Bills advance to close loophole allowing some lawmakers to increase their pay to $140,000
Two bills that advanced in House and Senate committees on Wednesday both exempt any lawmaker who has already taken advantage of the benefit. Full Story
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![State Representatives and their families sit on the House floor on the opening day of the 88th Legislative Session at the state Capitol in Austin on Jan. 10, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate scales back proposed restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender kids
Senate Bill 14 would now allow trans children who are already receiving some transition-related treatments to continue getting that care. The Senate gave initial approval to the reworked legislation Wednesday. Full Story
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![People chant during the Trans Kids Call for HELP! rally in front of the Governor's Mansion in Austin on March 13, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill advancing in the Senate would block minors from updating gender on birth certificates
Opponents of the bill call it a “power play aimed at making the lives of transgender children as difficult as possible.” Full Story
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![A protester waves a transgender pride flag during a protest at the University of North Texas in Denton on March 23, 2022.]()
Credit: Emil Lippe for The Texas Tribune -
Bill eliminating tampon, diaper sales taxes OK’d by Texas House
The proposal would remove sales tax on diapers, baby wipes and bottles; feminine hygiene products including tampons, sanitary pads and menstrual cups; maternity clothing; and products for pumping breast milk. Full Story
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![Sanitary products are seen on shelves at a supermarket. A tax on sanitary products has been abolished in Britain, in a change hailed by the government as a result of Brexit.]()
Credit: Jane Barlow/PA Wire/dpa -
Two Texas Democrats will vote for GOP bill to reverse their own party’s signature climate improvement initiatives
Gonzalez and Cuellar both represent oil and gas workers in South Texas and expressed misgivings about the Inflation Reduction Act, their party’s climate package last year. Full Story
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![U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, and Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
With billions of dollars on the line, East Texans say a crucial state map incorrectly shows they already have broadband
East Texans worry they could miss out on federal dollars because a state map that will help determine where the money goes shows they already have access to broadband. Residents say their broadband is chronically unreliable. Full Story
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![An aerial view of a utility truck driving down a gravel road March 20, 2023, in Nogalus Prairie, Texas.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Fire at migrant center in Mexico near El Paso kills at least 39
Mexico’s president said the fire started in the Ciudad Juárez center when migrants learned they would be deported and set fire to mattresses in protest. Twenty-nine injured migrants were sent to local hospitals. Full Story
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![Medics give aid to a migrant who survived a fire that broke out at a Mexican immigration detention center in Ciudad Juárez on Monday, March 27, 2023. 37 people died in the fire.]()
Credit: Omar Ornelas-USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
Bill that would give parents state funds to pay for private schools moves to the full Senate for a vote
Education savings accounts, which are similar to vouchers, are a priority of Gov. Greg Abbott this session. Texas senators also advanced a bill that would give raises and other benefits to teachers. Full Story
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![Students eat lunch in the cafeteria at Chapa Middle School in Kyle on Aug. 24, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Homeland security chief calls Ted Cruz’s comments “revolting” in heated border hearing
“You’re willing to let children be raped to follow political orders,” Cruz told Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas at the hearing. “This is a crisis. It’s a disgrace.” Full Story
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![Sen. Ted Cruz speaks to Peter McCormack about bitcoin and freedom at the Texas Blockchain Summit in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 18, 2022.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Transgender Texans and doctors say Republican lawmakers misconstrue what science says about puberty blockers and hormone therapy
In 2021, a bill that would block transgender kids’ access to transition-related care passed the Senate but died in the Texas House. This year, a majority of House members back such a ban. Full Story
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![People held up a transgender flag at an event held by Equality Texas at the Capitol in Austin on Wednesday, April 14, 2021]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Texas may be about to scrap a voting security system it can’t replace
It took years to build the multi-state system known as ERIC, which weeds out duplicate, deceased and suspicious voter registrations. Texas Republicans want to dump it, but there’s no viable alternative. Full Story
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![Volunteers from the Alpha Advocacy Group helped register voters before the upcoming deadline outside the Alpha Seventh day Adventist Church on Sept 27, 2020.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans, once allied with prosecutors, seek to rein them in
Some local district and county attorneys have said they will not pursue abortion-related cases, or prioritize certain drug, property and election crimes. Full Story
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![The Texas Supreme Court on Jan. 15, 2020.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate committee advances bills restricting certain drag shows
Proposed legislation from Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, would criminalize explicit performances where children are present and strip libraries of state funding for hosting any event featuring performers in drag. Critics say the bill is discriminatory and unconstitutional. Full Story
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![Drag artist Brigitte Bandit and other attendees wait to give witness testimony for the Senate’s discussion of SB12 in the Capitol rotunda on Mar. 23, 2023. The bill defines drag shows as sexually oriented performances and would fine businesses who host them in front of children.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane/The Texas Tribune -
State troopers will help Austin with police patrols as the city struggles with an officer shortage
Austin officials view the partnership as a stopgap measure as they try to fill the city’s more than 200 police vacancies. Full Story
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![The Austin Police Department building with the Austin skyline in the background on March 22, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate budget writers propose billions for teacher raises, lower property taxes and water projects
The Senate Finance Committee’s proposals won’t be voted on and sent to the full chamber until April. Full Story
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![The Senate chamber at the Texas Capitol on Aug. 16, 2017, the morning after the end of the special session.]()
Credit: Austin Price/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Observer editors protest layoffs, launch crowdfunding to save the 68-year-old magazine
Journalists at the progressive publication expect to be laid off this week. Relations between the board and senior staff have severely eroded. Full Story
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![The Texas Observer staff.]()
Credit: GoFundMe/Chris Lee -
Dallas civil rights attorney Lee Merritt arrested at protest in McKinney
The protest was in memory of Marvin Scott III, who died in Collin County Jail custody in 2021. Scott’s sister and a local photojournalist were also arrested. Full Story
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![Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt announces his campaign for Attorney General at a press conference held at the Texas Capitol on July 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Thousands of pounds of “forever chemicals” have been injected into Texas oil and gas wells, study finds
A new report from a public health watchdog found that more than 40,000 pounds of PFAS has been injected into more than 1,000 wells across Texas — and warned that the chemicals could pose a risk to public health Full Story
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![Dozens of stacked oil drilling rigs sit in a yard just north of Interstate 20 between Midland and Odessa, Texas.]()
Credit: Jerod Foster for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is running for Houston mayor
Jackson Lee enters a mayoral contest that is already well underway. The early frontrunner is state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and his competitors include Chris Hollins, the former Harris County clerk, and Amanda Edwards, a former City Council member. Full Story
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![Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, speaks at a Washington D.C. rally in support of the Senate passing a federal assault weapons ban on Friday, March 24, 2023.]()
Credit: Julia Nikhinson for The Texas Tribune -
El Paso charter fight tests whether a Texas city will move away from fossil fuels
As global efforts to combat climate change falter, climate activists have turned to local initiatives to rein in carbon emissions. A May vote on a city charter amendment has thrust El Paso into the fray. 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