Texas secessionists feel more emboldened than ever
At a recent conference that featured a sitting state senator, so-called “TEXIT” supporters celebrated their movement’s incremental gains. Full Story
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Credit: Evan L'Roy for The Texas Tribune -
Texas legislators approve bill allowing police to arrest people who cross the border illegally
The Texas House also voted to spend $1.5 billion on new state border walls, though that measure must be reconciled with the Senate version before it’s sent to Gov. Greg Abbott for consideration. Full Story
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![Migrants standing on the other side of barbwire speak to the Texas National Guard and Texas DPS officers along the banks of the Rio Grande, Tuesday, December 20, 2022, in El Paso, Texas. Over 400 personnel have been sent to this border sector by Governor Abbott after El Paso city officials declared a state of emergency. Photo by Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Republicans divided on funding bill that would prevent a government shutdown
Thirteen Texas Republicans opposed the GOP-led legislation, which would keep the government funded as Congress negotiates federal appropriations. The bill passed after nearly all Democrats came to back it. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks to reporters as he arrives for a House Republican caucus meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 12, 2023, in Washington, D.C.]()
Credit: Julia Nikhinson for The Texas Tribune -
U.S. Rep. Pat Fallon drops Texas Senate bid, will run again for Congress
Fallon, who made the decision 24 hours after filing to run for his old Texas Senate seat, did not say why he changed his mind. His staff said the congressperson would provide more information later. Full Story
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![Senator Pat Fallon on the senate floor. Jan. 9, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Burnet County judge allows Ken Paxton whistleblower lawsuit to proceed
Lawyers for employees fired by Paxton’s office after they reported him to the FBI say they plan to begin issuing subpoenas in the case. Full Story
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![State Attorney General Ken Paxton holds a press conference at the Houston Recovery Center on October 26, 2021.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune -
Republican Pat Fallon to give up Congress seat and run for his old Texas Senate post
Fallon served in the Texas Senate for two years before running for Congress. He won’t see reelection in the U.S. House. Full Story
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![State Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper, at his desk on the Senate floor in 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Longtime U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess will not seek reelection
Burgess, a Dallas-area Republican who comes from a family of doctors, was a key critic of Democratic efforts to overhaul the country’s health care system. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, questions witnesses during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on June 23, 2020. Trump administration health officials will tell lawmakers that their agencies are preparing for a flu season that will be complicated by the coronavirus pandemic.]()
Credit: Sarah Silbiger/Pool via REUTERS -
Ken Paxton names administrative law expert with conservative bona fides Texas’ solicitor general
Aaron Nielson will take a one-year leave of absence from BYU’s law school to lead the influential unit within the attorney general’s office. Full Story
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![Aaron Nielson has been appointed Solicitor General by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.]()
Credit: Brigham Young University -
Pope removes Tyler’s Bishop Joseph Strickland after opposition to church reforms
Bishop Strickland, a Pope Benedict XVI appointee, has been a fiercely vocal critic of Pope Francis’ efforts to reform the Catholic Church. Full Story
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![Catholic bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas walks during a procession to protest the Los Angeles Dodgers honoring the pro-LGBTQ+ group Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence during LGBTQ+ Pride Night at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on June 16, 2023.]()
Credit: Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports via REUTERS -
After controversy, Texas school board says transgender student can sing in school musical
After Max Hightower scored a role in the seminal American musical, administrators changed their policy on performers’ gender. After backlash, the school board directed the school to produce the original version “Oklahoma!” — not a youth version that cut Hightower’s solo. Full Story
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![Max Hightower, 17, poses for a portrait in a hotel in Denton on Nov. 9, 2023.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Judge upholds 2022 Harris County election results, throws out most GOP lawsuits
The judge found that Harris County’s elections office made mistakes and violated the state’s Election Code — but that didn’t affect the outcomes of several 2022 races. He also tossed all but one Republican lawsuit challenging the results. Full Story
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![Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth speaks to the media during a press conference about the upcoming Harris County elections, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, in Houston.]()
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Texas House committee moves school safety funding forward
The two new measure could bring $1.3 billion more to schools to pay for security systems, fencing and personnel training. Full Story
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![A police officer monitors Maplewood Elementary School in Austin on Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, a few days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House committee advances school voucher bill, overcoming key hurdle
The committee action means school voucher legislation is poised to get its first House floor vote in recent history. Gov. Greg Abbott said if the Legislature fails to pass it this time, he will continue to call them back into session until they do. Full Story
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![A Nimitz Middle School student raises their hand during class Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Rep. Joaquin Castro warns of GOP’s adversarial rhetoric around Latino immigrants
Castro, the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, has made improving discussion of Latinos and Latino issues in politics a focus of his time in office. Full Story
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![U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, poses for a portrait in his Rayburn House Office Building office, on Oct. 12, 2023, in Washington, D.C.]()
Credit: Julia Nikhinson for The Texas Tribune -
Senate fast-tracks passage of vouchers and border security legislation
The Senate revved to life Thursday, holding committee hearings with little advance notice and advancing four bills that satisfy Abbott’s agenda. Full Story
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![State Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, speaks with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on the Senate floor during the first day of the second special session at the state Capitol in Austin, on June 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
School voucher critics remain largely unswayed during Texas House hearing
House Bill 1, which stagnated during the previous special session, finally received a hearing in the lower chamber, a crucial step that will decide whether the proposal gets a full vote. Full Story
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![Nimitz Middle School teachers Selena Olivares, center left, and Pricilla Martinez lead their 7th grade English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) in an activity Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 in Odessa. Martinez said that due to the increased amount of families moving to the Permian Basin, they sometimes teach 38 to 40 kids per class. “It’s been six weeks and I still don’t know all of their names… Its embarrassing to me,” Martinez said.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texans approved billions for water and broadband infrastructure. Now what?
The legislation behind the historic investment directs state agencies to send money to the state’s smaller, cash-strapped towns that have difficulty paying for upgrades. Federal money is also expected to flow to regions that need broadband. Full Story
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![Tom Bailey flushes out a water line in Zavalla on April 10, 2023.]()
Credit: Mark Felix/The Texas Tribune -
Texas schools asked voters for $18 billion in new debt to fix its campuses. They largely said yes.
The voter approval rate for school maintenance and construction costs dipped in 2021 after lawmakers required school boards to call them “tax increases.” Full Story
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![School bond supporters celebrate after one of Ector County Independent School District’s three bond propositions were passed during an election night watch party Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in Odessa.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas' part-time Legislature has been at it all year. Now they're heading into a rare fourth special session
A full 30-day session amounts to about $1 million in per diem payments to lawmakers, which are meant to cover their expenses in Austin. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dade Phelan ended the first special session on Aug. 6, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Legislature tries again with bills making illegal border crossings a state crime
Immigration experts say the most recent proposals would raise constitutional challenges in the U.S. and Mexico, as federal courts have repeatedly ruled that immigration law enforcement falls under federal jurisdiction. Full Story
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![Texas Department of Public Safety special agents oversee a group of four Honduran undocumented migrants that were caught in private property in Kinney County near Brackettville, Texas on Nov. 9, 2021. The owner of the property did not sign the affidavit to allow DPS to arrest undocumented migrants in their property, so they will be processed by Border Patrol.]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune