In dramatic vote, Texas House approves online sports betting measure
A resolution to let voters decide whether to legalize casino gambling, however, was delayed for a day while supporters worked to find enough support for passage. Full Story
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![A gambler stacks chips at a roulette table during the reopening of Bellagio hotel-casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 4, 2020.]()
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Texas House passes sweeping border funding bill, guts proposed policing unit
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle threw their support behind a new requirement that the unit use only commissioned peace officers for enforcement actions. Full Story
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![Department of Public Safety agents arrest an undocumented migrant for trespassing private property as part of Operation Lone Star in Kinney County near Brackettville, Texas on Nov. 9, 2021.
Verónica G. Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Verónica G. Cárdenas for The Texas Tribune/ProPublica -
Greg Abbott says to stop mass shootings, Texas must improve mental health care. A $25 billion investment hasn’t been enough.
Texas still lags nationally when it comes to mental health services and there have been seven mass shootings since Abbott took office in 2015. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a presser at Uvalde High School on May 27, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Shell refinery unit in Deer Park had history of malfunctions before fire
Recent “upsets” like tripped compressors, pressure loss and freezing weather resulted in thousands of pounds of unauthorized pollution but no fines or citations from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Full Story
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![An overhead view of an explosion at a Shell USA Inc. facility on May 5, 2023 in Deer Park.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
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
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![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]()
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Bryan Slaton’s Texas House downfall could complicate GOP fight against “groomers”
Republicans were so busy policing drag artists and transgender Texans that they missed so-called “grooming behavior” by one of their own, LGBTQ advocates say. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, on the House floor at the state Capitol during session in Austin on April 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Thwarting Democratic efforts, House Republicans revive border policing unit in early-morning vote
The proposed unit would let those who are not law officers arrest or detain suspected undocumented immigrants in border-region counties. Full Story
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![A member of the Texas Army National Guard holds a flashlight as migrants crawl over rocks after wading across the Rio Grande into the United States from Mexico, in Roma, on March 4, 2022.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Adrees Latif -
Texas House expels Bryan Slaton, first member ousted since 1927
The unanimous vote followed an investigation that determined the Royse City Republican had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with an aide. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, sits at his desk during session on the House floor at the state Capitol on April 18, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Lawmakers consider long-shot $2.3 billion proposal to keep struggling child care providers afloat
Three years after the COVID-19 pandemic upset the fragile child care industry, about a third of the state’s child care providers remain closed. Full Story
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![Childcare providers and families in Texas joined the nationwide “Day Without Child Care,” rallying for greater investment in daycare and early education, at the south steps of the Capitol on May 8, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
In surprise move days after Allen mall shooting, Texas House panel OKs bill raising age to buy semi-automatic rifles
The legislation would raise the minimum age for purchasing certain firearms but likely wouldn’t have been a hindrance to the Allen gunman obtaining a weapon. The bill still faces an uphill climb in the Legislature. Full Story
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![Family members of the victims of the Uvalde shooting cry and hug each other after the House Safety Committee voted in favor of HB 2744, to raise the age requirement to purchase semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21, at the state Capitol in Austin on May 8, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Bryan Slaton resigns ahead of expulsion vote over inappropriate relationship with aide
The Royse City Republican had come under growing pressure to step down after an investigation determined he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 19-year-old woman on his staff. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, at his desk on the House floor during session at the state Capitol in Austin on April 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Gunman in Allen mall shooting may have had right-wing extremist beliefs
The shooter wore a patch that said, “RWDS,” an acronym for Right Wing Death Squad, according to people familiar with the investigation. The phrase is popular among right-wing extremists, neo-Nazis and white supremacists, they said. Full Story
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![People gather on the street across from of the Allen Premium Outlets after the shooting that killed eight people Saturday afternoon and wounded at least seven more on May 6, 2023.]()
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Amended bill would keep tenure at Texas public universities
A new version of Senate Bill 18 scheduled for a hearing in the House Higher Education Committee on Monday would keep faculty tenure and direct university governing boards to establish policies to grant and revoke tenure. Full Story
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![Students walk through campus at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.]()
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Texas House committee recommends expelling Rep. Bryan Slaton
The House General Investigating Committee found that Slaton, a Republican from Royse City, engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a subordinate. The Texas Tribune previously reported on an allegation that he had sex with one of his staff, a woman under 21, and gave her alcohol. Full Story
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![State Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royce City, sits at his desk in the House Chamber on May 5, 2023. Slaton is under House investigation for alleged liaisons with a Capitol staffer.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas troopers renew inspections of commercial vehicles at Brownsville border bridge, triggering long delays
Truckers have reported waiting up to 24 hours to cross the border because of the inspections. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered similar inspections last year to stop smuggling, but troopers found no contraband after checking more than 4,000 vehicles. Full Story
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![Commercial trucks are inspected by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper at an inspection station near the Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville on April 12, 2022.]()
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Texas House may revise anti-diversity legislation to allow some programs to maintain grants, federal funding
A new version of Senate Bill 17 expected to be considered by the House’s Higher Education Committee on Monday would still ban DEI offices and prohibit required diversity training, but it would open the door for university boards of regents to approve such programs in certain circumstances. Full Story
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![Illustrated posters reading “We Belong Here” litter the Capitol’s rotunda floor during Texas Students for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s protest of HB1 Rider No. 186, which would defund DEI initiatives at public universities, on Mar. 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Democrats again delay Texas House debate on banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans kids
Senate Bill 14 spurred protests that led to altercations with state police earlier this week. Bill supporters and opponents again showed up at the Capitol for an expected vote Friday. Full Story
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![House lawmakers discuss a point of order called on SB 14 on the House floor on May 5, 2023. Left to right.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
At a heated public hearing, residents urge state agency to reject permit for chemical facility that burned in 2019
In Deer Park near Houston, memories of the massive ITC fire are still fresh. Residents told state environmental regulators they should reject the company’s permit renewal, but officials said the fire won’t be part of the decision. Full Story
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![During the public hearing regarding ITC and their renewal application for a federal permit, Erandi Trevino, Houston Organizer for Public Citizen, questions ITC and TCEQ representatives why only 1 out of 27 violations resulted in a fine. Deer Park ,TX. Thursday , May 4,2023]()
Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune -
Legislature enters homestretch with many of the session’s biggest issues unresolved
The list of potential hurdles includes property tax cuts, school choice, the power grid, the state budget, plus diversity and tenure in higher education. Full Story
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![State Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, talks with Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, during budget discussions on the House floor at the state Capitol on April 6, 2023.]()
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T-Squared: Local news outlets are republishing more Texas Tribune stories than ever before
Free republishing of the Tribune’s journalism means Texas local news outlets don’t have to choose between statehouse and local news coverage. Because of this, Texans across the state win. Full Story
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![Collage of print newspapers featuring Texas Tribune articles]()
Credit: Reagan Mcgregor Hicks/The Texas Tribune