Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tested positive last week for COVID-19 but didn’t tell Texas right away
Patrick’s office said he tested positive for COVID-19 last week and experienced mild symptoms but has since tested negative. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks at a press conference concerning the recently passed Election & Ballot Security Bill, also known as Senate Bill 7, at the Texas Capitol on April 7, 2021. "Senate Bill 7 is about voter security, not about voter suppression, and I'm tired of the lies and the nest of liars who continue to repeat them," said Patrick.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Death threats and doxxing: The outcomes of mask mandate and critical race theory fights at a Texas school board
The fight over race and how to deal with the pandemic has split the Fort Worth community, showcasing what’s being seen across the state and country. Full Story
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![Roxanne Martinez, District 9 trustee on the Fort Worth Board of Education, was elected to the position in June of this year. Dec. 13, 2021.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
A growing number of Texas Republicans want a fourth special session to pass COVID-19 vaccine mandate ban
It remains unclear whether Gov. Greg Abbott — the only official with the power to convene special sessions — will order state lawmakers back to Austin, or what issues he would include on the agenda. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan speaks with legislators on the opening day of the special session at the Texas Capitol on July 8, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Michelle Beckley, one of the Texas House’s most liberal members, joins Democratic primary for lieutenant governor
The Carrollton Democrat hopes Beto O’Rourke’s run for governor will help down-ballot Democrats next year. Full Story
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![House Elections Committee member state Rep. Michelle Beckley, D-Carrollton, listens to testimony from Rep. James White, R-Hillster, regarding HB 1708 on April 8, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Sara Stapleton Barrera, 2020 primary challenger to state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., announces comeback bid as he retires
Lucio announced Thursday that he is not seeking reelection after three decades in the Senate. Full Story
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![Sara Stapleton Barrera, a Brownsville lawyer who last year challenged state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., in downtown Brownsville on July 4, 2020. Stapleton Barrera said she is again running for the seat after Lucio decided against seeking reelection.]()
Credit: Brenda Bazán for The Texas Tribune -
Greg Abbott leads Beto O’Rourke by 9 percentage points in hypothetical matchup, UT/TT Poll finds
The poll also found that potential candidate Matthew McConaughey is not universally beloved by Texans. About a quarter of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of the movie star who has flirted with running for governor. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol in Austin on Oct. 19, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Democrat Eddie Lucio Jr., known for voting with Republicans on key issues, to retire after three decades in Texas Senate
The Brownsville Democrat, who made the announcement Thursday, has served in the upper chamber since 1991. Full Story
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![State Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, on the Senate floor on April 11, 2019.]()
Credit: Juan Figueroa/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Maps bolster Republicans in the Texas Senate, especially the top one
The new political maps drawn by the Texas Senate don't just favor Republicans; that much was expected from a Republican majority. The maps help Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pick which Republicans he wants in the Senate. Full Story
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![State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speak at a press conference held regarding Democrats breaking quorum and voting legislature at the Texas Capitol on July 21, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas state Sen. Kel Seliger, a Republican willing to buck his party leadership, will not seek reelection
Seliger has served in the Senate since 2005 and led the higher education committee. He was seen as a champion of public education and local control but was derided as too soft on social conservative issues near the end of his tenure. Full Story
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![State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, speaks to his colleague on the Senate Floor on April 12, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says Gov. Greg Abbott should call lawmakers back for a fourth special session
In a tweet, Patrick said he supported Abbott calling lawmakers back to Austin to increase the penalty for illegal voting and approve a “forensic audit bill.” Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks from the podium in the Senate on the first day of the special session on July 8, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Five takeaways from Texas’ third special legislative session
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office says there’s no plan for a fourth special session at this time. If this was the final special session of the year, what did we learn from it? Full Story
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![The north side of the Capitol building on Oct. 6, 2021.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
Texas legislators pass most — but not all — of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priority measures in final flurry of lawmaking
Lawmakers approved new political maps and decided how to spend COVID-19 relief money. But they didn’t pass bills about vaccine mandates or the criminal penalty for illegal voting. Full Story
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![Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan listens to a colleague while presiding over the chamber on Oct. 18, 2021, shortly before the Texas Legislature ended its third special session of the year.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Texas voters will decide whether to lower their property tax payments after Legislature completes last-minute Hail Mary
If voters approve the measure next year, it will raise the state’s homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000 for school district property taxes, netting the average homeowner about $176 in savings. Full Story
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![An Aerial image of a suburban neighborhood in San Marcos on October 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill to block COVID-19 vaccine mandates for employers failed in Legislature after business groups rallied against it
A prohibition on vaccine mandates was one of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priorities for the special session, but it did not have enough support in the Legislature. Full Story
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![Diana Phipps pulls up doses of the Pfizer vaccine into syringes at a clinic organized by the Travis County Mobile Vaccine Collaborative at Rodriguez Elementary School on July 28, 2021.
Source diversity info: White Female]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate approves $3 billion college campus construction bill
Lawmakers haven’t passed a tuition revenue bond bill since 2015. Full Story
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![Students walk through an area known as “The Quad” on the first day of the fall semester at Texas State University in San Marcos on Aug. 24, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick asks Gov. Greg Abbott to add higher ed construction projects to third special session
The Texas Legislature has not approved bonds to fund capital projects on public university campuses since 2015, and many school leaders say they need help to build new buildings and maintain current structures. Full Story
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![Graduates at a Texas A&M University commencement ceremony at Reed Arena in College Station on Dec 17, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Mike Collier wants a rematch against Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. But first he’s got to beat fellow Democrat Matthew Dowd.
Collier says his 2018 close call against Patrick was no fluke. Next year, he’s out to prove that his campaign can make a real challenge to the two-term incumbent. Full Story
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![Texas Tribune editor Evan Smith interviews Mike Collier, then-candidate for State Comptroller of Texas.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: Greg Abbott and the policy contradiction of an anti-mandate mandate
Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest executive order contradicts what he's been saying for months about mandates and the personal choices of Texans and their businesses during the pandemic. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference about the state's response to the coronavirus on Tuesday in Austin on March 24, 2020.]()
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Senate approves map cementing GOP dominance in upper chamber, dividing up Tarrant county’s voters of color
Democrats criticized Republicans for “targeting” a North Texas district that had been trending Democratic and for not drawing any new districts where people of color would represent a majority of eligible voters. Full Story
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![State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, speaks to state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, on his resolution to declare an emergency on the Texas-Mexico border on April 2, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas Tribune -
Matthew Dowd, former George W. Bush strategist, to run as Democrat for Texas lieutenant governor
Dowd said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has focused on “culture war” issues to divide and hurt Texans. Full Story
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![Political analyst Matthew Dowd at a Texas Tribune event in Austin with Tribune CEO Evan Smith on May 10, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune