Texas oil companies face new deadlines to plug inactive wells
Senate Bill 1150, which is on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott, is a rare example of the Texas Legislature regulating the state’s oil and gas industry. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7885324a952ae4084b81659c7562c523/Lee%20County%20Wells%20SP%20TT%2029.jpg)
-
![A plugged well on the Scouras’ property in Lee County on July 12, 2021. The Scourases are two of many Lee County residents whose water sources have dried up as a result of Vista Ridge Pipeline Project.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Dan Patrick and Greg Abbott are getting what they want this legislative session
In this week’s episode, Matthew and Eleanor talk with politics reporter Jasper Scherer about education funding, a THC ban and the success of conservative priorities this year. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2d333195529dc7403a9564fddeeb7417/TribCast%20May%2027.jpg)
![The Texas House of Representatives debates and votes on bills on the House floor at the Texas Capitol on Monday, May 26, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
An East Texas community grapples with school closures as education options shift
The schools were closed last week after years of declining enrollment. The school communities said increased choices were to blame. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e5db1b63521bf9f6e71e620169af0c0d/0506%20Coston%20Elementary%20JA%20TT%2002.jpg)
![Starla Hill, principal at Coston Elementary, greets visitors Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Lufkin, Texas. Lufkin Independent School District will be closing the campus at the end of the school year in an effort to reduce spending.]()
Credit: Joel Andrews for the Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmaker abruptly spiked his bill to punish cities that don’t deal with homeless encampments
The bill would have withheld some tax dollars from cities that did not comply with state law. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/adf84738f08ca8a9be2bab691b57217e/DTX%20Homeless%20Clearing%20EL%20TT%2052.jpg)
![A tent stands in a field after being removed from a homeless encampment underneath Interstate Highway 45 in Dallas, Texas on Friday, July 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Bill to allow smaller homes on smaller lots resurrected in Texas House
A top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the legislation would make it easier to construct homes on smaller lots. A House Democrat briefly killed the bill. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e7517b7da40a6ffca195cb16afa33ed1/0726%20Eagle%20Ford%20Flyover%20JT%20TT%2018.jpg)
![A stretch of suburban homes line the landscape southeast of San Antonio on July 26, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
THC ban will destroy Texas' hemp agriculture industry, farmers say
While state leaders say growers can still produce industrial hemp, farmers say they will quit growing the plant altogether under a total THC ban. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/290b240eff650fc8fd1509566b6cc1bb/0523%20THC%20Farmers%20AR%2023.jpg)
![Ann Gauger stands in one of the Caprock Family Farms’ grow rooms, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Lubbock. “Agriculture is changing and the new age of agriculture has to be cutting edge,” Ann Gauger says.]()
Credit: Annie Rice for The Texas Tribune -
Ban on THC products in Texas heads to Gov. Abbott’s desk after Senate agrees to House changes
The governor has not addressed whether he supports the ban, as hemp industry leaders have urged him to veto Senate Bill 3. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/69e6a56a673db64cc310dc904ea4efd9/0522%20THC%20LW%20TT%2010.jpg)
![Edible THC and CBD products sit on display at Sweet Sensi, a shop specializing in THC products five blocks away from the Capitol in Austin on May 22, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Texas sheriffs would have to collaborate with ICE under bill poised for governor’s desk
The House approved Senate Bill 8, which mandates sheriffs request formal partnerships with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for designated deputies to serve administrative immigration warrants at their jails. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/57be93e5ff7ce2cbde798ea5d7a7c9f0/01%20ICE%20TT.jpg)
![A law enforcement official walks past a transport bus used to carry migrants in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody before the departure of a chartered plane from Brownsville South Padre International Airport in Brownsville on May 18, 2019.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Loren Elliott -
After years of tension, Texas House emerges as cooperative partner for Dan Patrick and his conservative agenda
A 2024 war among Republicans tilted the House to the right. Now more closely aligned with the Senate, Speaker Dustin Burrows has accelerated action on bail, school vouchers and social issues. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/42b94379e965bdc3e6a0f4b2537424cc/0523%20GOP%20Convention%20EH%20TT%2032.jpg)
![Lt. Governor Dan Patrick speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Eviction bill now focuses on squatters in Texas House rewrite
The chamber jettisoned a provision tenants’ advocates warned would make it easier for Texas landlords to evict renters. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/886d8a3b5bcb574110f348c790398279/0411%20Evictions%20Court%20AM%2035.jpg)
![A tenant walks her puppies outside of an apartment where the tenants were evicted and the apartment emptied at the Life at Jackson Square apartments in Houston on April 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Starbase could shut down Boca Chica Beach more frequently under Texas legislation
The Texas Senate agreed Friday to make it easier for the new city, home to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to shutter the beach during rocket launches. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/646ae1c0dc052581baa906a6a8dbcb67/SpaceX%20Boca%20Chica%20Beach%20REUTERS.JPG)
![A boy builds a sandcastle on the beach as SpaceX's Starship spacecraft atop its powerful Super Heavy rocket is prepared for a third launch from the company's Boca Chica launchpad on an uncrewed test flight, at Starbase, Texas, on March 13, 2024.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Cheney Orr -
Overriding a Texas governor’s veto can be impossible. Lawmakers are trying to change that.
The state constitution’s legislative calendar — not a vote threshold — makes it hard to overrule the governor. Legislators are crafting an amendment that would make more overrides possible. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ac7ac73b4f87dee536f35a540253d9d6/0515%20House%20Deadline%20Day%20LW%20TT%2028.jpg)
![Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Dallas, votes at her desk on May 15, 2025. May 15 was the final day for the House to file bills.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
$8.5 billion school funding package passes Texas Senate
The legislation includes new pots of money for teacher raises and other school costs like insurance and transportation. It now heads to the House, where leaders say it will pass. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/660cedab79243349e3c2161c7bd743c3/0405%20Waco%20Reading%20GDGV%20TT%2017.jpg)
![After out loud reading time, Dana Altamirano discusses the book they just read as a group with her fourth grade students at West Avenue Elementary in Waco on April 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Greta Díaz González Vázquez/The Texas Tribune -
Food aid cuts and other changes: What the U.S. House spending bill could mean for Texans
Many low-income families would see cuts in health care and food benefits. The state hopes for a big reimbursement for border security spending. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/613c3a98be83dc332eaf054d619b01a3/Quitaque%20SNAP%20CR%20TT%2018.jpg)
![A volunteer loads a box of groceries into a truck for delivery to a nearby community in the the panhandle.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
"See how we do things": Austin cannabis shop invites Texas lawmakers wanting to ban THC
A bill that would make it illegal to sell THC products could soon head over to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. For a cannabis store employee, lawmakers don't know enough about the industry they're trying to shut down. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c32c121f74d0179113534f95f40e3bf4/0522%20THC%20LW%20TT%2015.JPG)
![Topical CBD products sit on display at Sweet Sensi, a THC shop five blocks away from the Capitol in Austin, Texas, on May 22, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers push to regulate AI in government and the tech industry
As the state seeks to put guardrails around the fast-growing technology, some critics say the bill doesn’t go far enough to protect citizens while industry worries about stifling innovation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/929b53c23ac35999d9a803059ef46d04/Capitol%20File%20AI%20TT%2010.jpg)
![Exterior of the state Capitol on Nov. 19, 2020.]()
Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune -
Bill to stop flow of abortion pills into Texas clears House panel
The bill also contains a controversial provision that says it cannot be challenged in state court before it is enforced. It goes now to the House for a full vote. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1d1a0ff6a64783a4c034c238e9b33bbc/Mifepristone%20REUTERS.jpg)
![A patient prepares to take mifepristone, the first pill given in a medical abortion, on Jan. 13, 2023.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein -
More Texas children are getting vaccinated early against measles
Fear of babies contracting the contagious and potentially deadly virus has spurred the surge in vaccinations amid Texas’ historic measles outbreak. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bf5a558bfc5507518b87c8888027a63f/Lubbock%20Measles%20Vaccine%20REUTERS.JPG)
![Dr. Ana Montanez holds a box containing vials of the MMR vaccine in Lubbock, Texas, on March 6, 2025.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Annie Rice -
Houston megadonor Dick Weekley and his group Texans for Lawsuit Reform are losing in the Legislature after 30 years of wins
Decades after making it harder for people to successfully sue doctors and corporations, the influential group Texans for Lawsuit Reform is facing more resistance than ever in its latest push to further restrict legal liability for business. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3c5043d57017aeebb633479c645125e2/Weekley%204%20Houston%20Chronicle.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Susan Barber, Houston Chronicle -
Prayer period in schools backed by Texas Legislature
A House vote showed broad support for the measure that would let districts set aside time for prayer or religious study. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/acc4f8149499f53f2dfb0ee67be64b49/Casa%20Marianella%20MG%20TT%2016.jpg)
![A cross from a rosary, on Nov. 26, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune