Final approval given to bill that would let prosecutors pursue murder charges in some fentanyl deaths
House Bill 6 has widespread bipartisan support and now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has named the issue a priority. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/04acb83a026498707c065115197bfff8/Montgomery%20PD%20Fentanyl%20REUTERS.jpg)
William Melhado
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/profiles/William_Melhado_2x3.jpg)
William Melhado was an Austin-based general assignment reporter until 2024. He originally joined the Tribune in 2022 as a Poynter-Koch fellow. Before his time at the Tribune, William worked as a staff writer at the Santa Fe Reporter, an alt-weekly newspaper in New Mexico, and he also worked as an educator for five years at a public high school in the Bronx, New York and at international schools in Tanzania and Nepal. A native of Boulder, Colorado, William graduated from Middlebury College with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and earned a master’s in secondary science education at CUNY Lehman College.
Past Contributions
-
![Seized fentanyl pills during a press conference at the Montgomery Police Department's Criminal Investigations office in Montgomery, Alabama, on Aug. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Jake Crandall/Montgomery Advertiser via REUTERS -
After Title 42’s end, Texas DPS pauses Austin patrols so officers can head to the border
Despite no major influx in border crossings, state troopers will be relocated to border cities. Austin and the Texas Department of Public Safety faced criticism for the racial disparities in state trooper arrests in the capital. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2f90ad38b16138e4de081247bb784457/0511%20Title%2042%20End%20IPA%20TT%2013.JPG)
![Members of the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Pubic Safety at the entrance to where hundreds of migrants wait to be processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents inside a makeshift migrant camp about three hours after Title 42 ended at 9:59 p.m. local time, Friday, May 12, 2023, in El Paso.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Pivotal House vote moves Texas closer to banning puberty blockers, hormone treatments for trans kids
The House approved a bill Monday that would ban doctors from providing transition-related care to children. It now heads back to the Senate, which can accept the changes or ask for a committee to iron out the chambers’ differences. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/abd6c3b6e52f7bb937ff6dba1f2e6cda/0512%20SB%2014%20Morning%20Presser%20EL%2003.jpg)
![Ricardo Martinez, CEO of Equality Texas, gives instructions regarding a press conference to people who have 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 -
Bill striking unconstitutional state law that criminalized homosexuality fails to meet critical deadline in the Texas House
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Texas’ law banning sodomy in 2003. It took almost 20 years for Democrats to get a bill to repeal the defunct ban on the House calendar. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/26cb19289d80ad7779002f38f6388ead/0406%20Budget%20Night%20EG%20TT%2008.jpg)
![State Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, speaks with fellow lawmakers on the House floor on April 6, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Terrified and angry, LGBTQ Texans and allies rally at Capitol to protest bills targeting queer community
With six weeks remaining in the legislative session, advocates implored Texans to join the “resistance” against fast-moving efforts to curb health care, drag queens, education, trans athletes and more. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/25e245fb34320e7fc04e4598a715b14a/0415%20Queer%20March%20Cap%20MM%20TT%2005.jpg)
![Hundreds joined the Queer March on the Capitol in Austin on April 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House panel advances bills banning puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender kids
Under the legislation, minors currently receiving certain gender-affirming care would have to taper off their treatments. A majority of Texas lawmakers in each chamber has supported previous versions of the legislation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/35777cbb877e1a9bd91c0f22ba6284de/0331%20SATX%20Trans%20Rally%20BY%20TT%2022.jpg)
![Demonstrators march for Trans Day of Visibility in San Antonio on March 31, 2023.]()
Credit: Blaine Young for The Texas Tribune -
The eyes of LGBTQ Texans are upon Dade Phelan and the House
Spurred by a groundswell of far-right support, the Texas Senate has passed all of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priority LGBTQ bills — and then some. What the House does next will impact queer Texans’ lives and could determine Speaker Phelan’s future. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9838375d95a4e4c35615ddf40184d6b0/0327%20Trans%20Rights%20Rally%20EL%20TT%2001.jpg)
![People line the railing on all three levels of the outdoor rotunda of the state Capitol in Austin, and wave signs during the "Fight for our Lives" rally in opposition of anti-LGBTQ bills on March 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Llano County library supporters declare victory as officials decide not to close all branches
Llano County commissioners had considered closing the three libraries in response to a ruling from a federal judge who ordered banned books returned to the shelves. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/62b9cde68beb1d364e3b35cfad14baf4/0413%20Llano%20Library%20Vote%20SF%20TT%2015.jpg)
![Amanda Starkes and her mother Brenda embrace Suzette Baker after the announcement that the Llano Public library will remain open outside the Llano County Sheriffs office on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Baker and Starke were both terminated from the library branch in Kingsland. The county ruled that the library will remain open after a vote on whether or not to close it due to disagreements over book banning. (Sergio Flores for the Texas Tribune)]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Immigrant rights advocates waited over 9 hours to testify against a proposed Border Protection Unit to “deter and repel” migrants
House Bill 20 introduced by Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, would create a unit whose officers can “arrest, apprehend, or detain persons crossing the Texas-Mexico border unlawfully,” and deter those attempting to cross the border. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/12dd61156b27c645602d93e18227005e/Border%20Migrants%20REUTERS.jpg)
![Migrants help carry a raft towards the Rio Grande river before being smuggled into Roma, Texas from Ciudad Miguel Aleman, Mexico, on Aug. 26, 2022.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Adrees Latif -
Gov. Greg Abbott backs call for pardon for Daniel Perry, who killed Austin protester in 2020
The governor says he asked the Board of Pardons and Paroles to expedite review, recommend clemency one day after Perry was convicted of murder. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/127b23a809f78c6980a2ceac0096a271/Daniel%20Perry%20REUTERS%20TT%2002.jpg)
![Daniel Perry is escorted to the 147th District Courtroom at the Travis County Blackwell Thurman Criminal Justice Complex in Austin on March 23, 2023.]()
Credit: Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman via REUTERS