The latest 85th Legislative Session news from The Texas Tribune.
Before a joint session of the Texas House and Senate, Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to lay out his agenda for the session and designate some issues as emergency items. Watch our livestream beginning at 11 a.m. CST. Full Story
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Seventeen-year-olds can't vote, join the military or buy cigarettes or alcohol, but they're treated as adults in criminal cases in Texas. About 200 people rallied at the Capitol on Monday to change that. Full Story
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On Monday, the Senate Finance Committee scrutinized Department of Family and Protective Services budget requests while the House Workgroup on Child Protective Services floated a proposal to make the department a standalone agency. Full Story
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Sen. Larry Taylor on Monday filed Senate Bill 3, which pushes education savings accounts and tax credit scholarships to subsidize private school tuition and other education expenses. Full Story
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The debate over education savings accounts and other voucher programs is only peripherally about educating kids. It's really a debate about money. Full Story
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's second State of the State speech is set for Tuesday — a chance for the governor to make his priorities known to a Legislature that has already made plans of its own. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers are likely to take a close look this legislative session at how law enforcement and civilians interact with each other. Full Story
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U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks ruled Texas cannot require health providers to bury or cremate fetuses, delivering another blow to state leaders in the reproductive rights debate. Full Story
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The prominent LGBT civil rights organization is opening three offices in Texas for the legislative session to fight Texas' "bathroom bill" and other anti-LGBT legislation. Full Story
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In the Texas Political Roundup: Lawmakers push for school choice legislation, President Trump unveils plans to build a wall on the southern border and Gov. Greg Abbott proposes removing any officeholder who promotes "sanctuary cities." Full Story
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Full video of Evan Smith's 1/26 conversation about mental health policy in Texas with state Reps. Four Price, R-Amarillo, and Joe Moody, D-El Paso. Full Story
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As Republican lawmakers met for a "homeland security summit," Muslim leaders said state Rep. Kyle Biedermann discriminated against them in sending a letter to poll their beliefs. Full Story
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At a Texas Senate committee hearing Thursday, new UT System regent appointees got a friendly reception. But there was criticism of those running the system. Full Story
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Twenty-two new faces have taken their places in the Texas Legislature this year — 21 of them in the House and one in the Senate. All but seven of them are Republicans. Full Story
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In a day-long hearing, university presidents and chancellors said their schools might have to lay off faculty and cut classes if hundreds of millions of dollars worth of "special items" aren't put back in the budget. Full Story
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Sen. Van Taylor, R-Plano, unveiled his ethics reform plan on Wednesday. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Republican Senate leader, was on hand for the unveiling and announced that there were enough votes to pass the proposal out of the 31-member chamber. Full Story
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House Speaker Joe Straus has asked a state agency to release its ideas for improving government efficiency. The request came on the heels of news that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had directed the board to do the exact opposite. Full Story
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The Texas Senate's proposed budget, with one exception, is a carefully assembled conservative start to a 20-week legislative spending negotiation. But they finished off their work with a chainsaw. Full Story
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One day after Gov. Greg Abbott appointed three new University of Texas System regents, the Senate has scheduled a confirmation hearing. One of the regents being replaced, Wallace Hall, is asking the Senate and Abbott to slow the process down. Full Story
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Four Austin Democrats pitched ideas for representing House District 46, even though state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, abruptly decided not to step down from her seat. Full Story
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