Gov. Greg Abbott threatens to veto pared-down school choice bill, warns of special sessions
Abbott says if a school voucher bill isn’t expanded to include more students, a special legislative session will be the result. Full Story
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![Gov. Abbott poses for a photo with Covenant Christian Academy students at the Parent Empowerment Night event hosted by the Parent Empowerment Coalition at in McAllen on April 12, 2023.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
Effort to allow casinos falls short in Texas House
Facing a rigid deadline, gaming supporters were unable to get the supermajority support needed to move the legislation forward. Full Story
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![A cup with the message "I'd rather be a the casino" sits on the desk of state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, on the House floor at the state Capitol on April 6, 2023.]()
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Bills by the handful perish as Texas House hits crucial late-session deadline
It was a night of frustration, retaliation and, for some, elation as the stroke of midnight spelled doom for a lot of legislation. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, surveys the chamber during a break in the action on deadline day May 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Bill striking unconstitutional state law that criminalized homosexuality fails to meet critical deadline in the Texas House
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Texas’ law banning sodomy in 2003. It took almost 20 years for Democrats to get a bill to repeal the defunct ban on the House calendar. Full Story
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![State Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, speaks with fellow lawmakers on the House floor on April 6, 2023.]()
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Texas House passes ban on devices that modify handguns, but averts vote on increasing age to buy semi-automatic rifles
A Texas lawmaker introduced an amendment that would have revived a proposal to raise the minimum age to buy certain semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 before it was ultimately withdrawn. Full Story
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![Dozens of people hold signs and chant at a rally in the rotunda of the state Capitol to call for a vote on HB 2744, which seeks to raise the age requirement to purchase semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21, in Austin on May 8, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
In dramatic vote, Texas House approves online sports betting measure
A resolution to let voters decide whether to legalize casino gambling, however, was delayed for a day while supporters worked to find enough support for passage. Full Story
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![A gambler stacks chips at a roulette table during the reopening of Bellagio hotel-casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 4, 2020.]()
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Texas House passes sweeping border funding bill, guts proposed policing unit
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle threw their support behind a new requirement that the unit use only commissioned peace officers for enforcement actions. Full Story
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![Department of Public Safety agents arrest an undocumented migrant for trespassing private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville, Texas on Nov. 9, 2021.
Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune/ProPublica -
Teachers are losing hope that lawmakers will give them a big raise this session
The most ambitious proposals are all but dead, leaving teachers wondering why they’re looking at small raises when the state has a historic budget surplus at its disposal. Full Story
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![Chana Jones adjusts a decoration in her class room in Snyder Primary School Monday, April. 17, 2023, in Snyder, Texas. (Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune -
Deaths from firearms keep climbing in Texas, decades after lawmakers began weakening gun regulations
The rate of firearm-related deaths in Texas has reached a level not seen since the 1990s. Texas lawmakers have approved more than 100 bills that loosened gun restrictions since 2000. Full Story
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![An interior view of Oasis Outback, the store where a gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School purchased his weapons, in Uvalde, Texas, U.S., May 25, 2022. REUTERS/Lisa Krantz]()
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Bryan Slaton’s Texas House downfall could complicate GOP fight against “groomers”
Republicans were so busy policing drag artists and transgender Texans that they missed so-called “grooming behavior” by one of their own, LGBTQ advocates say. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, on the House floor at the state Capitol during session in Austin on April 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Thwarting Democratic efforts, House Republicans revive border policing unit in early-morning vote
The proposed unit would let those who are not law officers arrest or detain suspected undocumented immigrants in border-region counties. Full Story
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![A member of the Texas Army National Guard holds a flashlight as migrants crawl over rocks after wading across the Rio Grande into the United States from Mexico, in Roma, on March 4, 2022.]()
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State Rep. Bryan Slaton resigns ahead of expulsion vote over inappropriate relationship with aide
The Royse City Republican had come under growing pressure to step down after an investigation determined he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 19-year-old woman on his staff. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, at his desk on the House floor during session at the state Capitol in Austin on April 25, 2023.]()
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“This can’t be happening”: Allen becomes latest U.S. town to grapple with a mass shooting
After mall shooting, residents of the Dallas suburb are experiencing familiar rituals: mourning, anger and despair. Full Story
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![Community members pray during a vigil to mourn the lives of the eight victims of the Allen Premium Outlet mall shooting, at the Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen on May 7, 2023. Hundreds of people attended the vigil to pay their respects, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov Dan Patrick and state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Amended bill would keep tenure at Texas public universities
A new version of Senate Bill 18 scheduled for a hearing in the House Higher Education Committee on Monday would keep faculty tenure and direct university governing boards to establish policies to grant and revoke tenure. Full Story
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![Students walk through campus at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Mass shooting timeline: 14 years of violence in Texas
Texas has seen nine mass shootings over the last 14 years while lawmakers have steadily loosened restrictions on carrying firearms. Full Story
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![An Allen police officer stands guard outside Hampton Inn, across from the Allen Premium Outlets after a shooting on May 6, 2023.]()
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Texas House committee recommends expelling Rep. Bryan Slaton
The House General Investigating Committee found that Slaton, a Republican from Royse City, engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a subordinate. The Texas Tribune previously reported on an allegation that he had sex with one of his staff, a woman under 21, and gave her alcohol. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royce City, sits at his desk in the House Chamber on May 5, 2023. Slaton is under House investigation for alleged liaisons with a Capitol staffer.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Can Texas’ political leaders stop their bickering for the legislative homestretch?
In this week’s episode, we discuss the final three weeks of the Legislature and Colin Allred’s bid for U.S. Senate. Full Story
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![Representatives recite the Pledge of Allegiance on the House floor in Austin on April 18, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas AG Ken Paxton probing Austin children’s hospital following video of social worker discussing transition-related care
On the same day the Texas Legislature is set to debate Senate Bill 14, a proposed ban on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for kids, the attorney general files a request to examine documents related to the use of puberty blockers and counseling for trans youth. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on April 26, 2022. Earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Texas v. Texas, the enforcement of the Trump-era “remain in Mexico” policy that required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico as they waited for hearings in U.S. immigration court.]()
Credit: Eric Lee for The Texas Tribune -
Legislature enters homestretch with many of the session’s biggest issues unresolved
The list of potential hurdles includes property tax cuts, school choice, the power grid, the state budget, plus diversity and tenure in higher education. Full Story
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![State Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, talks with Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, during budget discussions on the House floor at the state Capitol on April 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
LGBTQ Texans decry Capitol arrests after protests against bill banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for kids
Senate Bill 14, which spurred demonstrations earlier this week, is again scheduled for House debate Friday. Trans Texans consider it one of this year’s most consequential bills. Full Story
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![LGBTQ rights activist Adri Pérez is detained by Department of Public Safety troopers as activists protest SB 14 outside of the House of Representatives gallery at the Capitol on May 2, 2023.]()
Credit: Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via REUTERS