Texas Senate approves bill tweaking A-F school grades
The Texas Senate approved a bill that would tweak a plan to grade school districts — well past a midnight deadline for passing legislation. Full Story
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![State Sen. Larry Taylor walks across the Senate floor on May 24, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Former child bride lobbies for bill to save others from her nightmare
At 14, Trevicia Williams was forced to marry a 26-year-old ex-convict. Nearly 40,000 children were married from 2000 to 2014 in Texas, but a bill that made it to the governor’s desk Tuesday seeks to stop this practice. Full Story
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![Trevicia Williams was 14 years old when her mother forced her to marry a man 12 years her senior.]()
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Another top TABC honcho departing amid controversy
Steven Weinberg abruptly quit this week as commissioner of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, which has been roiled by reports of extravagant spending, mismanagement and heavy-handed regulation. Full Story
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![Commissioner Steven Weinberg attended the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission's quarterly meeting via video conference on May 23, 2017. Weinberg quit the day of the meeting. Chairman Kevin Lilly, left, alongside Commissioner Ida Clement Steen, right, recognized Carla Thompson with a promotion to Captain.]()
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Houston pension bill heads for governor's desk, but firefighters are still mad
The House passed a controversial Senate version of a Houston pension bill, angering firefighters. But in Dallas, leaders appear to have coalesced around a bill that once divided the mayor and first responders in that city. Full Story
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![Retired Houston firefighters and their supporters watch from the state House gallery on May 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
House backs Giddings measure targeting "lunch shaming"
After several failed attempts and compromises during the legislative session, Rep. Helen Giddings finally succeeded in getting the House to pass a measure that targets "lunch shaming" in schools. Full Story
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![State Rep. Helen Giddings, D-Desoto, holds up a sample of a piece of cheese given to students who lack money to pay for school lunches in Dallas area schools during a personal privilege speech on the House floor May 9, 2017, where she chastised House Freedom Caucus members for killing her bill on school lunches for poor kids.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Killing Texas ethics legislation without leaving fingerprints
It's hard to get tougher ethics laws for politicians and officeholders through the Texas Legislature. It can be even harder to figure out exactly who killed them. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, leads a discussion on House Bill 501, an ethics bill, on May 3, 2017. The bill passed, 147-0.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Bills exempting tampons from Texas sales tax went nowhere this session
Despite state lawmakers filing several bills exempting tampons and other menstrual products from sales taxes, the measures didn't draw serious attention from the legislature this session. Full Story
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![Texas would be the first southern state to provide tax exemptions on female hygiene products related to menstrual cycles.]()
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Conference committee approves convention of states-related measure
A Texas legislative committee reinstalled a Senate provision in a bill that would only allow state lawmakers to serve as delegates in a convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution. Full Story
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![People interested in the convention of states process listened to Gov. Greg Abbott speak on Texans' role at the state Capitol on Dec. 6, 2016.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate will reject House's "bathroom bill" compromise
The legislative wrangling over where transgender Texans can use the bathroom isn’t over yet. Full Story
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![State Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, on the floor of the Senate on Sunday, May 21, 2017.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
House votes to end jail time for being too poor to pay fines
Senate Bill 1913, by state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, would allow courts to ask defendants if they are too poor to pay for traffic tickets, fines for other low-level and fine-only offenses or court costs. Full Story
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![Inmates in the Harris County Jail in 2011.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas House backs voter ID overhaul, with changes
The 95-54 vote followed a six-hour debate that saw fierce pushback from Democrats, who argued the legislation wouldn’t go far enough to expand ballot access and might discourage some Texans from going to the polls. Full Story
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![State Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, asks questions about Senate Bill 5, the voter ID bill, which has been declared an emergency item by Gov. Abbott, on May 23, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Grieving mom “humbled” and “relieved” after Senate passes autopsy bill
Lara McDaniel was devastated when her 7-year-old son died in an accident. An investigator didn't allow her to see her child's body until three days after his death — after an autopsy had been conducted. Full Story
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![Wyatt McDaniel died in an accident while playing in a sand pile with his little brother on Jan. 25, 2013. His mother, Lara McDaniel, was not able to view his body until after his autopsy and is advocating for Texas lawmakers to adopt "Wyatt's Law."]()
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Dozens of Abbott appointees surpass donor threshold targeted by stalled "pay for play" bill
At least 71 of Gov. Greg Abbott's nearly 800 current state board and commission appointees appeared to have donated more than $2,500 to the governor's campaign account since 2013. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaking on Sept. 19 at a conference hosted by the Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Workforce Commission.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Even under Trump, state budget writers deliver big on border security funding
Texas budget writers plan to spend another $800 million for border security over the next two years, matching what lawmakers allocated in 2015. Full Story
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![Bundles of marijuana seized by Border Patrol and DPS agents near Roma, TX, on Mar. 8, 2016.]()
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Watch as House debates voter ID legislation
Watch the Texas House debate legislation that would change the state's voter ID law. Full Story
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![Voter ID regulations posted at a south Texas early voting location on Oct. 26, 2016.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
House members issue demand for Senate action
Members of the Texas House on Tuesday issued a loud demand for the Senate to take action on their bills — or else. Full Story
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![State Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, gives closing arguments on House Bill 122, which would raise the age of criminal responsibility in Texas from 17 to 18. The House passed the bill 92-52 on April 20, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Lawmaker announces donation page to address “lunch shaming”
Rep. Helen Giddings announced the launch of a donation page that allows the public to contribute money to clear the debt of schools that feed schoolchildren when their lunch accounts are empty. Full Story
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![State Rep. Helen Giddings, D-De Soto, speaks during a press conference regarding the "lunch shaming" bill on May 23, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Scientists wary as Texas mulls allowing sale of unproven drugs
Supporters of House Bill 3236 say it could get experimental drugs into terminally ill patients’ hands, but its detractors say it would encourage snake oil salesmen. Full Story
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School groups say House bathroom amendment open to interpretations
School groups say a Texas House amendment addressing bathroom use is open to interpretations on whether it actually keeps school districts from allowing transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identities. Full Story
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![Bathroom stalls at the Austin Convention Center in 2017.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Senate backs making child welfare department an independent agency
Texas senators unanimously approved a bill that would make the Department of Family and Protective Services its own standalone department. Full Story
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![Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Hank Whitman testifies July 12, 2016, to the House Committee on Human Services about his plans to reform the agency.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune