Fairly, an Amarillo businessman, backed many candidates aligned with conservative West Texas billionaire Tim Dunn’s political operation in 2024. Now he’s disavowing what he says are dishonest and aggressive campaign tactics while pondering his path forward.

Texas lawmakers have sought to make it easier to build more homes — and harder for neighbors to block projects.

Governor Greg Abbott has officially signed Senate Bill 2 into law, marking a historic moment for school choice in Texas.

Texas will give participating families about $10,000 to pay for their kids’ private schooling. Other details about the program, set to launch in 2026, are unclear.

Abbott tapped into a powerful national conservative movement and his own campaign war chest to turn turned legislative races into multimillion-dollar affairs.

The first bill to reach Abbott’s desk this session creates a regulation-cutting state agency under the purview of the governor. It was passed with bipartisan supermajorities.

The bill would let families use taxpayer dollars for their children’s private schooling. Lawmakers also signed off on a sweeping $7.7 billion package to boost public school funding.

Texans who fall behind on their property taxes face one of the most punitive systems in the nation, where private collection companies can tack up to 20% onto their bill.

Several of Texas’ top Republicans are defending Gov. Greg Abbott’s pick to head the state’s water agency following pointed questions from a GOP lawmaker over the agency’s diversity hiring policies.

Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock embraced constitutional originalism, a judicial philosophy tied to conservatism, in addressing the Legislature.

Lawmakers will debate how to spend $3.5 billion in proposed tax cuts, a legislative priority for Republican leaders.

Supporters of voucher-like education savings accounts are trying to press their advantage early and build a sense of inevitability.

There were only so many chair positions to go around, with 30 committees for 88 Republicans, making it inevitable that some would miss out on plum appointments.

Republicans chair all committees, as promised, while Democrats will lead half of the newly created subcommittees.

A pair of lawsuits filed by allies of West Texas megadonor Tim Dunn shut down laws that banned outside spending in the House leadership race, allowing for more political mudslinging and raising questions about ethics rules.

The aggressive Republican agenda’s success depends on how well the three leaders harmonize their tactics and goals for the legislative session.

Gov. Greg Abbott said cutting taxes is a top priority, however, state lawmakers don’t have as much money to plug into tax cuts as they did two years ago.

Meanwhile in the Panhandle, Republicans were less excited that Burrows won the speaker contest thanks largely to Democrats.

Conservative activists in the GOP caucus called any power sharing with the minority party a betrayal of Republican voters.

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 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.

The new speaker’s power over the budget and committee assignments is expected to bolster established Republican leaders and some Democrats who supported the winner.

The race pitted state Reps. David Cook and Dustin Burrows against each other. Here’s how each representative voted.

Burrows defeated Rep. David Cook with a coalition of Republican and Democratic votes.

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 Texas House kicked off the 2025 session by electing an establishment Republican to lead the chamber, drawing criticism from within the GOP.

The new speaker will have a dramatic impact on the direction of this year’s lawmaking — and potentially the future of the Legislature.

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.

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.

This is the latest example of the Republican Party of Texas spending its resources attacking its own members.

Republicans who vote against party leaders’ preferred candidate could be barred from running in primaries. Lawsuits could follow.

In a Q&A, Burrows said he’s still confident he’ll win. But he says the leadership race is bigger than any one person and his supporters are trying to protect the integrity of the House.

Days after the Texas House GOP caucus backed Cook, Abbott made clear that he expects Republican representatives to do the same.

With Speaker Dade Phelan out of the race, Republican state Reps. David Cook and Dustin Burrows will now face off.

There is no process in Texas for a voter-driven statewide referendum. So, supporters are going city by city to build statewide momentum.

Thursday’s hearing marked the end of the Legislature’s three-day marathon of public hearings.

The panel of three lawmakers and two residents will also look at disaster preparedness.

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.

House Bill 2127 — dubbed the “Death Star” law by opponents — prevents local governments from creating rules that go further than what’s allowed under broad areas of state law. Houston’s suit says the new law violates the state’s constitution.

Lawmakers delivered Gov. Greg Abbott a long-sought bill to stop local governments from enacting local laws that exceed state law on a number of fronts.

Both chambers have said school safety is a priority this session after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at a Uvalde elementary school last year.

Gov. Greg Abbott and other supporters of the bill have long sought legislation to push back against local regulations that they say hamper business owners and harm the state’s economy.

Lawmakers have said school safety is a priority this session, but it is still unclear whether they’ll listen to Uvalde families who want to raise the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic guns from 18 to 21.

City officials say the full scope of the legislation advanced Tuesday is still unclear, but it would limit their ability to issue worker protections, water restrictions and more.

Trump became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, in his case over alleged hush money payments made to an adult film star. Many of his fellow Republicans in Texas lambasted the legal development.

Lawmakers say their bills are needed to provide small businesses with consistent regulations and that regulatory power should be returned to the state. Labor groups say the proposal could undo hard-fought measures to protect workers.

The radio ad, which criticizes Phelan for appointing Democratic committee chairs, prompted pushback from Republican colleagues in the House over why the state party would use resources to attack its own member.

Texas lawmakers on both sides of the aisle talked schools, abortion and guns in advance of next year’s session in a range of panels at The Texas Tribune Festival.

In this week’s TribCast, Matthew speaks with Dave about the Texas House committee report on the Uvalde shooting and with Eric about the Jan. 6 hearings.

Uvalde residents who lost loved ones at Robb Elementary say they want to know if officers will face repercussions.

Lt. Mariano Pargas was the acting city police chief the day of the shooting. Mayor Don McLaughlin said the city is investigating Pargas’ role in the delayed confrontation of the shooter.

Texas lawmakers investigating the Uvalde school massacre say it intends to show residents of the town surveillance video from the hallway at Robb Elementary School on the day of the May 24 attack.

Elected officials and law enforcement leaders criticized the leak of the video that was supposed to first be shown to victims’ families.

The chair of the House committee investigating the police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting said Uvalde police will cooperate with the investigation. A day prior, Republican State Rep. Dustin Burrows told reporters that cooperation was a question mark.

The state House committee investigating the police response to the mass murders at Robb Elementary School held its first session in Uvalde Thursday. All testimony given to the committee was done behind closed doors.

State Rep. Dustin Burrows, the chair of the investigating committee, said he couldn’t promise a timeline for the review and that witnesses will be questioned in private.

Phelan said it is an “outrage” that officials still do not have a clear picture of what happened during the shooting. The committee’s findings will inform the House’s legislative response.

The Texas House on Monday gave preliminary approval to a sweeping bill that would reform the governor’s emergency powers during a pandemic and involve the Legislature during such instances.

But the more tricky territory could be reforming the parameters of a state pandemic response. The emergency powers debate will unfold in the aftermath of Abbott’s decisions to lift the statewide mask mandate and allow businesses to reopen at 100% capacity. Ad“A great, conservative victory”As filed, House Bill 3 would carve out future pandemics from how the state responds to other disasters, such as hurricanes. The “Pandemic Liability Protection Act,” to be filed as Senate Bill 6, is also on the list of Senate priorities. “I think that’s important to always include the Legislature as much as possible,” said Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, noting how large and diverse a state Texas is.

In the biggest blow yet to the House leader's political future, five fellow Republicans said they can't back him moving forward. Their statement comes days after the House GOP caucus condemned Bonnen.

In the hourlong conversation with Michael Quinn Sullivan, the leader of the Texas House is heard offering press credentials and asking for political support for challengers in the 2020 primaries.

Bonnen also spoke disparagingly about multiple Democrats, calling one House member “vile” and suggesting that another’s “wife’s gonna be really pissed when she learns he’s gay.”