U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, whose seat is targeted by Republicans in 2022, says he will not seek reelection
Vela was first elected in 2012 and represents much of the South Texas Gulf Coast. Full Story
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![Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith moderates a discussion with U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017.
Vela, D-Brownsville, has represented Texas’ Congressional District 34 since 2013. In the 114th Congress, he sat on the House Agriculture and Homeland Security committees and served as co-chairman of the Congressional Border Caucus.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans begin pursuing new voting restrictions as they work to protect their hold on power
Democrats moved to delay committee hearings that were set for today on the first major bill in a push by Republican lawmakers to further tighten the state's already restrictive voting rules and raise new barriers for some voters. Full Story
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![Voters stand in line at Highland Hills Library to cast their ballots on Election Day in Dallas. Nov. 3, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Widows of the pandemic: Three South Texas women lost their husbands but found solace in one another
Ricardo Ramos, Ramon Fuentes III and Andres Arguelles were all 45. Loving husbands. Strangers who died with the coronavirus in neighboring South Texas cities. They left behind young widows who found each other in Facebook groups and bonded over the similarities in their stories. Full Story
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![From Left, Delia Ramos, Betty Fuentes, and Ana Flores embrace in prayer in Harlingen on March 11, 2021.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: When elected problem-solvers become part of the problem
Fixing immigration and ending hate crimes was hard enough without elected policymakers in Austin and Washington D.C., stoking nativist and racial fears. Full Story
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![Governor Greg Abbott addresses the media about border security at a press conference at Anzalduas Park in Mission on March 9, 2021.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
Experts fear reversing electricity prices from winter storm could make things worse
It is unclear who would be helped or hurt — and by how much — if lawmakers try to revise electricity market prices charged during the winter storm. Full Story
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![Reliability Coordinators monitored the state power grid during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor in 2012.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Julia Robinson -
California cities banned natural gas in new buildings. Texas wants to outlaw those bans.
A bill to stop cities from banning natural gas as a fuel source for heating homes and other buildings is being advanced as priority storm-response legislation following the February power outages. Full Story
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![Construction workers work on an office building on the corner or Metric and Parmer in Austin on June 18, 2020.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Texas power crisis prompts Texas House panel to advance several bills, including one requiring plants to prep for extreme weather
The bills, which include mandating weatherization of power plants, reforming the ERCOT board and creating a state emergency communications system, are “a work in progress.” Full Story
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![The Blanco Vista neighborhood of San Marcos is blanketed with several inches of snow as a massive winter weather system causes power outages across Texas on Feb. 15, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep Chip Roy rebuked after using hearing on violence against Asian Americans to attack China over coronavirus
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee held the hearing to discuss discrimination just two days after police say a white man went on a shooting rampage targeting Asian women in Atlanta. Full Story
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![From left, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, D-New York, and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Matthew McConaughey is flirting with a run for governor. But his politics remain a mystery.
The actor hasn't voted in a primary since at least 2012 and has never donated to a Texas or federal campaign. Full Story
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![Matthew McConaughey spoke at the March For Our Lives rally in Austin in 2018.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Why would Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick run a race he’s already won?
Speculation that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick might want to be governor someday underestimates his current advantages over the current occupant of that office, Gov. Greg Abbott. Full Story
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![Lt. Governor Dan Patrick greeted invited guests and family at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport ahead of President Trump's arrival to Austin on Nov. 20, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers push bill to make it easier to sue abortion providers and harder for new anti-abortion laws to be blocked by courts
The provisions are packaged in one of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priority measures, dubbed the “heartbeat bill.” Senate Bill 8 would ban abortions as early as six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant. Full Story
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![A nurse practitioner consults with a patient at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Austin.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Three Texas Republicans vote against awarding Congressional Gold Medals to police who protected Capitol during insurrection
U.S. Reps. Michael Cloud of Victoria, Louie Gohmert of Tyler and Lance Gooden of Terrell voted against the resolution. Gohmert reportedly took issue with the characterization of the attack in the resolution as an "insurrection." Full Story
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![Pro-Trump rioters clashed with Capitol police during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.]()
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TribCast: Texas' top three Republican leaders splinter over electricity repricing
On this week's episode, Patrick speaks with Ross, Cassi and Alexa about state leaders' disagreements over electricity repricing after the winter weather crisis. Full Story
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![El Paso Electric's Rio Grande Power Station on the New Mexico/Texas state line. Feb. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas will target human traffickers in response to "humanitarian crisis" at the border
The governor asked the federal government to let Texas law enforcement interview migrant children in FEMA shelters to investigate human trafficking. Full Story
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![Migrants from Central America that were apprehended crossing the Rio Grande in Brownsville were flown to El Paso for processing and then deported to Mexico across the Paso del Norte International Bridge on March 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Paul Ratje for The Texas Tribune -
Electricity repricing bill hits wall in House, marking first major schism with Senate this session
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said the House "stood for big business" after Speaker Dade Phelan signaled skepticism about reversing billions of dollars in charges for wholesale electricity during last month’s winter storm. Full Story
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![An eastern aerial view of Austin after a severe snowstorm dumped heavy snow and plummeted temperatures. Feb. 15, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Slate of Texas legislation limiting abortion, including so-called “heartbeat bill,” heads to Senate
The legislative session that began in January has been driven by the coronavirus pandemic and the response to last month’s power crisis. But abortion-related measures dominated a Senate State Affairs committee hearing Monday, and lawmakers advanced all of the proposals. Full Story
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![A women's health clinic in Texas.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Higher education officials urge Legislature to invest in colleges and universities after pandemic takes toll on students and economy
As the Legislature grapples with a struggling pandemic economy and the impact of an unprecedented winter storm, higher education advocates are vying for lawmakers’ attention, trying to make the case for more investment in colleges and universities. Full Story
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![Students walk through an area known as “The Quad” on the first day of the fall semester at Texas State University in San Marcos on Aug. 24, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott formally opens Texas GOP bid to clamp down on local efforts expanding voting access
Texas has some of the strictest voting rules, but Republican lawmakers are now hoping to outlaw efforts by local officials in places like Harris County intended to widen access for voters, including drive-thru voting and extended early voting hours. Full Story
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![A poll worker feeds a voting machine and power cord through a voter’s car window in the drive-through line at NRG Stadium in Houston during the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2020.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate scrambles to advance bill that would force ERCOT to reprice energy charges from winter storm
Senate Bill 2142, sponsored by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, had not even been filed when the day started Monday, but lawmakers suspended their rules to hastily push it through the Senate. Full Story
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![The Senate floor on March 2, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Dan Patrick’s interrogation about a freeze warms speculation about 2022
An unusual appearance by the lieutenant governor at a Senate hearing looked like a tough session for one of Gov. Greg Abbott's appointees — and raised speculation about political tension between the state's top two elected officials. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at the dais on the Senate floor on May 25, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune