Bill to give companies low-interest loans to build more gas-fired power plants is approved by House committee
The bill marks the Legislature’s turn toward supporting natural gas-fueled electricity after the deadly winter storm in 2021. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1331a62a78b9e3c6f0a5daf3d1a7ac86/Winter%20Storm%20Substation%20ATX%20JJ%20TT%2005.jpg)
-
![A power substation in East Austin during an ice storm on Feb. 3, 2022.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
School voucher bill hangs by a thread as key deadline approaches
The House public education committee chair said Wednesday he currently has no plans to bring the bill for a vote. Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to call a special session if the House doesn’t “expand the scope of school choice.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/726d15e9781ef5076536baf5fa964787/House%20Budget%20Day%20JV%2025.jpg)
![State Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Killeen, speaks on the House floor in Austin on April 06, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Appeals court appears likely to restrict access to key abortion pill
A panel of judges aggressively questioned lawyers for the Justice Department and for the manufacturer of mifepristone about FDA regulations that made the drug more accessible over time. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/344c4d0f0c540a91497a1cf3200fc246/0415%20Abortion%20Pill%20Protest%20SH%20TT%2008.jpg)
![Women’s March leads a protest against federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling imposing a national ban on mifepristone, at the Supreme Court of the United States on Saturday, April 15, 2023.]()
Credit: Shuran Huang for The Texas Tribune -
After a setback, a GOP effort to get Texas out of a multistate coalition to clean voter rolls could move forward
The legislation — backed by some of the state’s prominent believers in voter fraud — was unexpectedly killed by its House sponsor Tuesday. On Wednesday, he asked for it to be reconsidered. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9c7ed96ae87e83bf6e6650d1f7829747/Tarrant%20County%20Election%20Day%20ST%20TT%2015.jpg)
![Voters wait in line to cast their ballots on Election Day at the Northwest Branch Library in Fort Worth on November 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas just closed a critical gun background check loophole
State lawmakers passed a bill requiring courts to report involuntary mental health hospitalizations of juveniles for inclusion in the federal gun background check system. The law closes a gap revealed by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune in 2022. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3ba1122929607aa49da8a948955d81b9/Sunset%20TCEQ%20MM%20TT%2026.jpg)
![A view of the Texas Capitol from the the Capitol extension building on June 22, 2022.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House approves bill to improve background checks on child-welfare workers
The action came after The Refuge, a Bastrop foster care facility, hired a caretaker without knowing her history of misconduct. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/0622c5cc542086581f19205e4213aeb1/Bastrop%20Refuge%20JV%20TT%2019.jpg)
![The Refuge in Bastrop on Apr. 12, 2022]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House moves to crack down on polluters with stricter penalties and heavier oversight
The bill would require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to focus enforcement and increase penalties on repeat violators and increase public outreach. Still, environmental advocates say the effort was too “modest” in its reach. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/831ddc46fe3f87ba44f611929b7b627a/Hillcrest%20Reginery%20CC%20ES%20TT%2006.jpg)
![Residential properties near refineries in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Corpus Christi on January 24, 2017.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal for The Texas Tribune -
Greg Abbott asked other governors for help patrolling the Texas-Mexico border. Ron DeSantis answered the call.
Although border encounters have fallen since Title 42 ended Thursday, Texas’ top Republican asks for “all available law enforcement personnel and resources.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8687fe89e3d1581896ff131819b83331/0511%20Title%2042%20End%20IPA%20TT%2007.jpg)
![A migrant family from Peru ask Texas National Guard Troops to be let inside a makeshift migrant camp to be processed about two hours after Title-42 ended at 9:59 p.m. local time, Friday, May 12, 2023, in El Paso, Texas. The family was denied entry.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Rural Texas landowners who lost water access due to San Antonio pipeline could soon get relief
Groundwater levels rapidly declined in rural Lee County after San Antonio began pumping the water and moving it 100 miles southwest. A Senate bill would help affected well owners. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9933d0e01db58951285e2c0c2658726d/Lee%20County%20Wells%20SP%20TT%2032.jpg)
![The Vista Ridge site in Burleson County on July 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
House advances bill that could provide billions of dollars for new water projects and fixing aging infrastructure
The bill aims to create a water supply four times the size of Lake Livingston, one of the state’s largest reservoirs. But it may still be a “drop in the bucket” compared to the state’s needs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/12/14/Undrinkable_MG_3531.jpg)
![Water pours into a holding pond inside Rio Grande City’s new $12 million water treatment plant. Along the Texas-Mexico border, nearly 90,000 people are believed to still live without running water. An untold number more — likely tens of thousands, but no one is sure — often have running water of such poor quality that they cannot know what poisons or diseases it might carry.]()
Credit: Spencer Selvidge for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House approves bills to spend up to $1 billion to buy more state parkland
The Texas House paved the way for a billion-dollar investment in state parks, which one advocate said would create “a new golden age” for the park system. Texas now ranks 35th nationally in state park acreage per capita. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7352807bd06fe24360b67d83532080ca/0227%20Fairfield%20Lake%20SP%20EG%2045.jpg)
![A park visitor casts a fishing line at Fairfield Lake State Park on Feb. 27, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Democrat Michelle Vallejo seeks rematch against U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz in 2024
Despite a 9-point defeat in 2022, Vallejo hopes to attract national support to her race for the South Texas district. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/815d558888cdbd9f6608bdf7611ce046/TX15%20Meet%20and%20Greet%20JG%20TT%2014.jpg)
![Michelle Vallejo, Democratic nominee for Congressional District 15, speaks at the HERStory meet and greet in McAllen, on Aug. 19th, 2022.]()
Credit: Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune -
House waters down some of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priorities, adding to late-session uncertainty
Although the lower chamber backed the Senate’s action on gender-affirming care, it has been less accepting of school choice and attempts to rein in higher education. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6646ae969f1450374ff40e3cf8f9939f/House%20Budget%20Day%20JV%20TT%2032.jpg)
![Lt. Governor Dan Patrick presides over the Senate at the Capitol in Austin on April 06, 2023.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Churches’ role in Abilene election prompts calls for investigations
West Texas voters rejected three conservative Christian candidates who sought to infuse religious values into local politics. The campaign support the candidates received from local churches has prompted calls for state and federal probes. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/266b79ab669370d3aaf515eaf428ea5b/20230516%20abilene%20election.jpg)
![Campign signs outside of the 11th & Willis St. Church of Christ in Abiele, Texas, on May 6.]()
Credit: Johnathan Johnson for ProPublica -
State budget leaders adopt some spending plans for 2024-25 but still no compromise on property taxes, power plants
With two weeks to go before the legislative session adjourns, chief budget writers still have not announced compromises on some of the largest fights facing the Texas Legislature. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/33aa929fcaab77806359e7ee9bc3178f/0209%20Capitol%20File%20EL%2004.jpg)
![The state Capitol in Austin on Feb. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Why tax policy experts fear the Texas House plan to lower property taxes could have dire ripple effects
Both the House and the Senate’s proposals on property tax cuts would give modest savings to the typical Texas homeowner, but critics say the House plan could create vast inequities and disproportionately benefit wealthy homeowners. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2ac70d85c2395ee9b7df4fa98bf02dac/1214%20Community%20Land%20Trust%20OH%20TT%2014.jpg)
![A home in a Houston neighborhood on Dec. 14, 2022.]()
Credit: Callaghan O'Hare 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 -
Border migrant encounters have dropped by half since Title 42 ended, federal official says
Federal officials had about 10,000 encounters with migrants per day at the U.S.-Mexico border before the emergency health order ended late Thursday. Since Friday they have had about 5,000 encounters per day. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5f774371657f836e3ce4e11cef01fe32/0511%20Title%2042%20End%20IPA%20TT%2012.jpg)
![A migrant family from Peru walks towards the nearest port of entry after they crossed the Rio Grande back into Mexico after the family asked Texas National Guard Troops to be let inside a makeshift migrant camp to be processed about two hours after Title-42 ended at 9:59 p.m. local time, Friday, May 12, 2023, in Cd. Juarez, Mexico. The family was denied entry. Photo by Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Houston-area chemical fire highlights gaps in Texas environmental enforcement
A fire broke out at a Deer Park Shell plant the day after a public hearing on renewing the permit for ITC, a nearby facility that caught fire in 2019, sparking a Texas Tribune/Public Health Watch investigation that documented failures in state and federal oversight. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/33b3bb89637415ab79cb971a30ae0b00/0505%20Shell%20Fire%20Deer%20Park%20MF%2003.JPG)
![Deer Park, Texas: An overhead view of an explosion at a Shell USA Inc. facility on May 5, 2023 in Deer Park, Texas. Mark Felix/The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Texas schools say it’s time to stop tying mental health funding to school safety money
Federal pandemic aid helped build public school mental health services in Texas. School officials now brace for the expiration of those funds next year. They’re urging lawmakers to create a dedicated funding stream for mental health assistance in schools. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a367e9cd06b6b722a2b63e1b1fd3c316/11%20Buffalo%20ISD%20MS%20TT.jpg)
![High school students between classes in the hallway at the high school in Buffalo on March 28, 2019.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune