the state budget, which was bolstered by a $24 billion surplus. Full Story
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![The State Capitol on Nov. 19, 2020.]()
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Texas moves close to ban on some land sales to foreigners
The Legislature has approved a conference committee report that lists sales to certain people from China, North Korea, Russia and Iran as threats to national security. Full Story
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![A horse grazes on a farm in Milam County on March 16, 2025.]()
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The one thing Texas won’t do to save its water supply
Texas property owners can use nearly as much water under their land as they want. That’s unlikely to change even as the state approaches a crisis. Full Story
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![High Plains Underground Water District field technician supervisor Billy Barron, left, and IT and permit administrator Gray Sanders measure a well, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, outside of Slaton.]()
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Texas poised to add $100 million to child care scholarship program
Reallocated funding for the program that will go to providers will benefit nearly 95,000 children on a waitlist for scholarships. Full Story
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![Teacher Pita Espinosa leads a group of young children in a song that teaches Spanish words at the Learning Tree childcare center in Yoakum on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
A bill to air-condition all Texas prisons likely to fail again in the Senate
House Bill 3006 would have required the installation of climate control in state prison by 2032. Full Story
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![Inmates shuffle past new fans in the TDCJ Memorial Unit in Brazoria Co. on July 12, 2017. The prison was called the Darrington Unit until 2023.]()
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Texas just defined man and woman. Here’s why that matters.
Critics say House Bill 229, which has gone to the governor, discriminates against trans people, but the full effect remains to be seen. Full Story
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![Naia Fulton-Jones chants in front of the Texas Capitol to protest for transgender kids' rights on Tuesday, Mar. 1, 2022.]()
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Bill that would have banned Texas minors from social media misses key deadline
House Bill 186, approved by the lower chamber in May, never received a vote in the Senate. Full Story
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![Students check their phones while waiting for the bus following classes at Lufkin High School in Lufkin on Jan. 29, 2023.]()
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Texas to expand how schools discipline students
House Bill 6, which now heads to the governor, targets the increase in violence that has plagued schools since the pandemic. Full Story
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![A student walks through the halls of Lufkin High School in Lufkin on Jan. 29, 2023.]()
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Automatic denial of bail for some migrants fails to pass Texas House
Supporters said the proposal, which sought to amend the state constitution, would improve safety. Critics said it would violate due process and unfairly target minority groups. Full Story
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![An undocumented migrant after being arrested in Kinney County on Nov. 9, 2021.]()
Credit: Gabriel V. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune/ProPublica -
Watch: Texas policy experts discuss how lawmakers addressed education, infrastructure needs this year
Policy experts discussed a new school funding bill, a $20 billion package to keep up with water demand and the state’s energy fund. Full Story
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Top deputies to Attorney General Ken Paxton pushed out over sexual harassment allegations, lawsuit says
The harassment allegedly took place while the two were on leave from the agency working on Paxton’s impeachment defense. Full Story
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![Then-Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone II speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on April 26, 2022.]()
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Oil companies win protections from Texas Legislature ahead of selling fracking water
At least four companies say they are prepared to treat the water well enough to be released into rivers in West Texas. Environmental groups say the state is moving too fast. Full Story
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![Produced water ponds, constructed by Martin Water, in Lenorah, on Feb. 24, 2024. The Railroad Commission approved the construction of the ponds, used to treat and recycle produced water from fracking, next to the Circle 6 Baptist Camp in the Permian Basin.]()
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Once again, Texas Legislature unlikely to pass ethics legislation this year
Lawmakers filed dozens of bills that would increase transparency around spending in elections and strengthen penalties for campaign and lobbying violations. None are poised to pass. Full Story
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![Members work to get bills in by deadline on the House floor on May 15, 2025. May 15 was the final day for the House to file bills, with the hard deadline at midnight.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune