TribCast: A new law banning most abortions in Texas takes effect
On this week's episode, Matthew speaks with Neelam and James about the state's new abortion law and the final days of the special session of the Texas Legislature. Full Story
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![The waiting room at Whole Women’s Health of Austin sits empty on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. Senate Bill 8, a law banning nearly all abortions after six weeks, went into effect today.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House advances bill to restore money to pay salaries for 2,100 state workers after Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed Legislature funding
The legislation will need another stamp of approval in the House before it heads to the Senate, which has not yet debated its version of the proposal on the floor. Full Story
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![The sun sets on the state Capitol in Austin, on May 27, 2021.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Republican bill tightening Texas election laws is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk
Senate Bill 1 rewrites Texas election laws to further restrict the voting-by-mail process and outlaw local voting initiatives meant to widen access, namely those pushed by Harris County that were disproportionately used by voters of color. Full Story
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![Day one of early voting in El Paso at the Sunland Park Mall indoor voting site on Oct. 13, 2020.]()
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666 new Texas laws go into effect Sept. 1. Here are some that might affect you.
The new laws will affect abortion access, social studies curriculum and cities that trim the budgets of law enforcement. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol on Aug. 13, 2021.]()
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Bill limiting abortion-inducing pills heads to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk to be signed into law
Senate Bill 4, which was advanced by the Texas House on Monday evening, would bar access to abortion-inducing pills to patients who are more than seven weeks pregnant. Full Story
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![A women’s health clinic in Texas.]()
Credit: Stephen Spillman for The Texas Tribune -
The hard-fought Texas voting bill is poised to become law. Here's what it does.
Senate Bill 1 would set new rules for voting by mail, boost protections for partisan poll watchers and roll back local voting initiatives meant to make it easier to vote, namely those championed by Harris County that were disproportionately used by voters of color. Full Story
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![Voters cast their ballots at Audelia Road Branch Library on the first day of early voting in Dallas on Oct. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Abortion providers appeal to U.S. Supreme Court in last-ditch effort to block new Texas law banning the procedure as early as six weeks
The law, which is one of the most restrictive in the country, is scheduled to go into effect Wednesday. Full Story
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![Abortion rights activists rallied outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on May 21, 2019.]()
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Analysis: The partisan debate over voting laws is a prologue to redistricting
The summer fight over voting and election law has been fierce. It may well be a prologue to a bigger battle just ahead: redrawing the state’s political maps. Full Story
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![Voters at the polling place inside the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers pass rewrite of state’s bail system aimed at keeping more people behind bars who can’t post cash
The House balked at a part of the Senate’s bill that would have barred charitable groups from posting bail for some defendants, but otherwise embraced new limits on letting people accused of violent crimes out of jail. Full Story
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![Around the Clock Bail Bonds on 10th St. and Nueces in Austin on May 8, 2019.]()
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Texas is one step closer to funding virtual learning, but could leave out many students of color
The bill, which would provide funding through September 2023, will head back to the Senate before reaching Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. Full Story
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![Sophomore Alexis Phan does her Algebra 2 homework remotely, from her home in Pflugerville on Nov. 16, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: The election restrictions bill passed the Texas House. What’s next?
In this week’s episode, Matthew, Alexa and Cassi look back at months of political fights after the elections bill made it out of the Texas House. Full Story
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![Voters cast their ballots at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center near downtown Houston on Oct. 22, 2018.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
New Texas GOP chair Matt Rinaldi winning over critics of Allen West’s tumultuous era
Some party activists had worried Rinaldi would be more of the same after West left the chairmanship to challenge Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this summer. Full Story
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![Then-State Rep. Matt Rinaldi, R-Irving, on the House floor on May 23, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Maternal health care advocates applaud new state law to extend Medicaid coverage, but say it doesn’t go far enough
The law, which takes effect Sept. 1, gives new mothers six months of postpartum Medicaid coverage instead of two. That’s less than many advocates and some lawmakers wanted. Full Story
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![Tambra Morrison holds her 7-month-old daughter Kalani as they watch her other two children, Kayden and Kynnedi, climb the jungle gym at Red Bird Park in Duncanville on Aug. 14, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House passes new voting restrictions as Democratic hopes of killing the legislation wane
Democrats used every tool they had, fleeing the state en masse and forcing two special sessions, but a Republican bill to rewrite state election laws won final approval in the House on Friday. Once the House and Senate work out some differences, it appears headed to the governor’s desk. Full Story
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![The House floor on Aug. 23, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House speaker says “absolutely no deals made” to bring back absent Democrats
Navigating the quorum break, Speaker Dade Phelan said he was especially mindful of not doing “un-repairable harm” to the chamber, indicating that could have happened if members were physically detained and brought to the chamber. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan sits on an interview with The Texas Tribune at the Capitol on Aug. 24, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House solidifies quorum with burst of returning Democrats but has only two weeks left to pass jam-packed agenda
It’s unclear what the Legislature will be able to accomplish with just two weeks left on the 30-day clock. Key legislative deadlines are coming. Member relationships are frayed. Some Democrats warn the quorum could be broken again. Full Story
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![Roll call is tallied on the House Floor on Aug. 23, 2021]()
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Analysis: Texas lawmakers have two contentious voting fights ahead — if they can stay in the same room
After a standoff that lasted more than a month, the Texas House appears to have enough state representatives in Austin to conduct business. The divisions are deep, relationships are frayed and redistricting lies ahead. Full Story
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![State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, leads a prayer on the House floor on Aug. 19, 2021. Democratic lawmakers Garnet Coleman, Ana Hernandez and Armando Lucio Walle returned to the House floor, giving their Republican members a quorum.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas House finally makes quorum, but Democrats say Republicans cheated to get there
There were 99 members registered as present Thursday evening, the exact number needed to end the 38-day Democratic quorum break over the GOP’s priority elections bill. But not all of those members were physically on the floor. Full Story
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![House members watch as roll call is tallied on Aug. 19, 2021. The House reached a quorum after weeks of absence by House Democrats who left the state in protest over a GOP elections bill.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
After some Democrats return to the Texas House, holdouts say they’re complicit in moving GOP elections bill forward
The return of three Democrats on Thursday allowed the House to reach a quorum, meaning enough members were present so lawmakers could work for the first time in nearly six weeks. Full Story
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![State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, leads a prayer on the House floor on Aug. 19, 2021. Democratic lawmakers Garnet Coleman, Ana Hernandez and Armando Lucio Walle returned to the House floor, given their Republican members a quorum.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
After a nearly six-week exodus over GOP voting bill, enough Democrats return to Texas House to resume work
Democrat Reps. Garnet Coleman, Armando Walle and Ana Hernandez were the latest to rejoin the House on Thursday, narrowly clinching a quorum. Full Story
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![Houston state Rep. Armando Lucio Walle pushes Rep. Garnet Coleman in a wheelchair on the House floor on Aug. 19, 2021. State Rep. Ana Hernandez walked behind the duo.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune