Women denied abortions sue Texas to clarify exceptions to the laws
Five women announced a new lawsuit Tuesday, marking the first time patients directly affected by new abortion laws have sought to challenge them in court. Full Story
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![Lauren Hall outside her home on Sept. 10, 2022. Hall had a non-viable pregnancy and had to leave the state in order to terminate, revealing gaps in the state's miscarriage exception after Roe v. Wade was overturned.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
The Texas House has a record number of LGBTQ representatives as lawmakers face scores of bills focused on gender and sexuality
The Texas Legislature has nine lawmakers who are openly LGBTQ, all Democrats. At the same time, some Republican lawmakers are pushing a slate of bills aimed at drag queens, transgender children and how sexuality is discussed in schools. Full Story
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![Clockwise from top left: State Reps. Josey Garcia, D-San Antonio, Christian Manuel, D-Beaumont, Venton Jones, D-Dallas, and Jolanda Jones, D-Houston.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
T-Squared: This year’s Texas Tribune Festival is Sept. 21-23
Texas and America are at a pivotal moment. With the 2024 elections looming, we have a cornucopia of talks and ideas planned. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers pursued dozens of bills affecting LGBTQ people in 2023. Here’s what passed and what failed.
The Legislature banned puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans kids, restricted the college sports teams trans athletes can join and expanded the definition of sexual conduct to include some drag shows. But a “Don’t Say Gay” provision for schools missed key deadlines. Full Story
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![Members of Austin's LGBT community gather on the steps of the capitol to celebrate the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots on June 28, 2017.]()
Credit: Austin Price for The Texas Tribune -
Closing a critical loophole for gun background checks has gained bipartisan support in Texas
After a ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigation found courts failed to report juvenile mental health hospitalizations to the federal firearm background check system, lawmakers from both parties are backing bills to ensure compliance with the law. Full Story
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![The state Capitol in Austin on Feb. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Tech basketball coach Mark Adams suspended over “racially insensitive” comment
The head coach is also being investigated for allegedly spitting on a player during a game earlier in the season. Full Story
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![Texas Tech Red Raiders head coach Mark Adams reacts after the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock on Feb. 25, 2023.]()
Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports via REUTERS -
Debate over Texas drag shows intensifies
A lawmaker is accused of hypocrisy after it emerges that he once wore a dress. He says it wasn’t sexual. Full Story
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![State Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth, gives a speech in recommendation of state Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington for Speaker of the House on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2023. Tinderholt was defeated 145-3 to elect state Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, as Speaker of the House.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Education Agency would have new power to enforce school safety plans under Senate bill
The bill, introduced months after the Uvalde school shooting, also allocates more funds to the state’s school safety allotment, which is money given to districts to improve campus security. Full Story
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![A police officer monitors Maplewood Elementary School in Austin the Monday morning following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Lawmakers could no longer “double dip” into pension funds under newly filed bill
State Sen. Joan Huffman filed a bill that would repeal a provision that allowed longtime lawmakers to increase their yearly take-home income by $140,000 by collecting pension payments without retiring. Full Story
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![State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, speaks to state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, on his resolution to declare an emergency on the Texas-Mexico border on April 2, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune -
Aging state vehicle fleet fuels tens of millions in new money requests by agencies
Many state-owned vehicles are aging past the standards for replacement. Early budget drafts signal that lawmakers are considering funding some $237.6 million in requests for new ones. Full Story
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![Sec. of State Jane Nelson stands beside a 25-year-old Ford Ranger with over 30,000 miles on it, the agency’s only vehicle since 1998, on Feb. 8, 2023. "She's a grand old dame, but it's time for her to retire," Nelson said.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
Texas legislative leaders — Dan Patrick, Dade Phelan — jab each other’s priorities in dueling speeches
During dueling speeches to a conservative think tank in Austin, state House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who have a history of animus, split over property tax relief, criminal justice reform and school choice. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan, left, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.]()
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Texas lawmakers move to close foster care hiring loopholes and expand rights of parents facing investigations
Bills that would give relative caregivers more money have missed key deadlines to make it in front of the full House. Full Story
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![A sign for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services building in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
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Republican Texas lawmakers rally around bill restricting the college sports teams transgender athletes can join
Seventy-seven Texas House Republicans signed on as co-authors to state Rep. Valoree Swanson’s bill extending restrictions on transgender athletes to college sports. Gov. Greg Abbott has expressed support for the legislation, which is also a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Full Story
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![Track athletes at a school track meet.]()
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Mayor Sylvester Turner expects the state will soon take over Houston ISD
The Texas Education Agency has been in a legal battle to take over the state’s largest school district since 2019. Full Story
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![Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner speaks at a panel moderated by Anna Palmer, CEO and co-founder of Punchbowl News, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 24, 2022.]()
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Business and legislative leaders push to replace expired tax break with a new one
Business groups warned lawmakers that Texas could lose business to other states without something to replace the so-called Chapter 313 tax break, which gave some companies big breaks on school taxes. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
What you need to know about Texas’ complex — but important — electricity market reform plan
The idea, which still lacks some important details and could be changed by state lawmakers, would change how electricity is paid for in tight times. We explain it for everyday Texans. Full Story
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![El Paso Electric's natural gas-powered Newman Generating Station in El Paso on Feb. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
“We’ve come to say goodbye”: Visitors flock to Fairfield Lake State Park on its last day
For decades the park has sat on leased land that the owner recently decided to sell. As the staff closed the gates Monday night for the last time, visitors and staff held out hope that the state could find a way to save the park. Full Story
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![Gavin Navarro, 7, pushes his brother Jonah, 8, on swings at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers take first step to restoring felony penalty for illegal voting
Republican lawmakers — backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — are working to reverse a change to state law they approved two years ago as part of a sweeping overhaul to Texas election law that included downgrading illegal voting to a misdemeanor. Full Story
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![Voters cast their ballots at the Lochwood Branch Library in Dallas on Feb. 25, 2022, the last day of early voting in the Texas primary. Dallas County voting centers’ hours were extended till 10 P.M. on the last day of early voting to make up for early closures due to icy weather.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Gus Mutscher, Texas House speaker who resigned amid the Sharpstown stock fraud scandal, dies at 90
Mutscher served as speaker from 1969 to 1972 before leaving amid the pay-for-play scandal, though he was later cleared on appeal. Full Story
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![Former Texas House Speaker Gus Mutscher.]()
Credit: Blinn College -
DPS sent at least 3,000 driver’s licenses to organized crime group targeting Asian Texans
A Chinese crime operation bypassed the password clues of Texas.gov by using stolen identity information to fraudulently obtain replacement driver’s licenses. Full Story
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![Steve McCraw, Department of Public Safety Director, speaks at a press conference with Gov. Greg Abbott and nine other governors regarding the southern border at Anzalduas Park in Mission on Oct. 6, 2021.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune