Attorney General Ken Paxton was impeached. Here’s how that process works in Texas.
Paxton is now suspended until the outcome of a trial in the Senate. Gov. Greg Abbott can now appoint someone to temporarily fill the vacancy. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/35220913884a83f64e75069553e4c594/0110%20Lege%20Opening%20BD%2041.jpg)
-
![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to his supporters after being sworn into office on January 10, 2023. At left are state Sen. Angela Paxton and Gov. Greg Abbott.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
House committee issues 20 articles of impeachment against Ken Paxton
The attorney general, reelected last year by voters who shrugged off his scandals, is accused of a yearslong pattern of alleged misconduct and lawbreaking. The full House is expected to consider the articles soon. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/676a390fd5003c61a847479ae8cabf45/Paxton%20Watch%20Party%20BT%20TT%2014.jpg)
![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to supporters Paxton Watch Party Barn in Plano after being re-elected on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
What to know about Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s long-running scandals and legal battles
Less than a year into his first term, Paxton was charged with felony securities fraud. The Justice Department is investigating bribery allegations against him as a Texas House committee conducts its own probe into his behavior. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/aa96a32cb06a2435f401e5f3040442d5/Paxton%20Opioid%20Presser%20SF%20TT%2015.jpg)
![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton at a press conference at the William P. Clements State Office Building on a pilot program to dispose of medications, especially opioids, on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2022 in Austin.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
A year after the Uvalde school shooting, officers who botched response face few consequences
A Washington Post investigation finds numerous higher-ranking officers who made critical decisions remain on the job. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6c51c14f5f55e159f2c810b9b3e18664/0124%20Uvalde%20Legislation%20EL%2001.jpg)
![Families of the victims of the Uvalde school shooting gather to attend a presser held by state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, where he introduced four new bills that will address qualified immunity for police officers, allow victims to sue the State of Texas, repeal the protection of the Lawful Commerce in Arms act, and create a permanent compensation fund for victims of school gun violence, at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 24, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Listen: Through art, keepsakes and advocacy, families are making sure 21 Uvalde victims are not forgotten
Wednesday marks exactly a year since a mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde. The community continues to grapple with the trauma and pain, and for those who lost someone that day, they’re determined to keep the memories of their loved ones alive. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/dd4f3fe71793d8464a6ef36c3265b1ca/0523%20The%20Brief%20Uvalde%20EL%20TT%2003.jpg)
![Javier Cazares assembles his notes for his testimony as a poster of his daughter, Jackie, and other victims of the Robb Elementary school shooting stand against the wall beside him. Cazares and other family members wait for the Community Safety Committee to reconvene about bills relating to gun reform, at the state Capitol in Austin on April 18, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Senate priorities on bail, Ten Commandments in schools stall out in Texas House as key deadline passes
The two chambers have been at odds over property tax relief and school choice, but on Tuesday night, those divisions spilled over into priorities the bodies had previously agreed upon. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/29b1fbf094cd7ac79f00b38cfd99be0f/0411%20House%20Vote%20EL%20TT%2008.JPG)
![Members of the House vote on the House floor during session at the state Capitol on April 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Mandatory 10-year sentences for some crimes involving guns revived by Texas Senate
The idea appeared to die in the Texas House over the weekend, but senators kept it alive by grafting the proposal on to another piece of legislation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5170259e014deb2d98316b8d5a58ec31/0129%20San%20Antonio%20Gun%20Show%20JV%2006%20TT.jpg)
![Gold-plated hand guns for sale at a gun show in San Marcos, TX, on Sunday, Jan 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Lawmakers try again to bar hypnosis-induced evidence from Texas criminal trials
Despite its tendency to distort memories, hypnosis has been used on witnesses in numerous investigations, including death penalty cases. Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a similar bill in 2021. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1167f0bc0a06f5adf2cf075e92ce4ec9/Walmart%20Shooting%20Pretrial%20JS%20TT%2015.jpg)
![The Lady Justice statue at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse in El Paso on Oct. 11, 2022.]()
Credit: Jorge Salgado for The Texas Tribune -
Gun safety advocates see signs of progress in first session after Uvalde shooting even though raise-the-age bill stalled
Emotions often ran high over a proposal to limit young adults’ access to some firearms. Lawmakers have largely prioritized school safety measures, but there was still progress for some gun-related legislation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d658b44b072668a5c9b96b594f592dbe/0124%20Uvalde%20Legislation%20EL%2002.jpg)
![Siblings of Xavier Lopez play quietly while the families of the victims of the Uvalde school shooting gather to attend a press conference held by state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, where he introduced four new bills that will address qualified immunity for police officers, allow victims to sue the State of Texas, repeal the protection of the Lawful Commerce in Arms act, and create a permanent compensation fund for victims of school gun violence, at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 24, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L’Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Watch a documentary about the Uvalde shooting from The Texas Tribune, Frontline and Futuro Investigates
The film, “After Uvalde: Guns, Grief and Texas Politics,” was broadcast nationally on PBS and is also available for streaming on The Texas Tribune and Frontline’s websites. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/632d207ab31945787f1f271a7a56d4ba/uvalde-doc-promo.png)
![Promotional image for a documentary titled "After Uvalde: Guns, Grief and Texas Politics" by Frontline, The Texas Tribune and Futuro Investigates.]()
Credit: Frontline, The Texas Tribune and Futuro Investigates -
Watch: A Uvalde family remembers their 10-year-old through the mementos he left behind
Evadulia Orta’s son, Rojélio Torres, died in the school shooting in Uvalde last year. Her other children still collect Pokémon cards to add to his collection, and his cousins play with his football. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c965ec8afbb7626907dc47bdb952fb73/Uvalde%20Doc%20Screengrab%20TT%20FF%2001.jpg)
![Evadulia Orta’s son, Rojélio Torres, died in the school shooting in Uvalde last year. Her other children still collect Pokémon cards to add to his collection, and his cousins play with his football.]()
-
Texas House’s weekend off means key Senate bills die after missing a legislative deadline
Priority bills that died include a 10-year minimum sentencing for gun-related crimes, a ban on “critical race theory” at public universities and LGBTQ-related legislation. While the bills may be dead, lawmakers have a limited time to attach their ideas to legislation that is still alive. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/fbbce63096ea64d81f63ded0de1aefb0/0110%20Lege%20Opening%20EL%20TT%2001.jpg)
![State Representatives and their families gather on the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas may soon have a process to remove local prosecutors who won’t pursue abortion, election cases
The bill would allow for the removal of prosecutors who adopt any policy to not pursue certain crimes, including some low-level theft and drug charges. The Senate’s version will need to be reconciled with the House, which had carved out some exemptions. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0ebe5b31bb8283e48f9bbc61d6377be0/0509%20Travis%20County%20Court%20File%20EL%20TT%2003.jpg)
![The Travis County Criminal Court, at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center, in Austin as screens display case information on May 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Final approval given to bill that would let prosecutors pursue murder charges in some fentanyl deaths
House Bill 6 has widespread bipartisan support and now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has named the issue a priority. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/04acb83a026498707c065115197bfff8/Montgomery%20PD%20Fentanyl%20REUTERS.jpg)
![Seized fentanyl pills during a press conference at the Montgomery Police Department's Criminal Investigations office in Montgomery, Alabama, on Aug. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Jake Crandall/Montgomery Advertiser via REUTERS -
After Title 42’s end, Texas DPS pauses Austin patrols so officers can head to the border
Despite no major influx in border crossings, state troopers will be relocated to border cities. Austin and the Texas Department of Public Safety faced criticism for the racial disparities in state trooper arrests in the capital. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2f90ad38b16138e4de081247bb784457/0511%20Title%2042%20End%20IPA%20TT%2013.JPG)
![Members of the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Pubic Safety at the entrance to where hundreds of migrants wait to be processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents inside a makeshift migrant camp about three hours after Title 42 ended at 9:59 p.m. local time, Friday, May 12, 2023, in El Paso.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre 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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/26cb19289d80ad7779002f38f6388ead/0406%20Budget%20Night%20EG%20TT%2008.jpg)
![State Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, speaks with fellow lawmakers on the House floor on April 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a4ff117751f940628f7dfcff21377d4b/0508%20Uvalde%20Bill%20Vote%20EL%20TT%2010.jpg)
![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 -
Daniel Perry is sentenced to 25 years for killing an Austin protester. Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to pardon him.
Perry’s case has become an explosive political stew of arguments over gun rights, self-defense and racist social media posts. The governor dived in early, saying he would pardon Perry even before a judge handed down the sentence. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/439c7ac028ac260f2407625ecbd3b383/Daniel%20Perry%20Sentencing%20AAS%2005.jpeg)
![Daniel Perry reacts after being sentenced to 25 years for the murder of Garrett Foster, at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman -
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/106c4d7b5bafbb092d58884efa54bbb0/Outback%20Uvalde%20REUTERS.JPG)
![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]()
Credit: REUTERS/Lisa Krantz -
Driver of SUV in Brownsville crash that killed 8 migrants had drugs in his system, police say
George Alvarez, the man charged in the deaths of eight people after his vehicle rammed a crowd in front of a Brownsville migrant shelter, had cocaine, benzodiazepines and marijuana in his system at the time, police said Tuesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/90574765055fd0a08358f4a3eadafd4f/0507%20Migrant%20Crash%20Memorial%20EG%20TT%2008.jpg)
![Flora Zavala prays for the eight people dead at the site where a car ran into pedestrians waiting at a bus stop outside a shelter for migrants in Brownsville, on May 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune