Texas DPS makes arrest after warning state lawmakers of “credible threats” tied to Capitol protest
The agency said there was no additional active threat, as Austin demonstrators took aim at the Trump administration. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e2b6d2fb358d2c3852b200f22a8a0c0a/DPS%20Texas%20Capitol%20MG%20TT%2007.jpg)
-
![Texas Department of Public Safety vehicles outside of the state Capitol on Aug. 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
With Rick Perry’s backing and $50 million from the state, Texas set to become a leader in psychedelics research
Lawmakers have approved funding clinical trials for ibogaine as a treatment for addiction and brain trauma. It comes as Texas contemplates banning THC. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bbdf070267ebfcd576811c92bdb7164c/Capitol%20Action%20SP%20TT%2037.jpg)
![The Rotunda seen from the Capitol Extension in Austin on Aug. 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas secretary of state refers 33 potential noncitizen voters for criminal investigation
The 33 potential voting violations are a tiny fraction of the roughly 11 million who cast ballots in the November 2024 election. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0854aa6884fc0412e4d2a12d9632a6a5/1105%20Election%20Canyon%20Lake%20KG%20TT%2001.jpg)
![A sign warns non-citizens against voting outside of a polling location in Canyon Lake on Nov. 05, 2024.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Months after detaining 47 people accused of being Tren de Aragua in Austin, authorities offer no evidence of gang ties
People at the raided house say they rented it for a birthday party and deny any connection to the gang. One man says law enforcement accused him of being in Tren de Aragua because of his tattoo. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f7acdfa765f2e365bf73e4e710404bc6/0517%20Ice%20Raid%20Detainee%20ILP%2020.jpg)
![Austin, Texas - 5/17/25: A family of four swept up in the ICE raids in Austin. The parents, who are both in ankle monitors, have upcoming court dates and are fearful for what's to come. Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Texas Tribune -
School vouchers, THC ban, property tax cuts: Here’s what Texas lawmakers did in the 2025 regular session
The Legislature wrapped up without the same drama that defined the end of the last two sessions, with state GOP leaders checking off nearly everything on their to-do lists. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/af0e284d192e1616f6685c4cd7167a31/0526%20House%20Floor%20EG%20TT%2025.jpg)
![State Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston, looks out the window from the Texas House of Representatives chamber as the lawmakers debate on bills at the Texas Capitol, on Monday, May 26, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/07/19/PrisonFan.jpg)
![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.]()
Credit: Jolie McCullough/The Texas Tribune -
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a41bec553660f951751854c88a7f0576/Operation%20Lone%20Star%20VGC%20TT%2055.jpg)
![An undocumented migrant after being arrested in Kinney County on Nov. 9, 2021.]()
Credit: Gabriel V. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune/ProPublica -
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5169eeadcae7c4361fa6abc087404125/SCOTUS%20Paxton%20Presser%20EL%20TT%2016.jpg)
![Then-Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone II speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on April 26, 2022.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
“Anti-Red Flag Act” that would limit when guns can be taken from people advances in Texas House
Senate Bill 1362 would prevent officials from taking someone’s firearms if they haven’t been charged with a crime or aren’t subject to a protective order under the Texas Family Code. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/26f21afb68c99f6e016023057308f648/0226%20CC%20Gun%20Show%20BY%20TT%2006.jpg)
![Patrons of the SAXET Gun Show look at handguns at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds in Robstown on Feb. 26, 2023.]()
Credit: Blaine Young for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans want to block cities' gun buyback programs
Much of the debate focused on the tense relationship between cities and the Texas Legislature. The bill is head to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/306b5227c065c2a5a822d91a1b1dfcad/1124%20Gun%20Buyback%20SB%20TT%2023.jpg)
![A private gun buyer advertises cash sales outside the Alamodome parking lot where the City of San Antonio hosts a gun buyback event on Nov. 24, 2024.]()
Credit: Scott Stephen Ball for The Texas Tribune -
Proposal to automatically deny bail to some previously accused of felonies falls in Texas House
Democrats declined to support Senate Joint Resolution 87, which sprinted through the Senate and needed 100 votes to clear the lower chamber. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f78fe279c06fc71376220964c1fa0627/0604%20Trinity%20County%20Jail%20MF%2015.jpg)
![Groveton, Texas: Inmates sleep in their cell on June 4, 2024 at the Trinity County Sheriff’s office and jail in Groveton, Texas. Mark Felix/The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Texas is about to ban THC products. Here’s what to know.
The ban aims to remove products — made legal through a 2019 loophole — that provide a similar high to marijuana and are easily accessible to the general public. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/59518be72f8c9d69b63ad67c990dc971/0209%20Delta%208%20Products%20SF%2038.jpg)
![Various Delta 8 THC products at a Valero station on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023 in Spring Branch TX. Delta 8 products are currently legal in Texas due to its low amount of THC but often the amount of THC is not tested and simply possessing THC products can be enough to be arrested and charged with possession. (Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Nearly flown to El Salvador, Venezuelans await an uncertain fate in Texas
Detainees say they’re being held in solitary confinement after family members helped them post about their situation on social media. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/54809e7440fb652a6c227e79d2f3a6f6/Anson%20Detention%20REUTERS%20TT%2001.jpg)
![A drone view of detainees forming the letters SOS with their bodies in the courtyard at the Bluebonnet Detention Facility, where Venezuelans at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling are held in Anson on April 28, 2025.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Paul Ratje -
Texas inmate executed for killing woman he set on fire inside Garland store
Matthew Johnson, who testified he did not intend to kill the elderly clerk, received the death penalty in 2013. The execution is Texas’ fourth and may be the last for 2025. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3fa6760eb389a4deeded20cc486e104b/0131%20Huntsville%20Unit%20MC%20TT%2005.jpg)
![The Huntsville Unit Texas State Penitentiary on Jan. 31, 2024. The prison houses the state's execution chamber.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Stricter bail rules win final passage in Texas Legislature, will go to voters in November
The House passage of the measure asking voters to amend the state Constitution to tighten the state’s bail laws hands a major policy win to Gov. Greg Abbott. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b575b9fa6759b1cb7048f0bd20925a23/0519%20John%20Smithee%20LW%20TT%2003.jpg)
![State Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo, urges his fellow representatives to vote for his bill regarding bail bonds in Texas on May 19, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
A Texas teen was the victim of fake AI nudes. Now a new law requires platforms to remove such content.
A high school victim was one of the victims, but she and her mother fought back, with the help of Senator Ted Cruz. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4ab94a71923efeca1bb0c2ac141c81d7/0519%20Trump%20Take%20it%20Down%20REUTERS%20TT%2001.jpg)
![President Donald Trump signs the the Take it Down Act into law during a ceremony at the White House in Washington on May 19, 2025.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque -
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/084b170258e0e5ef9a3320933109f57f/Prison%20razor%20wire%20AP%20TT.jpg)
![Birds fly overhead at the Hilltop prison unit in Gatesville on Nov. 25, 2019.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza 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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3a3683bcd1a6490687142c7dc9680840/Criminal%20Jurisprudence%20SF%2008.jpg)
![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 -
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3a78166128628202ddc4efdde75c1297/0416%20Voucher%20Day%20KCG%20TT%2007.jpg)
![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.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ddd52b72d99f5099a9b191bed3a7449e/0424%20Texas%20Capitol%20AP%2001.jpg)
![The dome of the Texas State Capitol on Thursday, April 24, 2014.]()
Credit: Anneke Els Paterson for The Texas Tribune