Bill requiring Ten Commandments in Texas classrooms fails in House after missing crucial deadline
Senate Bill 1515 was one of several legislative attempts by conservative Christians to center public life around their religious views. Full Story
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![The Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol grounds in Austin on July 16, 2012.]()
Credit: Ariel Min/The Texas Tribune -
Listen: Through art, keepsakes and advocacy, families are making sure 21 Uvalde victims are not forgotten
Wednesday marks exactly a year since a mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde. The community continues to grapple with the trauma and pain, and for those who lost someone that day, they’re determined to keep the memories of their loved ones alive. Full Story
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![Javier Cazares assembles his notes for his testimony as a poster of his daughter, Jackie, and other victims of the Robb Elementary school shooting stand against the wall beside him. Cazares and other family members wait for the Community Safety Committee to reconvene about bills relating to gun reform, at the state Capitol in Austin on April 18, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Uvalde school shooting: What we know one year later
Twenty-one people died at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022. The mass shooting and delayed police response spurred calls for stricter gun laws. Full Story
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![Hundreds of flowers, toys, and candles surround the crosses in memorial of the 21 victims of the school shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, on June 9, 2022.]()
Credit: Evan L’Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Senate priorities on bail, Ten Commandments in schools stall out in Texas House as key deadline passes
The two chambers have been at odds over property tax relief and school choice, but on Tuesday night, those divisions spilled over into priorities the bodies had previously agreed upon. Full Story
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![Members of the House vote on the House floor during session at the state Capitol on April 11, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers OK bill that aims to keep sexually explicit material out of school libraries
Approved by both chambers, the bill is now on its way to the governor. Unless he vetoes it, the bill will become law, which means book vendors will have to assign ratings to books based on depictions or references to sex. Full Story
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![Vandegrift High School's library in Austin on March 2, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate passes revamped school funding bill in last-minute bid to implement voucher program
Texas senators have latched education savings accounts to a school funding bill in a last-ditch effort to avoid a special session. But some House members are furious at the revamped version and have vowed not to let it become law. Full Story
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![Bonham Elementary School in San Antonio is an in-district charter with a lottery system. Third graders jump rope on the playground on May 9, 2018.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate again advances proposed restrictions on lessons about gender identity and sexual orientation
For the third time, the Senate is pushing a proposal critics say will ignore the existence of LGBTQ people in every grade level. Two other bills that contained similar language missed key legislative deadlines. Full Story
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![Students sit in art class at Lufkin High School in Lufkin, Texas, U.S., on Friday, January 27, 2023. Public school officials in rural areas like Lufkin face budget challenges because of proposed school choice legislation, which provides taxpayer-funded alternatives to sending a child to a local public school.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare for The Texas Tribune -
Texas set to exit multistate program that cleans voter rolls
The multistate program, ERIC, is considered by election administration experts across the country to be the best tool for preventing double voting across state lines. It has been the target of conspiracy theories. Full Story
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![Election workers move ballots and equipment gathered at one of the nine rally sites to the Tarrant County Election Administration building in Fort Worth on November 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House votes to repeal sales tax on menstrual products and diapers
The bill, which Democrats have been pushing for years, has become a top priority after the overturn of Roe v. Wade. The Senate has already passed the bill, which would provide tax relief on the purchase of menstrual products, diapers and other child care necessities. Full Story
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![A diaper drive at the Texas Rally for Life event at the Capitol in Austin, Texas on January 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for the Texas Tribune -
House panel investigating AG Ken Paxton’s office; Paxton calls on Speaker Dade Phelan to resign
The dramatic turn of events began with Paxton accusing Phelan of presiding over the House while drunk. Phelan’s office called it a ploy and “a last ditch effort to save face.” Full Story
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![Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, left, presides over the house on May 13, 2021, and state Attorney General Ken Paxton, right, gives a speech in the Senate chamber during his swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 10, 2023.]()
Credit: The Texas Tribune -
Mandatory 10-year sentences for some crimes involving guns revived by Texas Senate
The idea appeared to die in the Texas House over the weekend, but senators kept it alive by grafting the proposal on to another piece of legislation. Full Story
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![Gold-plated hand guns for sale at a gun show in San Marcos, TX, on Sunday, Jan 29, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
A ban on Texas public universities’ diversity offices inches closer to becoming law
Republicans are at odds on whether to advance, contest or even toss out the House’s amended version of the bill banning diversity, equity and inclusion offices. Full Story
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![Students on the University of Texas at Austin campus on Nov. 29, 2021.]()
Credit: Jack Myer for The Texas Tribune -
Lawmakers try again to bar hypnosis-induced evidence from Texas criminal trials
Despite its tendency to distort memories, hypnosis has been used on witnesses in numerous investigations, including death penalty cases. Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a similar bill in 2021. Full Story
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![The Lady Justice statue at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse in El Paso on Oct. 11, 2022.]()
Credit: Jorge Salgado for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans want to shield oil and gas from federal climate regulations. Their bill would have little impact, experts say.
The bill would direct Texas agencies to not enforce federal regulations on the oil industry if there’s not a similar state regulation. But it likely wouldn’t apply to most federal environmental rules, experts and lawmakers said. Full Story
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![A house in the Hillcrest neighborhood in Corpus on Feb. 7, 2022. Houses in this neighborhood have co-existed with oil refineries like Flint Hills that spew air pollutants for decades.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
After Taylor Swift Eras Tour glitch, Texas bans bots that buy concert tickets
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn hopes to take the issue on in Congress. Full Story
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![Taylor Swift accepts the "iHeartRadio Innovator" award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles, California on March 27, 2023.]()
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Future of university tenure in Texas likely will be decided in last-minute negotiations
The Texas Senate wants to ban tenure. The House gave initial approval Monday to a bill that would instead enshrine tenure policies in state law. After final passage, the two chambers have a week left to come to a compromise. Full Story
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![Signage outside the student union at the University of North Texas campus in Denton on May 08, 2020.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
House approves bill capping what Texas consumers would pay for new tool to boost power plants
Senate Bill 7 would limit how much electricity customers could end up paying if the state opts to use performance credits, which would give the money to power generators in hopes they’ll add more power to the state grid. Full Story
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![A power plant in San Antonio on Aug. 4, 2021.]()
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Texas Democrat unveils bipartisan immigration plan with path to citizenship, border security spending
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar’s legislation, dubbed the Dignity Act in partnership with a Florida Republican, also seeks to change asylum processes. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, introduces the "Dignity Act" outside the Capitol during a news conference on immigration policy, on May 23, 2023, in Washington, D.C.]()
Credit: Julia Nikhinson for The Texas Tribune -
Republican blitz on LGBTQ issues exposes fractures among Texas Democrats
The defections have sparked feelings of betrayal and promises of retribution, particularly as Republicans in the Legislature have presented a unified front. Full Story
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![People cheer and wave rainbow flags while gathered on the stairs across from the House floor to protest against SB 14, which seeks to ban puberty blockers and hormone therapies for transgender youth, before it is heard for debate in the House at the state Capitol in Austin on May 12, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
UT-Austin tried to hire a game theorist for its new free-enterprise think tank. He turned down the job because of fights over tenure.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants to eliminate tenure, but his attempts have impacted the institute he helped create. Full Story
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![The University of Texas at Austin campus.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune