The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
Abbott will be joined by emergency officials for his update from Austin. Many Texans remain without power, and water access has been disrupted for millions across the state. Full Story
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The Texas government's failures in the face of a winter storm have been very hard on Texans, and could do lasting damage to the state's reputation. Full Story
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Texas officials knew winter storms could leave the state’s power grid vulnerable, but they left the choice to prepare for harsh weather up to the power companies — many of which opted against the costly upgrades. That, plus a deregulated energy market largely isolated from the rest of the country’s power grid, left the state alone to deal with the crisis, experts said. Full Story
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ERCOT's CEO and president told reporters Wednesday he's optimistic that the state's grid will start to see some of the power it has lost return as temperatures warm up. Full Story
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In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to state Rep. Trent Ashby about his bill to create a state broadband plan — a long-overdue effort to address our digital deficiency at a time when school, work and health care have all moved online. Full Story
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The Census Bureau now says it will get detailed results of the national population count to states by Sept. 30. That means Gov. Greg Abbott will almost certainly need to call lawmakers back for overtime in the fall to craft new Congressional and legislative districts. Full Story
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What gets the state’s unusually subdued lieutenant governor to stand up and take notice? Not playing the national anthem at Dallas Mavericks games, as it turns out. The first culture clash of the 2021 legislative session is underway. Full Story
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The climate, environment and energy caucus aims to start a conversation in the Legislature on how Texas can prepare for climate change and take advantage of the transition to cleaner energy sources. Full Story
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Delays in the delivery of court-approved political maps have disrupted past elections in Texas. And this year's pandemic-related delays in the U.S. census have raised the possibility of jumbled election plans in 2022. Full Story
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Home health workers, most of whom are women of color, could start losing their jobs if they aren't vaccinated against COVID-19. Experts widely agree that the vaccine is safe — Pfizer and Moderna both reported their vaccines are more than 90% effective at protecting people from serious illness — but some still refuse to get a shot. Full Story
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The slow start to the legislative session reflects the public declarations of goals from House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick: There aren't any. Gov. Greg Abbott put his priorities in a State of the State address this week, but legislative leaders have been relatively quiet. Full Story
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State Rep. Briscoe Cain was named chair of the House Elections Committee months after traveling to Pennsylvania to help the Trump campaign challenge the results of the 2020 election. Full Story
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The race for the solidly red seat in Northwest Texas pits David Spiller against fellow Republican Craig Carter. Full Story
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With assignments out, legislation that has been filed can be referred to committees for potential hearings. The committees overseeing public education, budget writing and redistricting are among those with new chairs. Full Story
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The absence of any mention of the mass shootings rankled gun control advocates and state lawmakers from El Paso, who see this legislative session as their best chance to advance the very measures Abbott expressed support for in 2019. Full Story
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The group of hardline conservatives made waves in 2017 by sparring with House leadership and fellow Republicans. Now members say relationships with the broader chamber have improved. Full Story
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In his State of the State speech this week, Gov. Greg Abbott laid out his top priorities, and his chances of success might be pretty decent: They match up with the issues Texas legislators were already working on. Full Story
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In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks with Dr. Peter Hotez, a virologist at Baylor College of Medicine, about mask mandates, vaccine availability, reopening schools and businesses, and the trajectory of the pandemic. Full Story
Lawmakers have filed legislation that would ban transgender girls and women who attend public K-12 schools, colleges and universities from playing on single-sex sports teams designated for girls and women. Full Story
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There are 99 state prisons and jails in the state, and several of which are named after people with racist and sometimes violent histories, according to The Marshall Project. Full Story
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