Texas Legislature 101: How bills become laws — and how you can participate in the process
Here’s a rundown of how legislation moves through the Capitol, the ways lawmakers operate and who the power players are. Full Story
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![State representatives meet on the House floor at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Mexican cattle banned from Texas due to screwworm threat
Since cattle imports were cut off in November, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and some ranchers worry about the ban’s economic impact on beef producers and consumers. Full Story
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![Forty to fifty head of cattle down from 5,000 due to restrictions on cattle imports from Mexico at the Vaquero Trading stockyard in Sunland Park, New Mexico on January 8, 2025.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
“We have a problem here”: Sen. Charles Perry outlines his plans to save Texas’ water supply
The Lubbock Republican has been working for years to develop a new statewide approach to managing water and hopes voters will devote $1 billion a year to the problem. Full Story
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UT-Austin’s presidency goes vacant amid growing challenges for Texas public university leaders
In recent years university presidents have been facing growing political pressures, student and faculty pushback and an increasingly demanding job. Full Story
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![Students walk through campus at the University of Texas at Austin in Aug. 25, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
El Paso doctor denies illegally providing transgender care
Hector Granados, one of two pediatric endocrinologists in El Paso, said he stopped providing gender-affirming care after it was outlawed in Texas in 2023. Full Story
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![Dr. Hector Granados, a pediatric endocrinologist, stands outside the Zach White Building that houses his Downtown El Paso clinic on the evening of Jan. 3 after finishing his appointments.]()
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Ken Paxton files second lawsuit against TikTok for exposing minors to explicit content
The attorney general argues that the social media company violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by listing itself as appropriate for children. Full Story
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![The TikTok logo outside the company's U.S. head office in Culver City, California, on Sept. 15, 2020.]()
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House Caucus Chair Gene Wu wants Texas Democrats prepared for battle
After his party lost seats in the Texas House, Wu says he’s focused on building a coalition against extremism. Full Story
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Texas is silent on whether it will offer summer food assistance for students
After the state missed the Jan. 1 deadline, lawmakers still have time to approve administrative costs before applying for $400 million in federal summer meal assistance. Full Story
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![Ector County Independent School District employees serve lunch to Bonham Middle School students Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
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Proposals to expand voting access in Texas may gain support
Proposals to allow online registration and broaden photo ID options may have a chance to advance, supporters say. Full Story
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![People wait in line to vote at Brazos County Election Administrator Office on Election Day in Bryan, Texas on November 5, 2024.]()
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Texas Medical Board director retires after uproar over his Planned Parenthood employment
Conservative lawmakers claimed credit for Dr. Robert Bredt’s retirement after it came out he also worked at a Planned Parenthood-affiliated lab. Full Story
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![Members of the public and media listen during the Texas Medical Board Full Board Meeting in the George H.W. Bush Building in Austin, Texas on Mar. 22, 2024. All the seats in the room were filled as many wait for an agenda item at the bottom of the agenda.]()
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With lawsuits and legislation, Texas Republicans take aim at abortion pills
More than 2,800 Texans are getting abortion pills through the mail from out-of-state every month, prompting a lawsuit and legislation seeking to end the practice. Full Story
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![A bottle and pills of Misoprostol, made by Lupin Pharmaceuticals, sit in a counting tray at a pharmacy on June 19, 2019, in Provo, Utah.]()
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Jimmy Blacklock named new chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court
Blacklock replaces Nathan Hecht, the longest serving justice on the high court. Gov. Greg Abbott also appointed his general counsel, James Sullivan, to the bench. Full Story
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![Texas Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Blacklock laughs while hearing questions during a Q & A after hearing two a civil cases at the University of Houston Law Center at in the Danny M. Sheena Courtroom at the John. M. O’Quinn Law Building, Tuesday, October 29, 2024, in Houston. The Court travels twice per year to hold oral arguments in different areas of the state.]()
Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune -
Texas has a housing affordability crisis. Here’s how state lawmakers may tackle it in 2025.
A likely fight over how much power to take away from local governments may dominate the debate. Full Story
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![The Celina water tower among newer housing developments in Celina on November 13, 2024.]()
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Amid a $7 million deficit to Texas’ suicide hotline, thousands of calls are abandoned monthly
The state’s 988 suicide had the nation’s fifth highest rate of abandoned calls in August, the latest data available, amid a multi-million funding deficit that could worsen as federal dollars expire this year. Full Story
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![A sign for the national suicide and crisis hotline number, 988, is posted at a North Austin parking lot, on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025.]()
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Mental health advocates ask Texas lawmakers to replace expiring COVID-19 relief funding
Texas received $203.4 million in 2021 to help build community mental health programs at libraries and churches, among other efforts. Those funds expire Dec. 31. Full Story
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![Mental Health pamphlets at an office complex in Round Rock on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024.]()
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Texas man identified as suspect in deadly New Orleans truck attack
FBI officials said Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. citizen and Army veteran, drove the pickup truck that fatally rammed into a crowd on Bourbon Street. Full Story
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![A view down Bourbon Street in New Orleans showing a crashed white pickup truck (R) after an apparent attack during New Year's Eve celebrations in the early hours of Jan. 1, 2025.]()
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Texas Supreme Court dismisses State Bar lawsuit against assistant attorney general
The state bar sought to take away the law license of Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster over a Texas lawsuit challenging 2020 presidential election results. Full Story
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![First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster speaks during a press conference in the William Clements Building in Austin on June 9, 2022.]()
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Texas driver license offices reopen after systemwide outage
The outage appeared only to affect the Texas public safety department. Driver license offices reopened after the New Year’s Day holiday. Full Story
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![The Nortwest Austin DPS office on Jan. 24, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune -
Texas 2024: The stories that most resonated with our readers
Voter guides, election results and a new law that does away with vehicle inspections were among the journalism that Texas Tribune readers engaged with the most. Full Story
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![A view of the Capitol Building from downtown Austin on June 24, 2024.]()
Credit: Olivia Anderson for The Texas Tribune -
Nathan Hecht, Texas’ most tenured Supreme Court justice, prepares to retire
Over 35 years, Hecht modernized the court, increased access to justice for the poor and saw his conservative views come to dominate the bench. Full Story
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![Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht delivers his State of the Judiciary speech at the Supreme Court in Austin on Apr. 5, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune