With Texas House adjourned, Senate takes bigger swing at border enforcement and human smuggling
Rather than accept the House legislation as is, senators passed their own โ more expansive โ proposals for border security. But unless the House convenes again, the bills canโt go to the governorโs desk.
Texas Senate approves bill barring professors from โcompellingโ students to adopt certain political beliefs
Critics say Senate Bill 16 is overly vague and will create a chilling effect that will prevent important conversations about race and gender. But Republican supporters say the legislation is necessary to protect conservative students who are self-censoring in the classroom.
Texas Senate votes to defund libraries where drag queens read to kids as it tries to limit the performances kids can attend
The Senate expanded the bill targeting drag queen story hours to target all public funding for libraries. The upper chamber also approved a bill limiting other drag performances kids can see.
Texas Senate committee advances bills restricting certain drag shows
Proposed legislation from Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, would criminalize explicit performances where children are present and strip libraries of state funding for hosting any event featuring performers in drag. Critics say the bill is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
GOP lawmakers accuse investment firms of breaking a law that prohibits divesting from oil and gas
At a senate committee hearing in Marshall, Texas Republican lawmakers accused investment firms of pulling back on fossil fuels, running afoul of a 2021 law that prohibits the state from contracting with or investing in companies that โboycottโ oil, natural gas and coal companies.
A conservative school district and Texas lawmaker try to outmaneuver efforts to subvert โIn God We Trustโ law
After protesters solicited donations to distribute posters to schools across the state in Arabic, state Sen. Bryan Hughes sent a letter to the Texas Education Agency clarifying his legislation requiring schools to display signs with the national motto.
Author of โcritical race theoryโ ban says Texas schools can still teach about racism
State Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, said his intention was never to gloss over American history or have negative effects on teachers and administrators. His comments to the State Board of Education come as members consider new social studies curriculum.
Texas Republicans say if Roe falls, theyโll focus on adoptions and preventing women from seeking abortions elsewhere
State leaders say expanding a social safety net for children and prosecuting abortion funders are among their priorities. โWeโll continue to do our best to make abortion not just outlawed, but unthinkable,โ said state Rep. Briscoe Cain.
Abbottโs latest vaccine mandate will likely end up in court, experts say
Texas Gov. Greg Abbottโs latest executive order is clear -- no entity, including private businesses -- can require their employees or customers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. But the application of the order is much less clear.
Texas Senate outlasts 15-hour filibuster by Sen. Carol Alvarado to pass GOP voting-restrictions bill
The Houston Democrat was on her feet speaking, not allowed to sit or lean against her desk, and unable to take bathroom breaks or drink water, since Wednesday evening. But ultimately the bill she opposed passed Thursday on an 18-11 vote.
Forging ahead, Texas Senate committee again passes voting restrictions bill
Senate Bill 1 is nearly identical to legislation considered in the first special session, containing many of the provisions that have spawned a monthslong game of legislative brinkmanship with House Democrats, who continue to deny Republicans the quorum needed to enact the bill.
Martin Luther King Jr.โs son says Texas Republicans are misrepresenting his fatherโs words in effort to whitewash history
Republican Texas lawmakers have justified their efforts to limit how racism and current events are taught in school by saying that critical race theory judges people by the color of their skin. Martin Luther King III and experts disagree.
Texas Senate advances bills limiting education about race, access to abortion-inducing medications. The House is still sidelined.
It's largely symbolic, but the Texas Senate is nearing the end of its work on Republican priorities for the special legislative session after passing bills limiting "critical race theory" and abortion access Friday.
Texas Senate bill seeks to strip required lessons on people of color and women from โcritical race theoryโ law
The bill would also remove a requirement to teach that white supremacy is "morally wrong." One Democratic lawmaker said the billโs attempts could lead to a โfrightening dystopian future.โ
After drastic changes made behind closed doors, Texas Senate approves voting bill after overnight debate
Senate Bill 7 includes provisions to limit early voting hours, curtail local voting options and further tighten voting-by-mail. The upper chamber suspended its own rules to approve it after debating it for hours overnight.
Texas bill to ban the teaching of โcritical race theoryโ spiked at the last minute on a technicality
Texas educators worried the bill would have a chilling effect on tough conversations about race and racism. GOP lawmakers said they wanted to ensure teachers' personal biases stay out of their lessons
Texasโ divisive bill limiting how students learn about current events and historic racism passed by Senate
The bill aims to ban critical race theory in public and open-enrollment charter schools. Supporters say it merely ensures students aren't taught that one race or gender is superior to another. Critics say it limits how race in America is taught.
Texas Senate advances bill limiting how and when voters can cast ballots, receive mail-in voting applications
Like other proposals under consideration at the Texas Capitol, many of the restrictions in Senate Bill 7 would target initiatives championed in Harris County to make it easier for more voters to participate in elections. Senate Republicans on Thursday cleared the way for new, sweeping restrictions to voting in Texas that take particular aim at forbidding local efforts meant to widen access. AdThe legislation is at the forefront of Texas Republicansโ crusade to further restrict voting in the state following last yearโs election. The bill was rewritten before it reached the Senate floor to allow for voting only between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. The legislation would also outlaw the drive-thru voting set up at 10 polling places in the county for the general election.
Texas Senate gives initial approval to bill to stop social media companies from banning Texans for political views
Social media icons on an iPhone screen. Credit: Getty Images/iStockphotoThe Texas Senate on Tuesday gave initial approval to a measure that would prohibit social media companies with at least 100 million monthly users from blocking, banning, demonetizing, or discriminating against a user based on their viewpoint or their location within Texas. He repeatedly referred to social media platforms as common carriers, though they have never been classified as such by law or in the court system. Facebook, Twitter and Google, which owns YouTube, did not respond to requests for comment. Hughes in 2019 filed a similar measure that won Senate approval, but it ultimately died in committee in the Texas House.
Health concerns block some Texans from testifying on voting
Former Democratic congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks against new proposed voting restrictions at the Texas Capitol on Thursday, March 25, 2021, in Austin, Texas. Proposed legislation before the GOP-led state Senate and House mirrors a nationwide campaign by Republicans that aims to restrict voting even more, with rules Democrats say disenfranchise racial and ethnic minorities. AdAmy Litzinger, of Austin, is among Texans who say the very health issues keeping her from testifying before lawmakers in person will also penalize her if stricter voting legislation becomes law. Brian Kemp drew protests Thursday when he signed into law a sweeping GOP-sponsored overhaul of state elections โ and the fights will undoubtedly end up in the courts. AdBack in Austin, Jose Colon Uvalles was back at the Capitol again Friday to advocate against voting restrictions.
Texas lawmakers push bill to make it easier to sue abortion providers and harder for new anti-abortion laws to be blocked by courts
The proposed bill would strip Texas officials of their typical enforcement role โ and open the door for any Texan to sue providers they thought werenโt complying with state abortion laws. The proposed bill would strip Texas officials of their typical enforcement role โ and open the door for any Texan to sue providers they thought werenโt complying with state abortion laws. By pushing enforcement to the civil court system, anti-abortion activists hope to make it harder to sue state officials to stop an unconstitutional law. SB 8 would let anyone in Texas sue an abortion provider if they believe they violated state laws. The Texas bill goes further, but Cohen said the precedent would apply if the Texas bill passes.
Texas Senate scrambles to advance bill that would force ERCOT to reprice energy charges from winter storm
Senate Bill 2142, sponsored by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, had not even been filed when the day started Monday โ and the full Senate hadnโt been scheduled to convene. But the bill was quickly read on the Senate floor and referred to the Senate Jurisprudence Committee for a hearing on Monday morning. PUC and ERCOT leaders say the prices were intentionally left high to incentivize generators to send power during widespread outages. The PUCโs sole serving member, Arthur DโAndrea, told the state Senate last week that he does not have the authority to retroactively adjust prices. The other two spots on the PUC are vacant because their prior occupants resigned after the winter storm.
Gov. Greg Abbott on legislation to prohibit social media sites from โcensoring Texansโ
Gregg Abbott and state Sen. Bryan Hughes announce a Republican-sponsored Senate Bill 12, which would prevent social media sites like Facebook and Twitter from โcancelingโ the views of Texans. Greg Abbott is taking on the censorship of โconservative speech.โThe governor is slated to hold a news conference at noon on Friday to discuss the Republican-sponsored Senate Bill 12, which would prevent social media sites like Facebook and Twitter from โcancelingโ the views of Texans. The news conference, which will take place in Tyler with Sen. Bryan Hughes, will be livestreamed in this article. Hughes is among the sponsors of the bill, along with Sen. Donna Campbell who lives in New Braunfels. Abbottโs office said the legislature would โhelp prohibit social media companies from censoring Texans based on the viewpoints they express.โGOP leaders in Texas targeted social media giants like Facebook and Twitter during the pre- and post-election period and in the aftermath of the deadly U.S. Capitol siege.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick awards committee chair to Texas senator who previously faced sexual harassment allegation
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas TribuneTwo years ago, Texas Sen. Charles Schwertner voluntarily relinquished a prominent post chairing the Senateโs Health and Human Services Committee after an allegation of sexual harassment. @DanPatrickโs trust in my ability to lead this important committee.โThe Senate committee Schwertner will lead is not as prominent as the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services he once oversaw. โNo one works harder than the members of the Texas Senate,โ Patrick said in a statement. Houston Democrat John Whitmire, the Senate longest-serving member, will continue to chair the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice. Democrat Eddie Lucio Jr. of Brownsville will serve as vice chair of the Senate Finance Committee, a change Patrick announced in December.