Texas House advances bill that would give retired teachers a pension raise
The proposed raise would be the first time in nearly 20 years that some retirees would get a cost-of-living adjustment. Full Story
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![Kindergarten teacher Angie Hogan instructs students to make a "bubble" of room between other students on the first day of in-person classes at Highland Village Elementary on Sept. 8, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
When it comes to upping mental health services, Texas has a Medicaid problem
Texas wants to expand mental health services, but many mental health providers do not accept Medicaid because of its lower payment rate. Full Story
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![Demonstrators participate in a mental health rally at the Texas Capitol, organized by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, on Feb. 28, 2013.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas imprisoned Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. when he was 11, purportedly for his own good. Five years later, he returned home in a casket.
“They didn’t try to fix the brokenness,” his mother says. “They just broke him more.” Full Story
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![Long time friend Robin Anderson, left, stands alongside mother Amnisty Freelen and her husband Aarin Freelen, during a funeral service for their son Joshua Keith Beasley Jr., 17, on April 1, 2023 at the McCrury Cemetery in Bogota, Texas.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Watch: Texas immigrants “shocked” by bill that would have prevented them from buying homes
Initially, Senate Bill 147 would have prevented legal Texas residents from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from buying land. Pushback from immigrant groups persuaded senators to soften the proposal. Full Story
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![Protesters gathered in Houston on Feb. 10, 2023 against SB 147, which at the time would have prevented citizens from China and other countries from purchasing land in Texas.]()
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House passes bill to rein in “rogue” prosecutors
The legislation is in response to elected prosecutors in Texas’ large, left-leaning counties who have said they will not prosecute abortion cases. Full Story
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![The Bexar County Courthouse in San Antonio.]()
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Protesters decry stalled fentanyl test strip bill; Texas House passes get-tough criminal penalties
Stuck in committee, the test-strip legislation has support from Gov. Greg Abbott and bipartisan lawmakers, who see it as a way to save lives. Full Story
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![State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on April 3, 2019.]()
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Texas House OKs $5 billion for broadband, if voters give thumbs up
The legislation — which falls short of the $10 billion needed to ensure all Texans have reliable internet access — must still win approval in the state Senate. Full Story
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![A splice can that contains 432 fiber cables in Louisville, Kentucky on April 19, 2021.]()
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Toxic benzene lingered for weeks after shelter-in-place warnings ended following 2019 Houston-area chemical fire
The Texas Tribune analyzed previously unreported air monitoring data and records from the 2019 ITC chemical disaster near Houston and found that high benzene levels lingered in the air for two weeks after public health measures were lifted. Experts say more shelter-in-place advisories should have been issued. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Emily Albracht/The Texas Tribune -
After months of struggle, Korean language access advocates find their voice at a legislative hearing
In a key step on their quest to make state services more easily available to non-English speakers, advocates from Houston’s Woori Juntos community group testified before a panel of lawmakers. Full Story
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![Woori Juntos Service Coordinator Si Hwa Gi hands out information packets about speaking with lawmakers on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: Matt Adams, Dan Keemahill and Carlos Nogueras join The Texas Tribune
Adams will oversee audience growth and engagement. Keemahill is a data journalist working on investigative stories. Nogueras will be our first Permian Basin reporter, based in Midland-Odessa. Full Story
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![From left: Matt Adams, Dan Keemahill and Carlos Nogueras.]()
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For years, the EPA and Texas ignored warning signs at a chemical storage site. Then an inferno erupted.
Regulators repeatedly documented — but did little to address — problems at a Houston-area tank farm. Then on March 17, 2019, a fire blew through a corner of the facility, releasing toxic chemicals into nearby communities for weeks. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Emily Albracht/The Texas Tribune -
House-Senate animosity bubbles over with clashes on property taxes, education
With threats of a special session and a derisive moniker, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tries to pressure the House speaker into acting on his conservative priorities. Full Story
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![From left: Outgoing House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.]()
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Texas Senate passes bill limiting farmland sales to China, other countries
The amended bill is a dramatically watered-down version of an earlier proposal that sought to ban land and home purchases by citizens of China and three other countries. Full Story
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![Attendees in opposition to SB 147 hold signs during a press conference in opposition to Senate Bill 147 outside of City Hall on Jan. 23, 2023, in downtown Houston.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Transgender Texans of all ages could lose access to transition-related care under Senate bill
The Senate advanced a bill that could create such high financial risks for doctors and health insurers that they’d stop providing or covering gender-affirming care — even for adults. Full Story
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![Demonstrators march for Trans Day of Visibility in San Antonio on March 31, 2023.]()
Credit: Blaine Young for The Texas Tribune -
Texas agriculture commissioner orders employees to wear clothes “consistent with their biological gender”
The policy comes as LGBTQ advocates are fighting a wave of hostile legislation at the Capitol, including proposals to restrict gender-affirming care for transgender children. Full Story
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![Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller speaks to reporters at the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Finding and keeping workers in post-pandemic economy is a struggle for West Texas, local leaders tell Fed
Local leaders told members of the Federal Reserve last week that families are facing financial stresses that make working hard. Educators say they need families more involved at school. Full Story
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![The Odessa Spire is lit in the colors of the Ukrainian flag in support of Odessa’s sister city in the Ukraine as the country faces war with Russia on March 16, 2022.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Biden approves disaster relief for 13 Texas counties with damage from winter ice storms
Gov. Greg Abbott, who requested a federal disaster declaration for 23 counties, called it a critical first step in the recovery. Full Story
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![A technician from the Pedernales Electric Cooperative arrives to check on a power line in northwest Austin, Texas on February 1, 2023. Power outages swept across the region as a result of damage to power lines from ice and fallen tree limbs.]()
Credit: Angela Wang for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Major LGBTQ bills are in the Texas House’s hands
In this week’s episode, we discuss the Texas House’s appetite to pass bills related to drag shows, medical care for transgender children and the discussion of sexuality at schools. Full Story
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![Hundreds joined the Queer March on the Capitol in Austin on April 15, 2023.]()
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As the legislative clock ticks, Houston language advocates angle for a committee hearing
The window is closing for Woori Juntos in its pursuit of legislation to improve language access to state health programs. Full Story
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![Su Chong Yun, a senior Korean member of the Woori Juntos community, shares his personal story to his fellow community about not having access to Korean translated materials to apply for Medicare in Houston, on Thursday, March 23, 2023.]()
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Texas Senate approves bill that would end faculty tenure at public universities
Senate Bill 18 faces an uphill battle at the Texas House, where Speaker Dade Phelan has expressed concerns with completely eliminating the commonplace job protection. Full Story
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![Students walk through an area known as “The Quad” on the first day of the fall semester at Texas State University in San Marcos on Aug. 24, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune