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WEATHER ALERT

4 warnings in effect for 4 counties in the area

SPEAKER OF THE TEXAS HOUSE


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Orator, conscience, advocate: State lawmakers honor Sylvester Turner with bipartisan accolades in Capitol ceremony

Read full article: Orator, conscience, advocate: State lawmakers honor Sylvester Turner with bipartisan accolades in Capitol ceremony

Turner, who spent nearly three decades in the Texas House and died last week, was remembered as a passionate Democrat committed to working across the aisle.

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Winners and losers: Who came out on top — and who didn’t — in the Texas House’s committee assignments

Read full article: Winners and losers: Who came out on top — and who didn’t — in the Texas House’s committee assignments

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.

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Texas House committee assignments extend power of experienced GOP leaders

Read full article: Texas House committee assignments extend power of experienced GOP leaders

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

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How a multi-year legal battle by allies of a billionaire megadonor set off this year’s explosive House Speaker race

Read full article: How a multi-year legal battle by allies of a billionaire megadonor set off this year’s explosive House Speaker race

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.

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Texas Democrats hope to benefit after boosting Dustin Burrows to House speaker

Read full article: Texas Democrats hope to benefit after boosting Dustin Burrows to 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.

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Winners and losers from the Texas House speaker’s race

Read full article: Winners and losers from the Texas House speaker’s race

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.

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Rep. Dustin Burrows voted Texas House speaker in blow to insurgent GOP movement

Read full article: Rep. Dustin Burrows voted Texas House speaker in blow to insurgent GOP movement

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

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Republican infighting flares after Burrows elected speaker

Read full article: Republican infighting flares after Burrows elected speaker

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

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Texas House to pick new speaker, concluding brutal proxy war

Read full article: Texas House to pick new speaker, concluding brutal proxy war

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

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Texas lawmaker accuses state GOP chair of ethics violation over threats in House speaker race

Read full article: Texas lawmaker accuses state GOP chair of ethics violation over threats in House speaker race

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.

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Ken Paxton kicks off tour to pressure Republicans to support David Cook for House speaker

Read full article: Ken Paxton kicks off tour to pressure Republicans to support David Cook for 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.

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Texas GOP threatens House members who support Dustin Burrows in speaker race with attack mailers

Read full article: Texas GOP threatens House members who support Dustin Burrows in speaker race with attack mailers

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

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A new Texas GOP rule could alter the House speaker’s race — and ban some Republicans from appearing in primaries

Read full article: A new Texas GOP rule could alter the House speaker’s race — and ban some Republicans from appearing in primaries

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

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Gov. Greg Abbott signals support for David Cook over Dustin Burrows in GOP fight for House speaker

Read full article: Gov. Greg Abbott signals support for David Cook over Dustin Burrows in GOP fight for House speaker

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

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Does Dade Phelan have the votes to keep his job as Texas House speaker? It depends on how you count.

Read full article: Does Dade Phelan have the votes to keep his job as Texas House speaker? It depends on how you count.

Phelan appears to lack support from the majority of House Republicans, but he could still win with some Democratic support.

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Republicans who want to oust Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan unanimously back state Rep. David Cook

Read full article: Republicans who want to oust Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan unanimously back state Rep. David Cook

Four GOP state representatives suspended their bids to challenge Phelan and 48 Republicans backed Cook, which could threaten Phelan’s shot at a third term.

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Majority of incoming Texas House Republicans calls for end to Democratic committee chairs, narrowing path for Phelan

Read full article: Majority of incoming Texas House Republicans calls for end to Democratic committee chairs, narrowing path for Phelan

House Speaker Dade Phelan has stuck to the tradition of appointing chairs from the opposing party, drawing fierce pushback from the GOP’s right wing.

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Texas House committee recommends expelling Rep. Bryan Slaton

Read full article: Texas House committee recommends expelling Rep. Bryan Slaton

The House General Investigating Committee found that Slaton, a Republican from Royse City, engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a subordinate. The Texas Tribune previously reported on an allegation that he had sex with one of his staff, a woman under 21, and gave her alcohol.

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Gus Mutscher, Texas House speaker who resigned amid the Sharpstown stock fraud scandal, dies at 90

Read full article: Gus Mutscher, Texas House speaker who resigned amid the Sharpstown stock fraud scandal, dies at 90

Mutscher served as speaker from 1969 to 1972 before leaving amid the pay-for-play scandal, though he was later cleared on appeal.

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Former Texas House Speaker Rayford Price dies at 86

Read full article: Former Texas House Speaker Rayford Price dies at 86

The Texas Democrat served as speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 1972 to 1973.

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Texas Legislature 101: Understanding the state government and how it passes laws

Read full article: Texas Legislature 101: Understanding the state government and how it passes laws

Here’s a rundown of how a bill becomes a law, how the Texas Legislature works and the power players who keep things moving under the Pink Dome.

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State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, one of the most far-right members of the House, announces he’s running for speaker

Read full article: State Rep. Tony Tinderholt, one of the most far-right members of the House, announces he’s running for speaker

The current speaker, fellow Republican Dade Phelan, is expected to seek the gavel again but has not made an official announcement yet.

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House Speaker Dade Phelan announces legislative committee to investigate Uvalde shooting

Read full article: House Speaker Dade Phelan announces legislative committee to investigate Uvalde shooting

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.

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A growing number of Texas Republicans want a fourth special session to pass COVID-19 vaccine mandate ban

Read full article: A growing number of Texas Republicans want a fourth special session to pass COVID-19 vaccine mandate ban

It remains unclear whether Gov. Greg Abbott — the only official with the power to convene special sessions — will order state lawmakers back to Austin, or what issues he would include on the agenda.

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Longtime Houston Democrat Garnet Coleman to retire from Texas Legislature

Read full article: Longtime Houston Democrat Garnet Coleman to retire from Texas Legislature

The lawmaker has represented parts of central and southeast Houston in state House District 147 since 1991.

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Texas legislators pass most — but not all — of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priority measures in final flurry of lawmaking

Read full article: Texas legislators pass most — but not all — of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priority measures in final flurry of lawmaking

Lawmakers approved new political maps and decided how to spend COVID-19 relief money. But they didn’t pass bills about vaccine mandates or the criminal penalty for illegal voting.

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Texas House passes proposed new map for chamber’s 150 districts, aiming to protect Republicans’ majority for the next decade

Read full article: Texas House passes proposed new map for chamber’s 150 districts, aiming to protect Republicans’ majority for the next decade

Members considered more than 50 amendments to the proposed map during debate that began Tuesday and ended early Wednesday. Some of the biggest changes focused on Dallas and Harris counties.

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Texas House proposes map that increases Republican strength and decreases Black and Hispanic majority districts

Read full article: Texas House proposes map that increases Republican strength and decreases Black and Hispanic majority districts

The Texas Legislature is in the midst of its third special session, which is dedicated to redrawing political maps based on the latest census data that showed people of color fueled 95% of Texas’ population growth over the past decade.

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State Rep. Chris Paddie, chair of powerful state affairs committee, says he won’t run for reelection

Read full article: State Rep. Chris Paddie, chair of powerful state affairs committee, says he won’t run for reelection

The news comes less than a month after Paddie, who has represented House District 9 since 2013, announced he would run for reelection.

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Law enforcement warns of “credible threat” against Texas legislators who voted for abortion ban

Read full article: Law enforcement warns of “credible threat” against Texas legislators who voted for abortion ban

The threat was apparently made on Reddit and included the names of House and Senate members who voted for Senate Bill 8 during the regular legislative session.

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First draft of Legislature’s map of new State Board of Education districts shores up Republican majority

Read full article: First draft of Legislature’s map of new State Board of Education districts shores up Republican majority

The Republican-dominated, 15-member board determines what millions of public school students in the state are taught in classrooms.

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How the quorum break got broken: Texas Democrats splintered during second session break

Read full article: How the quorum break got broken: Texas Democrats splintered during second session break

For House Democrats, the story of the second special session is much different from that of the first one. The excitement of leaving the state had worn off, the media spotlight had dimmed and the pressures to return home were mounting.

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Texas Legislature adjourns second special session after passing more of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priorities

Read full article: Texas Legislature adjourns second special session after passing more of Gov. Greg Abbott’s priorities

The Legislature is expected to return soon for another special session focused on redrawing the state's political maps.

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Texas House advances bill to restore money to pay salaries for 2,100 state workers after Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed Legislature funding

Read full article: Texas House advances bill to restore money to pay salaries for 2,100 state workers after Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed Legislature funding

The legislation will need another stamp of approval in the House before it heads to the Senate, which has not yet debated its version of the proposal on the floor.

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Texas House Speaker says ‘absolutely no deals made’ to bring back absent Democrats

Read full article: Texas House Speaker says ‘absolutely no deals made’ to bring back absent Democrats

Navigating the quorum break, Speaker Dade Phelan said he was especially mindful of not doing “un-repairable harm” to the chamber, indicating that could have happened if members were physically detained and brought to the chamber.

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The threats of state troopers arresting House Democrats have yet to materialize

Read full article: The threats of state troopers arresting House Democrats have yet to materialize

As of Wednesday, there were no known cases of absent Democrats being arrested, and the chamber was still shy of the 100 members it needs for a quorum to conduct official business. That is despite its Aug. 10 vote to proceed with the arrests.

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Texas law enforcement deputized to round up absent House Democrats, intensifying battle in the lower chamber

Read full article: Texas law enforcement deputized to round up absent House Democrats, intensifying battle in the lower chamber

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.

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Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan signs 52 arrest warrants for absent Democrats in bid to end chamber’s weekslong stalemate

Read full article: Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan signs 52 arrest warrants for absent Democrats in bid to end chamber’s weekslong stalemate

The Texas Supreme Court earlier Tuesday ruled that Democrats who refuse to show up could be detained by law enforcement and brought back to the state Capitol.

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Texas House, just shy of a quorum, issues order to lock members inside the chamber

Read full article: Texas House, just shy of a quorum, issues order to lock members inside the chamber

This is the second time in recent weeks the majority Republican House has voted to issue a “call of the House,” though members on Monday did not offer or debate a motion to enable law enforcement to track down members still missing from the chamber.

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Texas Supreme Court denies Democrats' request to overturn Gov. Greg Abbott's veto of Legislature's funding

Read full article: Texas Supreme Court denies Democrats' request to overturn Gov. Greg Abbott's veto of Legislature's funding

Abbott vetoed a section of the state budget that funds the Legislature — including salaries and benefits of 2,100 employees — as punishment for House Democrats' May walkout to prevent passage of a controversial voting bill.

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Lawmaker relationships fray as Texas Democrats’ quorum bust to block voting bill drags on

Read full article: Lawmaker relationships fray as Texas Democrats’ quorum bust to block voting bill drags on

“There’s been some significant — if not irreparable — damage to the relationships within the body,” said state Rep. Justin Holland, R-Rockwall.

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GOP leaders say they’ve secured an extra month of funding for Texas Legislature to plug money vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott

Read full article: GOP leaders say they’ve secured an extra month of funding for Texas Legislature to plug money vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott

Funds amounting to at least $12.6 million will be transferred from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to the Senate, the House, and legislative agencies such as the LBB, the Legislative Council and the Legislative Reference Library.

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First special legislative session ends without any bills passed and Democrats still in D.C.

Read full article: First special legislative session ends without any bills passed and Democrats still in D.C.

House Democrats are still camped out in the nation’s capital hinting that many may not return to Austin immediately as the next overtime round starts Saturday.

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With time running out, Texas Legislature still at impasse on GOP elections bill

Read full article: With time running out, Texas Legislature still at impasse on GOP elections bill

Republicans believe they have already compromised enough on the legislation, while Democrats are distrustful of both the policy driving the bill and their GOP colleagues after seeing how they have managed the process around the proposal so far.

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A tale of two capital cities: Texas Democrats continue fight for voting rights in Washington as Republicans push them to return

Read full article: A tale of two capital cities: Texas Democrats continue fight for voting rights in Washington as Republicans push them to return

Both Republicans in Austin and Democrats in D.C. have engaged in the political drama over the past two weeks, with the two camps battling it out on cable news interviews and social media over the quorum bust and who is to blame for it.

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Beto O’Rourke group gives $600,000 to Texas House Democrats’ stay in Washington, D.C.

Read full article: Beto O’Rourke group gives $600,000 to Texas House Democrats’ stay in Washington, D.C.

Members left Texas about 10 days ago and have said they plan to stay out of state until after the special session ends Aug. 6.

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Sixth Texas Democrat in Washington, D.C., tests positive for COVID-19

Read full article: Sixth Texas Democrat in Washington, D.C., tests positive for COVID-19

The Texas House Democratic Caucus, which has said it plans to not identify lawmakers who test positive, has started additional precautionary measures, such as providing daily rapid tests.

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Deploy law enforcement? Call another special session? Texas GOP mulls options for elections bill after Democrats leave the state

Read full article: Deploy law enforcement? Call another special session? Texas GOP mulls options for elections bill after Democrats leave the state

A number of House Republicans indicated that they would support what’s known as a call of the House, a procedural move that would allow law enforcement to track down lawmakers who have already fled the chamber.

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Texas House attempting to reset on contentious elections bill with new author, new committee in special session

Read full article: Texas House attempting to reset on contentious elections bill with new author, new committee in special session

The lower chamber, led by House Speaker Dade Phelan, is trying to start off on a new foot with a controversial election bill that blew up during the regular session.

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Texas House Democrats and legislative staffers take Gov. Greg Abbott to court for defunding Legislature

Read full article: Texas House Democrats and legislative staffers take Gov. Greg Abbott to court for defunding Legislature

The governor had vowed to veto the Legislature’s funding in the final hours of the regular legislative session in May after House Democrats broke quorum and left the chamber to prevent passage of a controversial elections bill.

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Effort to curb governors' pandemic emergency powers falls short at Texas Legislature

Read full article: Effort to curb governors' pandemic emergency powers falls short at Texas Legislature

The proposal’s low bill number signaled it was a priority of new House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Beaumont Republican who referred to the legislation as “the House’s blueprint for pandemic response.”

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Texas lawmakers send $248 billion two-year budget to Gov. Greg Abbott

Read full article: Texas lawmakers send $248 billion two-year budget to Gov. Greg Abbott

Abbott has the power to veto individual line items he objects to.

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Speaker Dade Phelan once criticized anti-LGBTQ efforts. Now he’s signaling support for a bill targeting transgender Texans.

Read full article: Speaker Dade Phelan once criticized anti-LGBTQ efforts. Now he’s signaling support for a bill targeting transgender Texans.

Democrats supported Phelan for House speaker, reassured he would avoid controversial social issues that target LGBTQ Texans. They say they’re disappointed he is now signaling support for bill targeting transgender student athletes.

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Top Texas House Republicans say they can no longer support Speaker Dennis Bonnen

Read full article: Top Texas House Republicans say they can no longer support Speaker Dennis Bonnen

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.

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Could Texas Democrats influence Dennis Bonnen's fate? The minority party is mulling what to do next.

Read full article: Could Texas Democrats influence Dennis Bonnen's fate? The minority party is mulling what to do next.

Of the 17 House members who have called for Bonnen to step down, only four are Democrats.

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Calls for Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen's resignation are limited — but growing — as his party plans to meet this week

Read full article: Calls for Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen's resignation are limited — but growing — as his party plans to meet this week

A handful of Republicans and Democrats have said the GOP leader of the lower chamber should step aside. And so far, no one from Bonnen's own party has publicly come to his defense.

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Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen offered media access to Empower Texans, suggested it target certain Republicans, recording shows

Read full article: Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen offered media access to Empower Texans, suggested it target certain Republicans, recording shows

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.”

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First day of 86th session is "launching pad" for new and veteran members

Read full article: First day of 86th session is "launching pad" for new and veteran members

There's a lot of work that goes on at the State Capitol even before lawmakers gavel in. This "Under the Dome" episode takes you through the behind-the-scenes start of the 86th Texas Legislature.

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There's a new Texas House speaker in town

Read full article: There's a new Texas House speaker in town

In the latest installment of our mini-documentary series, "Under the Dome," we chronicle the path state Rep. Dennis Bonnen took to become the next likely speaker of the Texas House.

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