New Texas law criminalizes drone use near animal farms
House Bill 1643 makes it a crime to operate a drone over “concentrated animal feeding operations,” as well as telecommunication facilities and certain oil and gas facilities. Full Story
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Andy Duehren
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Andy Duehren was a 2017 newsletters fellow at The Texas Tribune. Previously, he covered the Connecticut state house for the Hartford Courant and wrote a vaguely amusing travel guide for Let’s Go student travel guides. A Massachusetts native, he graduated from Harvard, where he studied history and literature and was the managing editor of The Crimson.
Past Contributions
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![Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi engineering student Adam Ersepke and lab coordinator Jack Edward Esparza prepare for the take off of the University’s RS-16 unmanned aerial vehicle, otherwise known as a drone, for a test flight over the Kennedy Ranch near Sarita, Texas on January 18, 2013.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal -
New law means extra costs for large craft brewers — unless they're owned by brewing giants
House Bill 3287 requires craft brewers that produce more than 225,000 barrels a year to pay a distributor to deliver their beer — even if the destination is inside their own facility. Full Story
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![Kegs packaged for distribution sit near the taproom at Oskar Blues Brewery in Austin, Texas, on June 2, 2017.]()
Credit: Erika Rich for The Texas Tribune -
With bathroom bill dead, Pastor Council looks to future fights
Founded in 2003 as a group of Houston-area pastors, the Texas Pastor Council has grown into a burgeoning statewide apparatus with eyes on someday becoming a nationwide force. Full Story
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![Dave Welch speaks during a press conference in favor of a bathroom bill at the Texas Capitol near the end of the special session on August 14, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
House approves tree removal bill, breaking from Abbott and Senate
The Texas House has given early approval to a bill that would allow property owners to plant new trees to offset municipal fees for tree removal on their land. Full Story
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![Trees lining Westlake Drive in Austin.]()
Credit: Muliadi Soenaryo -
As lawmakers try to curb local Texas governments, big-city mayors left out of meetings with Abbott
The governor held the first of three scheduled meetings with Texas mayors on Wednesday — but there's no word yet on whether he'll meet with mayors from the state's five largest cities. Full Story
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![Gov. Abbott announces he's running for governor in San Antonio on July 14, 2017.]()
Credit: Robin Jerstad for The Texas Tribune -
Senate gives early OK to bill regulating do-not-resuscitate orders
The Senate gave early approval to a measure Tuesday night that would require physicians to take certain steps before issuing do-not-resuscitate orders to patients. Full Story
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![Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, listens to witness testimony on several bills in Senate Health and Human Services Committee on April 5, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate committee OKs bill to outlaw city cellphone restrictions
Senate Bill 15 would pre-empt local ordinances on mobile phone usage, effectively rolling back provisions in more than 40 Texas cities that currently post hands-free ordinances stricter than the statewide texting ban. Full Story
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![State Sens. Brandon Creighton, R-The Woodlands, and Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, at a Business & Commerce committee hearing on Saturday.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Lawmakers to target Austin's worker protections on construction projects
With the beginning of the special legislative session, opponents of construction permitting rules in Austin that require more worker protections in exchange for a faster process have the chance to overturn local regulations like Austin's. Full Story
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![Construction in downtown Austin's Warehouse District on Tuesday, May 2, 2017.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Critics say Abbott catering to donors with special session priorities
As state lawmakers and city officials gear up to battle over land-use legislation, a liberal watchdog group says $34 million in campaign donations from real estate and construction industries "paved the way" for this month's special session agenda. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott lays out items for a special session at a press conference on June 6, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
The Q&A: Aaron Wolf
In this week's Q&A, we interview Aaron Wolf, a professor of geography in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. Full Story
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![Aaron Wolf is a professor of geography in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University.]()