Texas lawmakers are poised to ban minors from social media
The Texas Legislature has already passed a bill requiring age verification to download apps and is seriously considering another to ban children from social media. Full Story
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Credit: Kylie Cooper/The Texas Tribune -
Five district attorneys sue Ken Paxton to block new rule requiring them to hand over case records
The DAs say in two lawsuits that a new rule requiring counties to hand over almost all documents the attorney general’s office requests violates state and federal law. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
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Long-running lawsuit against Texas’ foster care system appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court
Lawyers representing foster children asked the high court to reinstate a contempt order against the state, and the judge who issued it. Full Story
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![Heart Galleries, portraits of adoptable children, on display at the Child Protective Services office at Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers want penalties for local governments’ campaign finance posting failures
ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found nearly three dozen school districts were missing required campaign finance reports online. Now lawmakers are pushing to impose steep penalties on local governments that fail to abide by the law. Full Story
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![Republican state Rep. Carl Tepper has issued a new bill to strengthen a law that requires local governments to post campaign finance reports online, citing ProPublica and The Texas Tribune’s reporting.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribune -
Juvenile detention, imported shrimp, forever chemicals among hundreds of bills cut off by House deadline
Some measures that made it through before midnight dealt with jail bonds, an unconstitutional ban on gay sex, and the liability of vaccine manufacturers. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dustin Burrows speaks at his dais as house members gather during a point of order on May 15, 2025. May 15 was the final day for the House to file bills.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Bill requiring air conditioning in all Texas prisons wins House approval
House Bill 3006 would require the installation of climate control in state prison facilities by 2032. Full Story
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![Birds fly overhead at the Hilltop prison unit in Gatesville on Nov. 25, 2019.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza for The Texas Tribune -
Bill that would give the Texas Lottery “a two-year lease on life” gets Senate approval
Senate Bill 3070 would allow the Texas Lottery’s games to continue under a new department, abolish the agency and create restrictions on ticket purchases. Full Story
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![A Texas Lottery display at Winners Corner, a board game, lottery and gift store, in Austin on Feb. 20, 2025.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott wants to stop allowing federal benefits in Texas to be spent on unhealthy, high-processed food
Texas’ governor joins other Republican governors making similar requests to ban purchases of candy and soda through the SNAP program. Full Story
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![The fresh produce section of a Brookshire Brothers grocery store in Buffalo on June 29, 2023.]()
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Texas House bill allowing online voter registration got a public hearing — after missing deadline to become law
Texas is one of eight states without universal online voter registration. A lawmaker pushing for it says he’ll continue the fight. Full Story
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![Online voter registration application from the Texas Secretary of State. Voters in Texas cannot register online — nce filled out, the application must be printed, signed, and sent by mail.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
As the Rio Grande runs dry, South Texas leaders look to new water supplies to sustain growth
Leaders hope to treat groundwater and capture more rain as the water from one of the nation’s most iconic rivers becomes less reliable. Full Story
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![An aerial view of the Tres Lagos neighborhood development in McAllen on May 12, 2025. Thousands of homes span the development which includes restaurants and a food truck park.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House votes to repeal ban on “homosexual conduct”
An unlikely group of Republican allies joined Democrats to approve repealing the ban, which has been unenforced since 2003. It is the first time the bill has made it to the House floor since it was first proposed decades ago. Full Story
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![Activists and members of Austin's LGBTQ community gather on the steps of the capitol to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. These riots signify a key moment in the birth of the modern LGBT movement in America. June 28, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
Proposal to enhance Texas’ pioneering junk science law approved by Texas House
Last year, lawmakers waded into a dramatic feud over the case of death row inmate Robert Roberson, seen as the embodiment of the failures of Texas’ junk science law. Full Story
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![Former Detective Brian Wharton testifies during a Criminal Jurisprudence hearing on death row inmate Robert Roberson on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin. Wharton was an investigator in the case of the death of Nikki Roberson and has expressed his doubts of Roberson's guilt and agrees with stopping his execution. With his scheduled execution drawing closer, a hearing debating the certainty of Roberson's guilt and there is a bipartisan push to stay his execution. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to limit out-of-state donations to Texas candidates gets House approval
The bill would cap out-of-state political donations to a candidate or lawmaker to $5,000 for a statewide election, $2,500 for a district office and $1,000 for a county office. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House bill on lawsuits shelved after critics label it harmful to free speech
House Bill 2988 was centered on who pays the legal fees of those who successfully defend themselves against libel or defamation lawsuits. 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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Houston midwife accused of illegal abortions appeals clinic closures
In an appeal filed this week, Maria Rojas’ attorneys accused Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office of a careless investigation. Full Story
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![A close-up of family planning pamphlets at Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring, Texas, on March 27, 2025. The clinic, part of Maria Margarita Rojas' network, remains closed after a Waller County judge granted a temporary injunction prohibiting the facility from providing medical services.]()
Credit: Hope Mora for The Texas Tribune -
Business tax breaks closer to reality after Texas Senate approves compromise
The Texas House must approve changes to the proposal that were brokered by party leaders. It’s part of a package of bills to bring down property taxes statewide. Full Story
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![Small businesses are reflected in a storefront window in downtown Smithville on Mar. 11, 2024.]()
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Texas bill seeking to keep toxic “forever chemicals” off farmland misses key deadline
Supporters say the bill would protect farmland in Texas. Opponents say limiting PFAS chemicals in biosolids will force water utilities to look at other disposal methods, which will lead to higher utility bills. Full Story
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![Tony Coleman passes by cattle while driving through their property in Grandview on Aug. 5, 2024.]()
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Pressing deadlines, unfinished business: Where the Legislature stands on abortion, water, property tax and more
A raft of social conservative priorities backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick hang in the balance, including efforts to infuse more religion into public schools. Full Story
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![Texas Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows presides over discussion of SB 2 Amendment 1 in the House Chamber in Austin on April 16, 2025.]()
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Bill requiring Texas hospitals to report the citizenship status of patients killed in House
It is unclear whether the House bill could come back as an amendment to another measure before the legislative session ends June 2. Full Story
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![An Austin-Travis County EMS unit parked near a hospital's emergency entrance in Austin on July 7, 2020.]()
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Bill to ban child marriages in Texas advances in the House
Before the House takes a final vote on the bill, it could face a proposal that would allow adults and minors to marry if their age gap is three years or less. Full Story
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![The dome of the Texas State Capitol on Thursday, April 24, 2014.]()
Credit: Anneke Els Paterson for The Texas Tribune