INSIDER
Texas State Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio) is familiar with and understands the district's challenges. Bernal’s District 123 represents a large amount of SAISD schools.
Both chambers set aside $1 billion for a voucher-like education savings account program — double what was on the table two years ago — in a sign that supporters are emboldened after recent electoral gains.
Texas continues to lead other states on capital punishment. But the decline in new death sentences and executions reached a record low.
Hours after Trump’s inauguration, his administration canceled appointments allowing migrants to enter the U.S. to request asylum, leaving many of them stranded on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Rep. Cody Harris had accused Abraham George of improperly threatening to send mailers and censure lawmakers who backed Rep. Dustin Burrows as House speaker.
The new rule modernizes some aspects of commercial oilfield waste disposal and recycling. But rules for burying oilfield waste on private property remain limited.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and is 80 times the potency of carbon dioxide.
Patrick on Sunday said the Legislature should amend the language of the state’s near-total abortion ban to address confusion over when doctors may terminate pregnancies.
Richards, the eldest daughter of Gov. Ann Richards, forged her own path as a tireless advocate for women across Texas and the United States.
Schools near the border say it’s hard to prepare for the unknown. Immigration advocates say they should help communities understand students’ rights.
The Democrats’ short list of possible benefits: A leader who learned to keep promises, a chance at chairing committees, and what they see as more chances for a fairer playing field.
Seven human services employees were fired after a string of fraud and theft — and the largest data breach in agency history.
The new administration could use the existing system of federal agents, local police and jails to funnel more people into the deportation pipeline.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development confirmed its finding that Texas unfairly favored white residents in rural areas when it distributed $1 billion in Harvey aid in 2021.
Advocates say interstate compacts, which allow professionals to use their work licenses in multiple states, can solve Texas’ workforce shortage. Skeptics fear Texas would send more workers than it would receive.
The Court of Criminal Appeals will rehear a case it threw out last year. Three of the judges became targets of Attorney General Ken Paxton over another ruling and lost reelection.
A report found up to 70% of guard positions were unfilled at some prisons. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has a 26% staff turnover rate.
The Supreme Court’s decision on Texas’ law, which adult entertainment website attorneys said were the most overreaching in the country, could determine the fate of similar laws in more than a dozen other states.
Abraham George’s comments are the latest sign of the state GOP’s embrace of fundamentalist ideologies that seek to center public life around their faith.
A Texas state representative has introduced a bill that could allow high school athletes to transfer for athletic reasons.
Scott Braddock, editor of the Quorum Report, joined the KSAT Q&A on Tuesday with Steve Spriester and Myra Arthur to discuss the 89th Texas Legislature and react to Speaker Dustin Burrow’s vote.
Republicans accused Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of supporting gender transitions for children throughout the 2024 election cycle, which he said took a political toll.
Fertilizers that contain treated sewage tainted with toxic PFAS chemicals can be spread on farmland and pose a health risk to people who consume milk, eggs and beef, the agency says.
Abbott's comments came after A&M invited staffers and students to attend a conference that a conservative activist said broke the state’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
KSAT sat down with two political science professors in San Antonio to discuss some of the top issues likely to permeate throughout the Republican-led session.
From debating school vouchers and improving the state’s water supply to reining in property taxes, the GOP-led body will look to pass its conservative priorities amid fighting within the party.
The court’s ruling could boost a state law that allows drunk driving victims to sue businesses that over-serve alcohol to intoxicated individuals.
Justices on Monday heard arguments from Annunciation House, which is fighting to stay open, and the Texas Attorney General’s office, which claims the shelter’s work with migrants violates state law.
Here’s a rundown of how legislation moves through the Capitol, the ways lawmakers operate and who the power players are.
Since cattle imports were cut off in November, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and some ranchers worry about the ban’s economic impact on beef producers and consumers.
After several dog bites over recent months, a San Antonio state senator introduced a bill with hopes of increasing the consequences for irresponsible dog owners.
Hector Granados, one of two pediatric endocrinologists in El Paso, said he stopped providing gender-affirming care after it was outlawed in Texas in 2023.
In recent years university presidents have been facing growing political pressures, student and faculty pushback and an increasingly demanding job.
The 89th Texas legislative session kicks off next Tuesday. Thousands of bills will be filed, including some centered-on state environmental concerns.
Rep. Cody Harris filed a complaint against Texas GOP Chair Abraham George for sending mailers and censuring lawmakers who support Rep. Dustin Burrows as House speaker.
After the state missed the Jan. 1 deadline, lawmakers still have time to approve administrative costs before applying for $400 million in federal summer meal assistance.
Proposals to allow online registration and broaden photo ID options may have a chance to advance, supporters say.
Conservative lawmakers claimed credit for Dr. Robert Bredt’s retirement after it came out he also worked at a Planned Parenthood-affiliated lab.
Allison lost his primary last year, after being targeted by his party over his vote to kill school vouchers.
“We wouldn’t survive” without undocumented workers, one South Texas produce business owner said. By one estimate, 8% of Texas’ workforce lacks legal status.
Presidio, northwest of Big Bend National Park, will get dedicated green spaces along bike lanes and pedestrian streets, plant thousands of native trees and establish a high-school run air quality monitoring program.
Blacklock replaces Nathan Hecht, the longest serving justice on the high court. Gov. Greg Abbott also appointed his general counsel, James Sullivan, to the bench.
Paxton’s latest tour is the continuation of his efforts in the past year to get political revenge on House Republicans who supported his impeachment.
The state’s 988 suicide had the nation’s fifth highest rate of abandoned calls in August, the latest data available, amid a multi-million funding deficit that could worsen as federal dollars expire this year.
Plesa, a Dallas Democrat, said the party should embrace bipartisanship, and start talking about economic issues.
Texas received $203.4 million in 2021 to help build community mental health programs at libraries and churches, among other efforts. Those funds expire Dec. 31.
The state bar sought to take away the law license of Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster over a Texas lawsuit challenging 2020 presidential election results.
The Tribune’s data journalists helped visualize everything from voter participation and extreme weather to gaps in the state’s border wall. Here are some of the highlights.
Our journalists brought life to the experiences of everyday Texans, held powerful institutions accountable and surfaced stories that went beyond the daily news cycles.
Officials hope state lawmakers will boost the budget of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman office, an independent state agency, which can often be an elderly Texan’s only lifeline to the outside world.
Over 35 years, Hecht modernized the court, increased access to justice for the poor and saw his conservative views come to dominate the bench.
The attorney general is accusing the organization of misleading fans by allowing transgender college athletes in women’s sports.
The legislation includes financial aid and money for recent natural disasters, but farmers still will be relying on outdated provisions from the 2018 bill.
San Miguel Electric Cooperative's plan to turn into a solar and battery plant will leave only 14 coal-fired power plants in the state.
The bill would require companies to test fertilizer made from sewage sludge for PFAS and meet limits before selling them to Texas farmers and ranchers.
Some Texas lawmakers including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick slammed the Biden administration over the auction of wall materials. But the sale was directed by Congress — and Texas has already bought some of it.
Thousands of people have been arrested under Texas’ human smuggling law. Now they face at least a decade in prison under sentencing guidelines that took effect this year.
Attorney General Ken Paxton sought to delay legal proceedings until Jan. 13 — the day before the committee disbands — even as lawmakers vowed to continue fighting to hear from Roberson.
The motion escalates a tense standoff between Paxton and a bipartisan Texas House committee, which had subpoenaed Roberson to testify at the Capitol on Friday.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced the new strategy, which will cost an estimated $100,000, during a press conference in Eagle Pass.
The Public Utility Commission found that the performance credit mechanism, a financial tool the Legislature capped at $1 billion, would only marginally improve reliability of the state power grid.
A hurricane and winter freeze devastated the South Texas industry. A lack of water is preventing a full recovery.
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas led a letter calling for a briefing on why the state won’t review 2022 and 2023 deaths.
At least a third of landowners approached by state officials have refused to let wall be built on their properties. That’s forced the state to largely build on ranchland in remote areas, or erect sections that are full of gaps.
A Votebeat analysis shows how such requirements risk disenfranchising key voter groups, including Native Americans and college students.
The grants will go to private and public sector recipients in Texas for a variety of public safety priorities, including securing the southern border.
As Republican Texas leaders show support for Trump’s mass deportation plans, undocumented people — some who have lived in America for decades — are weighing their options amid mounting fears.
Many rural Texans in the region say they lack quality information on the skills required to get good jobs and build a lasting career.
The request comes after an audit found Texas improperly billed the federal government for reimbursements related to Medicaid-eligible students.
This is the latest example of the Republican Party of Texas spending its resources attacking its own members.
Some voucher opponents are ready to compromise; others are hoping supporters will fumble over the program's size, eligibility and accountability.
The new subpoena comes after lawmakers say Ken Paxton’s office stalled a previous effort to get Roberson’s legislative testimony about his conviction in “shaken baby” case.
The freshman congressman will lead the influential progressive caucus next year with plans to focus on working class and economic issues instead of culture wars.
An annual report documents 2,870 active cases of groundwater contamination around the state. Groundwater provides more than half of the state’s water supply.
Texas regulators are taking public comment about how they should implement an EPA rule to reduce methane leaks from the oil and gas industry.
In his new role, Rosser will be responsible for helping Texas meet its goal to increase the number of Texans ages 25 to 34 with a postsecondary credential to 60%by 2030.
Republicans who vote against party leaders’ preferred candidate could be barred from running in primaries. Lawsuits could follow.
