KPRC 2 Investigates has found that truancy data reported to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) is not proactively monitored, despite a state law requiring school districts to engage in and report truancy prevention efforts.

Texas Rep. Gene Wu is taking a stand by proposing an amendment to block the state's redistricting plan until the Epstein files are fully released.

Texas’ House of Representatives is approving a new map that creates up to five new, winnable congressional seats for the GOP.

A California hearing on Democrats' redistricting effort turned into a shouting match Tuesday.

Texas Democrats return to Austin after a two week fight over GOP-drawn congressional maps

Democratic lawmakers who walked out will now be subject to an around-the-clock escort by the Texas Department of Public Safety, Burrows said

After two weeks out of state, Democratic lawmakers returned to Austin, paving the way for Republicans to pass their proposed congressional map.

Texas House Democrats are expected to return to the state capitol on Monday after weeks of breaking quorum.

The governor and attorney general have asked the court to find that Democratic lawmakers abandoned their seats when they left Texas to delay a new congressional map.

Gov. Greg Abbott previously asked the court to expel Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic leader. Paxton disputed the governor’s authority to make the request.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have appeared shoulder-to-shoulder with Texas Democratic lawmakers in a show of support for their nearly weeklong walkout.

The attorney general is calling on the “full faith and credit” clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says states should typically honor each other’s judicial proceedings.

"We cannot allow these rogue legislators to avoid their constitutional responsibilities," U.S. Senator John Cornyn said in a statement.

The Texas Supreme Court said in 2021 the Constitution allows members to thwart legislation by leaving the state. Abbott wants them to reconsider.

Texas Democratic lawmakers who left the state to block a Republican plan for congressional redistricting are pleading for donations to help cover their costs.

“Is Gene Wu back in China?” state Sen. Mayes Middleton, a Galveston Republican, posted on X on Monday — the first day the House did not reach a quorum due to the absent Democrats.

A tweet by Sen. Mayes Middleton questioning if Houston lawmaker Gene Wu was "back in China" sparked backlash amid a Democratic walkout to block GOP redistricting plans.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has asked the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to remove from office a top state lawmaker he called the “ringleader” of Democrats who left the state to block a vote on a new congressional voting map pushed by President Donald Trump.

Legal experts say it’s “inconsistent with the Texas Constitution” to argue that leaving the state to halt legislative action qualifies as abandoning an office.

Texas and California are at the center of a national political power struggle that could reshape Trump's second presidency.

Texas Democrats have prevented their state’s House of Representatives from moving forward, at least for now, with a redrawn congressional map sought by President Donald Trump.

Texas Democrats have fled the state in an effort to keep Republicans from approving a new U.S. House map that could boost their slim congressional majority next year.

Texas Democrats have left the state in an attempt to prevent the state House from holding a vote Monday on new congressional maps that Republicans hope will net them several additional U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm elections.

The lawmakers’ absence means the lower chamber won’t have enough members present to function, stalling passage of a draft map Democrats have condemned as a political power grab.

With few options to prevent the Republican majority from passing a new congressional map, Democrats threatened to filibuster, delay hearings and even break quorum.

Tensions flared and the debate turned personal as Republicans said their bill empowered parents and denied predictions that the ban will endanger children.

The bill won bipartisan support despite efforts from multiple Democrats that would have also required students to learn about fascism and Nazism.

The legislation had only pertained to countries the government deemed national security threats. A last-minute change would let the governor add more countries to the ban.

Consequences or support? That question dominates state lawmakers’ debate on how to address truancy in Texas.

The race to fill a Texas congressional seat has candidates but no election date more than three weeks after Rep. Sylvester Turner’s death left a vacancy in a stronghold for Democrats, who are eager to cut into Republicans’ narrow U.S. House majority.

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.

Texas National Guard soldiers can arrest and detain people for entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico under an agreement with the Trump administration that expands the military’s role in immigration enforcement.

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

Wu defeated incumbent Trey Martinez Fischer on Thursday to become the next chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus.

“Currently, there are nearly 5,000 children in Texas waiting for a forever home,” State Rep. Gene Wu said. “Many of these children have been waiting for years. I hope that people will come see how much these kids add to the families that adopt them.”

More than a dozen state lawmakers demanded more transparency and accountability from Houston ISD Tuesday.

Nine Houston area state representatives have written a letter to the Speaker of the Texas House requesting a public hearing on allegations that Houston ISD violated state law by having unaccredited teachers in the classroom.

On Thursday, The Houston Police Department, State Representative Gene Wu and community advocates will host a town hall to discuss the recent break ins at temples in the Houston area.

The Republican Party of Texas is suing an attorney it claims it paid to help challenge the results of the 2022 elections in Harris County.

The Texas Senate Democratic Caucus released a letter Wednesday that shares a request for the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a formal investigation into the allegations made against the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Stuck in committee, the test-strip legislation has support from Gov. Greg Abbott and bipartisan lawmakers, who see it as a way to save lives.

Caseworkers and foster care providers often get incomplete and inaccurate information about foster kids in their care because of the state child welfare agency’s archaic technology system.

The measure, endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott, originally would have banned citizens of China, Iran, Russia or North Korea from buying land in Texas. Under a new version considered Thursday, the ban wouldn’t apply to dual citizens or lawful permanent residents.

Bills that would give relative caregivers more money have missed key deadlines to make it in front of the full House.

On Saturday, people in the Asian American community and leaders held a rally to express outrage for Senate Bill 147.

As Judge Janis Jack continues to threaten contempt-of-court fines in a federal lawsuit against the state’s foster care system, advocates say the case has moved the needle on reform — but it has come with a hefty price tag.

The Chinese Community Center’s Lunar New Year Festival takes months of planning.

Local, and state leaders will gather Monday to denounce the recently-filed Senate Bill 147, which would prohibit citizens and business entities from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia from purchasing land within the state of Texas.

Sen. Lois Kolkhorst filed a bill that would ban citizens, governments and entities from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from purchasing land in the state, part of what she and other Republicans have said will help stem foreign influence in Texas.

After eight students and two teachers were murdered at Santa Fe high school in 2018, state legislators passed more than a dozen laws. None of those laws prevented Uvalde and pressure is mounting for lawmakers to address lingering gaps in school security.

Luther became nationally known at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 when she refused to shut down her Dallas salon in defiance of emergency orders. She was sentenced to a week in jail but was released after only a few days.

Republican lawmakers have faced pressure to provide some form of property tax relief this year. Critics of a new proposal say it’s politically timed.

The Texas Supreme Court cleared the way for absent House Democrats’ civil arrests after it temporarily blocked Harris County judges’ orders protecting them from such a move.

State Rep. Gene Wu of Houston will temporarily avoid civil arrest if law enforcement tracks down Texas House Democrats that are still absent from the chamber.

On Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott continued to hammer members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, who are breaking quorum in Washington, D.C.

Democratic members of the Harris County Delegation discussed why Texas Democrats broke quorum and talked about what their next plans are during a virtual meeting Tuesday.

Sheltered in a downtown D.

Several Texas lawmakers were briefed Wednesday on the status of our state’s power grid. Gov. Greg Abbott also spoke about the recent calls for energy conservation after several power generators went offline for unexpected maintenance.

Texas lawmakers are seeking to place harsher penalties on those caught selling or buying stolen catalytic converters, KSAT reported.

The legislative session at the Capitol comes to a close on Monday, and the power supply system in Texas is as vulnerable as ever.

The Democrats delayed and deflected as they tried to run out the clock on bills they oppose. Republicans strategized to push through bills they’d worked on all session.

Hours after canceling its emergency conservation notice issued Tuesday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas issued another advisory warning of a potential shortage of reserve power Wednesday.

HOUSTON – Houston police stepped up patrols in Asiatown Wednesday in the wake of the Atlanta massage parlor murders. HPD said they have not seen an increase in hate crimes against Asians in Houston, but continue to monitor for threats. “We were dreading the day when there would be a mass shooting of Asian Americans and unfortunately that day has come,” he said. You don’t know when it’s going to happen or where it’s going to happen,” said Ellas Seto. According to the nonprofit group, Stop Asian American Pacific Islander Hate, there have been at least 503 reports of racist incidents against Asian Americans so far in 2021.

HOUSTON – Frustration is still boiling over the deadly freeze that ravaged Texas last month. A freeze, that according to ERCOT’s records, show’s a large number of facilities in the state going down. Some of them are the same ones that went down during a paralyzing North Texas freeze in 2011. Ten years ago, as a state senator, Hager authored legislation requiring the winterization of generators to avoid future failures. Ad“It’s the same lessons learned,” said deputy director of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas, Michael Webber.

HOUSTON – Texas Senate and House hearings are only the beginning of the investigations into our state’s power grid failures during a blistering winter storm. Ten days after the winter storm blanketed Texas, Anderson still has no water in her Yorkdale neighborhood home in Northwest Houston. Like millions of Texans, Anderson lost power as temperatures dropped, pipes in the ceiling froze and then cracked. Hearings in the House and Senate will start the work to get those answers. We should have taken action then, what prevented that from happening, why did we not take the action?”

The new charges bring the total number of officers or former officers charged in connection with the investigation of the raid to 12. Oscar Pardo: Charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and first-degree tampering with a governmental record. Cedell Lovings: Charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and first-degree tampering with a governmental record. Nadeem Ashraf: Charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and first-degree tampering with a governmental record. New charges for officers already chargedSome of the charges announced Monday were new charges against officers who have already been charged in connection with an investigation of the Harding Street raid.

HOUSTON – It doesn’t matter if you live in downtown Houston or really anywhere across the state of Texas, if you’re someone who is wanting to get the COVID-19 vaccine, chances are you’re probably anxious to get it. Recently, hospitals in the medical center have been sending out invites to those who are eligible to receive the vaccine, making many feel very fortunate to have already received the vaccine. District 146 Rep. Shawn Thierry is one of many lawmakers pushing for their community clinics and physicians to get vaccines. Greg Abbott to look into investigating why it was being distributed in an unproportionate way, noticing many African-American and Latino communities are a part of this. Lawmakers said they are suggesting the state open up drive-thru vaccination sites, to make it more accessible to those who currently don’t have the ability to get it.

HOUSTON – There are no less than 20 bills up for consideration regarding marijuana this legislative session in Texas but don’t bet the farm that any of them will become law. He said he believes that without the governor and lieutenant governor on board, marijuana legalization in Texas is destined for failure. “Criminal Justice Chair John Whitmire is right that HB63 is dead in the Texas Senate,” Texas Lt. Gov. In 2015, the Texas Legislature passed a marijuana “Compassionate Use” law that allows doctor-prescribed low-THC-level marijuana to epilepsy patients. There are more bills up for consideration this legislative session that would further expand marijuana treatment options.

HOUSTON – A federal judge has derailed the City of Houston’s efforts to push a civil lawsuit regarding the deadly botched raid on Harding Street in federal court. The family is seeking to secure records from the Houston Police Department, including ballistic, as well as interviews with those involved in the deadly raid that killed Tuttle and Nicholas on Jan. 28, 2019. Every step of the way they are obviously happy that the court says no, we are not going to let this stay covered up. KPRC 2 Investigates exposed the botched raid was built on a fabricated warrant in February 2019. The deadly incident has resulted in several federal and state criminal indictments of HPD officers from that night, including murder charges for former narcotics officer Gerald Goines.

HOUSTON – For the first time in 36 years, State Rep. Harold Dutton (D-Houston) was forced into a runoff for his seat in State House District 142. That’s all that happened to them,” Dutton said, in reference to the voters of District 142. A candidate named Natasha Ruiz entered the Democratic primary hoping to defeat Dutton last March. “There is evidence that a person entered into the primary race, whose last name was not their last name,” Dutton said. “We, as elected officials, have to protect the integrity of the election process,” Dutton said, adding he also believes voters need to see accountability.

HOUSTON Texas lawmakers and family members of the two people killed in police raid more than a year ago will discuss Thursday a recently released audit of the Houston Police Departments narcotics division. Since then, a total of six officers and one civilian have been charged in connection with the raid. Prosecutors have said the warrant used to raid the home was obtained by an officer who lied on an affidavit. An audit released Wednesday showed there were more than 400 errors across more than 200 cases brought by the narcotics division. Wu said the lawmakers will also discuss legislation stemming from the raid that they plan to file in the next legislative session.

HOUSTON State and national lawmakers continue to push Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo for the release of an audit in the wake of the deadly botched Harding Street raid. One of the few people to actually see a redacted copy of the audit is state Representative Gene Wu, a Democrat representing the 137th district. Wu, along with state Senator Paul Bettancourt, was one of a handful of lawmakers who obtained a copy through legislative privilege. In a tweet Tuesday afternoon, Chief Acevedo said he would release the audit to the public if District Attorney Kim Ogg gave the okay. "We're looking to Chief Acevedo to hold up and do what he has said that he is willing to do," said Wu.

HOUSTON Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Friday morning that he is taking a look at the audit that the Houston Police Department has yet to make public. Since its completion, HPD has held the report close to its chest, even as Turner and Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo have touted transparency. On Friday, with political pressure in Austin and in his backyard growing, Turner told Channel 2 Investigates the audit will be made available. I will say to Chief Acevedo and to HPD, with respect to that audit, we will make it available to our legislators, Turner said during a news conference. This is a public audit.

HOUSTON – State Rep. Gene Wu gets right to the point regarding his second letter calling on Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo to release a completed audit of the department’s narcotics division. Why are you hiding, if you have nothing to hide?” Wu told Channel 2 Investigates. The acronym consists of keywords that Acevedo relies on for law enforcement. The bottom line for him regarding this pivotal HPD audit is simple,” Rep. Garnett Coleman said. “The public has a right to know what is in that report.”There are six other state reps who signed Wu’s letter.

HOUSTON Houston police Chief Art Acevedo spoke to a national television audience Thursday night about transparency during an NBC News special. But just a few hours earlier, Houston Polie Officers Union President Joe Gamaldi had criticized Acevedo for his lack of transparency in a surprising statement. Ive said before and Ill say it again, I believe in transparency, Acevedo said last week. If the Chief is committed to transparency and he says it out loud then lets do it, Wu said. Pollard feels Acevedos "actions need to match his words.The Houston Police Officers Union sent all city council members and Mayor Sylvester Turner a statement calling for transparency from Acevedo.