The prominent right-wing pastor told state lawmakers that an anti-communist curriculum is crucial to reaffirming that America is a “Christian country.”

Farmers and elected officials told a Senate committee Monday that the lack of water is becoming dire, with little relief in sight.

The legislation would require voters to approve the $3 billion start-up cost, and then the fund would be maintained at no more than $300 million annually.

There is little doubt that a ban will sail through the Senate. But its prospects are far less certain in the House.

The goal of the new legislation is to help drive down the cost of housing so that more Texans can afford homes.

Unanimous passage in the Senate comes after top Texas officials say the third-party services undermine trust in the lottery.

The policy shift was announced before state senators, skeptical of the move, grilled officials with the department and courier services in a hearing on SB 28.

The debate over bail reform is intensifying in Texas, with Governor Greg Abbott declaring it an emergency item.

A recent budget analysis noted the Texas Senate’s voucher bill could affect the fund if it leads students and teachers to leave public schools.

The package was fast-tracked after Gov. Greg Abbott declared “bail reform” an emergency item. The bills now head to the House for consideration.

Teachers with three and five years of experience would qualify for raises under Senate Bill 26. Instructors in smaller school districts would get bigger pay bumps.

Texas lawmakers kicked off a new legislative session mid-January and it has been no secret that “school choice,” “school vouchers,” “education freedom,” or some of its other monikers, would be a top priority.

The package of bills would tighten the state's bail laws to keep more people in jail — including undocumented immigrants — while their criminal cases are pending.

Past efforts to allow more religion in public schools have been hamstrung by legal challenges. But those on the religious right feel empowered by recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

The marquee proposal would increase the amount of a home’s value exemption from school taxes to $140,000 from $100,000. The legislation must win approval from the House next.

From teacher pay and preparation to special education and DEI, here are issues Texas lawmakers are prioritizing this legislative session.

Texas State Senator from San Antonio told KSAT the Education Savings Account Program does not benefit low-income families.

Senate Bill 2 now heads to the House, where top officials say they have the support to create education savings accounts.

Restrict THC, help with deportations, infuse religion in schools and provide property tax relief – these are among the Patrick priorities.

The Senate could vote on the proposal as soon as next week. Democrats on Tuesday criticized the bill saying it fails to prioritize the state’s neediest children.

Senate Bill 2 starts a new debate on a school voucher program in Texas. A funding proposal would allow up to 100,000 K-12 students who want to enroll to a private school to participate.

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.

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.

Here’s a rundown of how legislation moves through the Capitol, the ways lawmakers operate and who the power players are.

Patrick contends retailers have exploited a law passed in 2019 to sell unregulated and potentially harmful consumable tetrahydrocannabinol products.

Modeled after the state’s $6 billion cancer research fund, the dementia fund — a legislative priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — could pump hundreds of millions of dollars into Texas researchers.

School voucher supporters say they have the votes to get a bill across both the Texas Senate, led by Patrick, and the House, which has repeatedly blocked such proposals.

Hinojosa won the only competitive seat in the Texas Senate this cycle, besting Sen. Morgan LaMantia two years after she narrowly defeated him.

Texans voted in several races, including for the President, a U.S. Senator, U.S. House members and more.

Texas might not be a swing state, but many of its races will have major consequences to the national political landscape and on the lives of everyday Texans.

District 25 was the only Texas Senate seat on the Bexar County ballot.

Texas’ junk science statute has remained hamstrung for the last decade. So too have other criminal justice reforms, despite efforts from the Texas House.

State Sen. Morgan LaMantia, D-Palm Valley, faces off against Republican Adam Hinojosa in the only competitive race for the Texas Senate.

Gov. Greg Abbott gave an inflated number of noncitizens removed from the state’s voter rolls, officials acknowledged, confirming findings by ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, and Votebeat.

Here’s what you need to know after a ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and Votebeat investigation found that Gov. Greg Abbott likely inflated the number of noncitizens on voter rolls.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Colin Allred met Tuesday night in the only debate of their Texas Senate race that could help determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.

Directors, producers and actors say better incentives in other states pull projects away from Texas, which is losing out on millions of dollars.

About 25% of Texas’ correctional officer positions are unfilled. Inmates say the shortages make it harder for them to get respite during hot summer months.

The new list includes many right-wing priorities, and would escalate Republicans’ wars against diversity, equity and inclusion programs and review laws to keep noncitizens off voter rolls.

Texas voters will elect officials in the presidential, congressional, statewide and legislative races.

New group plans to support policy goals of the conservative Senate majority.

A Senate committee discussed the potential pitfalls of artificial intelligence — and overregulating it.

Election Day is Nov. 5. Here is everything you need to know about casting a ballot in Texas.

Hagenbuch won the primary in a district vacated by former Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster.

Get The Texas Tribune’s coverage of election results for the 2024 primary runoff elections, which includes the Texas Legislature and more.

Tuesday’s Texas Senate hearing comes as lawmakers are expected to propose new laws next year to enforce the DEI ban and prevent antisemitism.

Cook will fill John Whitmire’s unexpired term — but will face Johnson again in a Democratic primary runoff for a full four-year term.

State Rep. Jarvis Johnson and emergency room nurse Molly Cook are duking it out in a sleepy special election to briefly occupy the seat vacated when Whitmire was elected mayor.

The last day to register to vote is April 29. Early voting runs from May 20-24.

The battle to succeed retiring state Sen. Drew Springer has come down to a May 28 runoff between Brent Hagenbuch and Jace Yarbrough.

The Texas 2024 primary runoffs will take place May 28. See the full list of candidates statewide and see who’s on your ballot.

Johnson is virtually assured to have won the seat, because there is no Republican challenger in November.

Get The Texas Tribune’s coverage of election results for the 2024 primary races for president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and the Texas Legislature.

Whitmire held the Senate seat for four decades. Six Democrats are now competing for the seat in the upper chamber.

The bombshell request by retiring state Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, comes after Paxton decided to stop fighting a whistleblower lawsuit whose claims factored into his impeachment trial.

At the same time, the judge denied a motion by Brent Hagenbuch to dismiss the case challenging his eligibility, letting it move forward ahead of the March primary.

The four whistleblowers asked the court last month to force the attorney general and his aides to sit for deposition, which would require them to answer questions under oath related to the allegations of bribery and corruption.

With both Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton out for revenge, Republican members of the Texas House are the top target on the ballot.

Neave Craido revealed her decision to the Dallas Morning News in an interview published Monday, saying Johnson has not fought hard enough to push back against the Republican agenda.

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.

The decision to end work Tuesday leaves long odds for bills to boost school safety funding and make sure that election challenges don’t delay the implementation of property tax cuts, teacher pension raises and infrastructure spending.

Senate Bill 5 would send an extra $800 million to public schools for security upgrades over the next two years. But the measure is at risk of becoming the latest casualty of the rift between the Texas House and Senate.

Texas Republicans are pushing new boundaries over immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border.

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.

Fallon served in the Texas Senate for two years before running for Congress. He won’t see reelection in the U.S. House.

The Senate revved to life Thursday, holding committee hearings with little advance notice and advancing four bills that satisfy Abbott’s agenda.

The Republican, who represents a north Texas district, is the first member of the state Senate to announce ahead of the Nov. 11 start of the filing period that he won’t be running.

The Senate on Sunday afternoon failed to take action on a border security bill, leaving virtually no time to pass the bill before the special session ends on Tuesday.

The revised bill promises a significant funding increase for public schools and academic accountability measures for students participating in the proposed voucher program, two of the biggest requests from voucher opponents.

Journalists covering the Texas Capitol discussed what came out of this year’s third special session and what is still to be resolved.

With rural Texas relatively underserved by private schools, the potential for expansion could play a role in the debate over whether to let families use taxpayer money to pay for private education.

Texas is moving closer to giving police broad new authority to arrest migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

Violations could bring a $50,000 fine under an amendment adopted Wednesday. The bill’s sponsor said the ban would be the strongest in the nation.

Republicans showed a more clear divide, giving the Senate higher marks than the House for how the attorney general’s impeachment was handled.

The Senate’s Republican bill would let state leaders grow the program by taking money from other agencies without the Legislature’s approval. The House bill would bar the practice.

House Bill 1 would make an educational savings account program available to 25,000 Texas students in its first year, with increased participation to follow. The governor’s office indicated that the proposal was lacking.

Emails obtained by The Texas Tribune show the attorneys were expected to return to work after the impeachment trial ended and their extended absence raised concerns internally about the offices’ ability to function properly.

The Democrat has dedicated significant energy to probing law enforcement’s response to the Uvalde school shooting. But he faces a fundraising deficit against U.S. Rep. Colin Allred of Dallas.

Like in Texas, voucher programs in other states sparked vigorous debates, came with the same promises and faced similar concerns. Not all predictions came true.

Though lawmakers have drafted a bill to increase public school funding and teacher salaries, it cannot pass during the special session unless Abbott adds those issues to his agenda.

The Senate also approved Senate Bill 2, which would infuse $5.2 billion to school districts to help them with teacher raises and rising costs. Gov. Greg Abbott said he would add those items to the special session’s agenda once lawmakers approve a voucher program.

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.

The proposal would give families who exit the state’s public education system access to $8,000 of taxpayer money each year to pay for their children’s private schooling.

Gov. Greg Abbott needs a delicate coalition of Republicans to pass his top priority. But the House and Senate leaders aren’t getting along.

Paxton’s campaign promised more details soon on a “statewide Fall tour,” including campaign stops with the candidates.

Newly released body camera footage shows state Sen. Charles Schwertner’s February arrest for suspicion of drunk driving. Travis County prosecutors dropped the charge in July.

The whistleblower lawsuit, which argues that four senior staffers were improperly fired in retaliation for reporting Paxton to the FBI, returns to a Travis County trial court for action.

The 35-15 vote by the student senate was based on accusations that Hudson Kraus changed a job description so his brother could qualify for a cabinet post.

On Monday, the former state employees argued that Paxton has failed to uphold key parts of the settlement agreement, including a $3.3 million payment and a promise to apologize.

The lieutenant governor said that he took just as much from “the other side,” including donors aligned with Texans for Lawsuit Reform, which Paxton has labeled a political enemy.

In his first remarks since being acquitted on 16 articles of impeachment, the suspended Texas attorney general blamed Democrats while also taking aim at a number of high-profile Republicans.

“I feel there were six senators who were ready to be the 21st vote,” said Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas. “But they didn’t want to be the 20th vote.”

The Texas House and Senate were already far apart on “school choice.” Anger over the impeachment trial might make it even harder to find common ground.

The request follows Patrick’s blistering denunciation of the House’s role impeaching the attorney general.

The House impeachment managers faced a high bar: convincing enough Republican senators to vote against their own political self-interest.

Kelly Hancock and Robert Nichols broke from the rest of their party, but longtime observers said they weren’t surprised.

Those disappointed by the Senate vote, blame political polarization. Those pleased with the acquittal say the evidence fell short.

Democrats, however, said their GOP colleagues “caved” to outside pressure in voting to acquit and return Ken Paxton to his job as attorney general.

“This was the right outcome,” U.S. Ted Cruz said, while Gov. Greg Abbott said he looked forward to continuing to work with the attorney general.

The lieutenant governor criticized the House for a secretive and rushed process that “wasted” taxpayer dollars. The House speaker fired back, saying Patrick confessed his bias and contempt.