INSIDER
The South Texas city is the latest to grapple with aging water infrastructure, which officials suggested could have been the cause for the E. coli outbreak.
Parents and medical providers of transgender adolescents sued Texas, challenging the constitutionality of a restriction on puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
In the state’s larger counties, voters can now elect people to the agencies that appraise property values.
Support once afforded LGBTQ+ foster kids has vanished and a culture of silence has blanketed the agency tasked with raising children growing up in the system.
The court re-sentenced Gallo to life in prison for the murder of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter.
Senate Bill 4 was Texas’ latest attempt to deter people from crossing the Texas-Mexico border amid a surge in migration.
After a short trial, a Texas judge ruled that Barbers Hill school officials are not violating a new state law prohibiting hair discrimination.
In a test of Texas’ new CROWN Act prohibiting discrimination based on hairstyles, a judge said the Barbers Hill school district can limit the length of male students’ hair.
As promised, the governor is going after members of his own party after some of them tanked his top legislative priority.
A fight over allowing transgender children to access puberty blockers and hormone therapies could hinge on justices’ interpretation of parental rights.
The Amarillo Area Foundation is funding new day care facilities in Friona and Claude after the towns found that a shortage of child care is making it harder to fill job openings.
A historic $683 million investment in community colleges rewards schools for getting students to complete a degree or certificate, transfer to a four-year university or participate in college courses as early as high school.
Here’s a look at Senate members, ranked from most conservative to most liberal, based on their votes cast during the 2023 regular session and four special sessions.
Here’s a look at House members, ranked from most conservative to most liberal, based on their votes cast during the 2023 regular session and four special sessions.
In court filings Tuesday, the secretary of state’s office argued that the plaintiffs in the election contests “never served a citation” properly. But there’s no guarantee it’ll work.
Tax cuts were a major legislative priority for Republican leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor cannot certify the election results until the challenges are resolved.
House Bill 900 seeks to rid school libraries of inappropriate books by requiring book vendors to rate materials. A legal challenge says the law is too vague and broad.
The Sherman school board also temporarily ended the superintendent oversight of its fine arts programs pending the results of the investigation.
Supporters of the amendment say it will protect farmers as the state’s largest cities continue to grow. Opponents suggest the amendment is too broad and ambiguous.
For the first time in a generation, Texans were more likely to die of gunshot wounds than car crashes in 2021. Experts worry a lack of research on the issue has hampered the search for solutions.
DEI efforts have become a lightning rod for debate in American higher education. At the private Houston university, officials admit impact is hard to measure — but they also see progress from their work.
Conroe is one of the fastest growing school districts in the state. It and other districts say they need voters to OK bonds to keep up with the influx of students.
A Senate panel on Tuesday advanced such a measure. The debate centered largely around the safety of the vaccine and whether doctors’ offices and health care facilities should be exempt.
In cities dominated by single-family neighborhoods, local leaders across Texas want a broader variety of housing to combat the affordability crisis.
Home to the University of North Texas, organizers say Denton acts as a liberal enclave in the sprawling conservative suburbs in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced the items lawmakers can consider when they return Monday. His agenda also includes COVID vaccine mandates and the Colony Ridge development outside Houston.
greg-abbott-texas-legislature-school-choice-vouchers This third special session comes as a rift between the Texas House and the Senate grew following Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial, raising questions about the chambers’ ability to compromise on education issues.
Senate Bill 12 would have prohibited performers from dancing suggestively or wearing certain prosthetics in front of children. Critics sued the state, saying it violated the First Amendment.
The Department of Family and Protective Services has increasingly relied on housing foster kids in hotels when it can’t find them a home. In the 2022 fiscal year, after record staff turnover, more than 1 in 4 caseworkers had less than one year of experience.
Personal conflict between two newly elected Democrats briefly escalated into public view. An attempt to remove one from county office came in the background of university, state and federal impeachment attempts.
The governor promised political consequences if lawmakers cannot pass legislation allowing for publicly subsidized school vouchers before March primaries.
Texas is one of 17 states that still permits hitting, spanking and paddling in schools. Republican lawmakers stood by the practice earlier this year in part because they say it was permitted in the Bible.
Paxton named House Speaker Dade Phelan, a fellow Republican, in his brief remarks Saturday in North Texas. The suspended attorney general faces a trial Tuesday that would remove him from office permanently.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department began the legal process of eminent domain to seize the former state park and save it from being turned into an upscale subdivision. The agency had offered a Dallas-based developer $103 million for it.
Medical professionals now must tell families 25 days in advance before ending care. Some groups wish the state gave families even more power when they disagree with a doctor’s prognosis.
With little in local tax revenue to help pay staff, rural Texas sheriffs are often forced to do more with less. Lawmakers hope a new grant program will help rebuild the ranks of rural law enforcement.
The emerging technology, paid for by a grant established during the 2023 legislative session, will help emergency health care workers talk with doctors in emergency rooms to better care for critical patients.
The ruling means the November elections in the state’s largest county will be overseen by two other county officials. Legislators targeted Harris County’s elections department after taking issue with the way the 2022 elections were run.
West Texas residents are organizing over their love — or concern — for books. Meanwhile, from Lubbock to Midland and Odessa, librarians are trying to reaffirm libraries’ role as community hubs.
State officials backing Senate Bill 12 have said they want to protect children from seeing sexually explicit performances. But new legal challenges say the law is so broad and vague that it criminalizes constitutionally protected expression.
At a time when the state has some of the nation’s highest property taxes, the initiative was a cornerstone of his 2022 reelection campaign.
The Republican from Georgetown was arrested in Austin in February. But the county attorney said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prosecute.
Texas doctors fear a new era of government intrusion into medicine as lawmakers ban transition care for kids following prohibitions on abortion.
The families argue the new law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, violates their parental rights by stopping them from providing medical care for their children and discriminates against transgender teens.
Texas’ top Republicans are fighting over how to split property tax cuts between businesses and homeowners. Democrats want renters to see relief, too.
Several of Texas’ largest cities sought to put in place mask requirements, which Gov. Greg Abbott overturned. The ruling is a legal win for Republicans in Austin their ongoing symbolic fight with cities, often run by Democrats.
Top Republicans promised property tax cuts, but have been locked in standoffs on how to achieve it. Gov. Greg Abbott has called another overtime legislative session in hopes of solidifying a plan.
The U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for major civil rights victories for queer Americans in the 2003 decision that decriminalized homosexuality. But progress for LGBTQ+ people has been uneven.
Organizers across Texas are balancing a focus on security and a celebration of community after state lawmakers pushed scores of bills that threatened to upend the lives of LGBTQ+ Texans.
The suspended attorney general’s political origins and rise to power began in the suburban North Texas county. But every House member from the county voted to impeach him.
Cars in some of Texas’ larger counties will still be required to have their emission output checked.
In 1917, lawmakers debated the extent of their constitutional authority before they convicted Gov. James “Pa” Ferguson and removed him from office.
The suspended attorney general’s supporters thought lawmakers tried to overrule voters. Ken Paxton’s critics felt accountability was a long time coming.
The attorney general, reelected last year by voters who shrugged off his scandals, is accused of a yearslong pattern of alleged misconduct and lawbreaking. The full House is expected to consider the articles soon.
Less than a year into his first term, Paxton was charged with felony securities fraud. The Justice Department is investigating bribery allegations against him as a Texas House committee conducts its own probe into his behavior.
Senate Bill 896 is a controversial piece of legislation sparking concerns about free speech rights, the ability to hold businesses accountable, and freedom of expression for Texans. With the potential consequences of SB 896 becoming increasingly evident, advocates from both parties are calling on Texans to take their concerns to their representatives.
In a last-minute hearing Wednesday, Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, opened another avenue to get the bill passed, raising alarm among free-speech advocates.
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.
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.
The legislation would raise the minimum age for purchasing certain firearms but likely wouldn’t have been a hindrance to the Allen gunman obtaining a weapon. The bill still faces an uphill climb in the Legislature.
The Royse City Republican had come under growing pressure to step down after an investigation determined he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 19-year-old woman on his staff.
Senate Bill 14 spurred protests that led to altercations with state police earlier this week. Bill supporters and opponents again showed up at the Capitol for an expected vote Friday.
An estimated 500,000 people live in thousands of colonias along the Texas-Mexico border. Largely built between the 1950s and 1980s, these communities have been promised water — but it has never come.
House Bills 3377 and 2235 were authored by freshman state Rep. Venton Jones, the Legislature’s first openly HIV-positive member. They’ve received overwhelming public and bipartisan support.
Water agencies have long resisted working together out of fear of losing their local powers. But an example from Florida could help save the Lone Star State’s water and infrastructure.
Texas has more than 7,000 water systems. A fraction of them self-reported that they lost 30 billion gallons of water due to broken pipes and leaks in 2021.
As Texas House members could soon vote to ban transition-related care for minors, many lives are in limbo, and trans kids like 16-year-old Randell are grappling with difficult decisions.
The legislation — which falls short of the $10 billion needed to ensure all Texans have reliable internet access — must still win approval in the state Senate.
The Senate advanced a bill that could create such high financial risks for doctors and health insurers that they’d stop providing or covering gender-affirming care — even for adults.
Voters in nearly 100 counties — mostly rural — can vote at any polling site in their county. The sponsor, without offering evidence, said the practice was not secure despite years of successful elections in Texas with the system.
Legal experts, librarians and some parents say House Bill 900’s language is so vague and broad that it could ensnare books that are not inappropriate.
Proponents of the bill say it will keep inappropriate material away from kids. Some librarians are concerned about the logistical challenges it could bring.
The chamber voted 138-5 on Wednesday to approve a bill that seeks to end the practice of changing clocks twice a year. But that doesn’t mean the measure has an easy path to reality.
Sen. Joan Huffman said the bill was in response to increased violent crime since 2019. Legislative researchers could not determine how the bill would affect the state’s prison population.
The upper chamber unanimously passed Senate Bill 182 after The Texas Tribune reported that a state-licensed foster care facility hired a caretaker whom the Texas Juvenile Justice Department previously fired for having inappropriate relationships with children.
Senate Bill 14 would now allow trans children who are already receiving some transition-related treatments to continue getting that care. The Senate gave initial approval to the reworked legislation Wednesday.
The Senate Finance Committee’s proposals won’t be voted on and sent to the full chamber until April.
In 2021, a bill that would block transgender kids’ access to transition-related care passed the Senate but died in the Texas House. This year, a majority of House members back such a ban.
Senate Bill 14 prohibits trans kids from receiving puberty blockers and hormone treatments. Here’s what medical experts and trans Texans say about such care.
Senate Bill 8 supporters say the legislation protects the rights of parents who don’t want their kids to learn about gender identity and sexual orientation. Critics say it could force schools to ignore the existence of LGBTQ people.
Students and First Amendment lawyers say President Walter Wendler’s portrayal of drag shows is off base and the cancellation violates free-speech rights.
Texas lawmakers could prohibit race-based hair discrimination at schools and workplaces. At least 20 states have already passed similar legislation, according to a group that champions the laws.
Voters would have the final say on whether the state sets aside billions of dollars to acquire new water sources and invest in aging infrastructure.
Senate Bill 14 would ban doctors from providing kids with transition-related treatments that medical groups recommend for children with gender dysphoria.
The priority bill, backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, reverses a change the Legislature made two years ago during an omnibus voting bill that made illegal voting a misdemeanor.
A lack of lawmaker support jeopardizes the attorney general’s $3.3 million settlement, which would resolve a lawsuit alleging Paxton fired high-ranking deputies who accused him of misconduct.
Under Senate Bill 23, all felonies involving a gun would incur a mandatory 10-year prison sentence. It’s meant to curb crime, despite the lack of correlation between harsher sentences and crime rates.
