Texas Legislature 2023

Budget proposals would boost state spending for the current budget cycle for projects ranging from mental health hospitals to state pay raises. This would leave $27 billion in surplus for the next two years. Full Story 

The Texas Legislature has nine lawmakers who are openly LGBTQ, all Democrats. At the same time, some Republican lawmakers are pushing a slate of bills aimed at drag queens, transgender children and how sexuality is discussed in schools. Full Story 

The Legislature banned puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans kids, restricted the college sports teams trans athletes can join and expanded the definition of sexual conduct to include some drag shows. But a “Don’t Say Gay” provision for schools missed key deadlines. Full Story 

After a ProPublica-Texas Tribune investigation found courts failed to report juvenile mental health hospitalizations to the federal firearm background check system, lawmakers from both parties are backing bills to ensure compliance with the law. Full Story 

A lawmaker is accused of hypocrisy after it emerges that he once wore a dress. He says it wasn’t sexual. Full Story 

The bill, introduced months after the Uvalde school shooting, also allocates more funds to the state’s school safety allotment, which is money given to districts to improve campus security. Full Story 

State Sen. Joan Huffman filed a bill that would repeal a provision that allowed longtime lawmakers to increase their yearly take-home income by $140,000 by collecting pension payments without retiring. Full Story 

Many state-owned vehicles are aging past the standards for replacement. Early budget drafts signal that lawmakers are considering funding some $237.6 million in requests for new ones. Full Story 

During dueling speeches to a conservative think tank in Austin, state House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who have a history of animus, split over property tax relief, criminal justice reform and school choice. Full Story 

The measure, endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott, originally would have banned citizens of China, Iran, Russia or North Korea from buying land in Texas. Under a new version considered Thursday, the ban wouldn’t apply to dual citizens or lawful permanent residents. Full Story 

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan’s proposal reveals the different roads the Texas House and Senate want to take on property taxes — and the fight that might emerge between the two chambers this session. Full Story 

Bills that would give relative caregivers more money have missed key deadlines to make it in front of the full House. Full Story 

Seventy-seven Texas House Republicans signed on as co-authors to state Rep. Valoree Swanson’s bill extending restrictions on transgender athletes to college sports. Gov. Greg Abbott has expressed support for the legislation, which is also a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Full Story 

DeSantis and Abbott often appear to be locked in an unspoken ideological arms race as they take turns leading and then following one another, enacting policies and backing bills that push both states further to the right. Full Story 

Republican lawmakers — backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — are working to reverse a change to state law they approved two years ago as part of a sweeping overhaul to Texas election law that included downgrading illegal voting to a misdemeanor. Full Story 

A Chinese crime operation bypassed the password clues of Texas.gov by using stolen identity information to fraudulently obtain replacement driver’s licenses. Full Story 

The proposals were filed in response to Harris County’s problems at the polls in recent elections. Full Story 

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, has proposed an amendment to the state constitution to raise legislator pay and tie it to teachers’ pay, saying it would give lawmakers a living wage and allow a broader range of Texans to serve. Full Story 

The leader of the state House also threw his support behind bills to crack down on how companies handle private data and to protect children from “addictive algorithms” by digital companies. Full Story 

Lawmakers lowered the penalty to a misdemeanor in 2021, but then almost immediately began discussing raising it back. Full Story