The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
Two years after knocking off an incumbent in the Republican primary, state Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, is fighting off his own challenger who argues Tinderholt is out of the mainstream. Full Story
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The State Auditor's Office is investigating whether state Rep. Dawnna Dukes improperly required her legislative staffers to participate in work for a nonprofit group that she founded, a Capitol source told The Texas Tribune on Friday. Full Story
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Fourteen years after first being elected to the Texas House, state Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, faces what some consider his toughest re-election battle to date. Full Story
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Full video of our 2/4 conversation with state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Texas Senate in District 26. Full Story
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Bedford state Rep. Jonathan Stickland's challenger in the GOP primary for Texas House has dredged up more than 3,000 of Stickland's old posts on a fantasy football forum. It ain't pretty. Full Story
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State Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, is once again a target of conservative activists frustrated with House leadership. Geren says he's confident with his conservative credentials and will run on his record. Full Story
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Incumbent Tea Party darling state Rep. Molly White and challenger Hugh Shine are clamoring to tell voters about the personal experiences they say most qualify them as the most ardent foes of abortion and illegal immigration. Full Story
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Almost six months ago, undercover videos purported to show Planned Parenthood official in Texas discussing illegal acts. Texas Republicans pounced, opening up multiple battlefronts against the embattled women’s health organization. Full Story
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Our 1/28 conversation on bending the health care cost curve with Sue Bornstein of the Texas Medical Home Initiative, state Reps. Nicole Collier and Stephanie Klick, and Daniel Varga of Texas Health Resources. Full Story
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House Speaker Joe Straus finds himself in a familiar position, fending off Tea Party primary challenges to hold his San Antonio seat and, presumably, his grip on the gavel. Full Story
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Former state Rep. Lance Gooden wants his seat in the Texas House back, setting up a rubber match in the Republican primary for House District 4 with the man who beat him in 2014, Stuart Spitzer. Full Story
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Until the most recent legislative session, the state had a tax on illegal drugs, adding tax evasion to the list of things that could put buyers and sellers into jail. Those drugs remain illegal, but the transactions are now tax-free. Full Story
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A day after a Republican unexpectedly snatched away a long-held Democratic statehouse seat in San Antonio, state GOP leaders were crowing while Democrats swore the low-turnout special election was a non-repeatable fluke. Full Story
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday stuck to an earlier decision granting relief to a Montgomery County man convicted of murder. Full Story
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Senate Republicans unanimously selected state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, as the next chairman of their caucus at a meeting of the group Tuesday night. Full Story
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UT-Austin Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg has emerged as a leader, albeit a reluctant one, for faculty who oppose allowing guns in their classrooms after saying he will try to prevent students who want to carry handguns from taking his courses. Full Story
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State senators on Tuesday urged Texas' six university system chancellors not to single out students who carry guns on campus when the state's new campus carry goes into effect this August. Full Story
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Supporters and opponents of two controversial new gun laws passed last year — open carry and campus carry — will update Texas lawmakers Tuesday on how the measures are working so far. Full Story
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At our 1/22 symposium on urban public education, John Fitzpatrick of Educate Texas talked about widening the high school-to-college pipeline with David Anthony, CEO of Raise Your Hand Texas;Susan Simpson Hull, superintendent of the Grand Prairie Independent School District; Daniel King, superintendent of the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District; and William Serrata, president of the El Paso Community College District. Full Story
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At our 1/22 symposium on urban public education, Chris Coxon of Educate Texas led a discussion about social and emotional learning with Paul Cruz, superintendent of the Austin Independent School District; Eric Gordon, CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District; Terry Grier, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District; and Airick West, member of the board of directors for Kansas City Public Schools. Full Story
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