TEXAS LEGISLATURE

Following the lead of several other GOP governors, Abbott said banning the social media platform, which is run by the Chinese company ByteDance, would protect state information from the Chinese Communist Party.

Martinez Fischer replaces Rep. Chris Turner of Grand Prairie, who has led the caucus since 2017 and did not seek reelection.

Warren, a Dallas pipeline tycoon, sued O’Rourke in February over accusations he made on the campaign trail that Warren effectively bribed Gov. Greg Abbott with a $1 million campaign contribution following the 2021 power grid collapse.

For some local relief programs, a lack of staffing, political support and effective community outreach got in the way of spending federal funds to prevent evictions, a new report found. More than $30 million went unspent and had to be returned.

The Court of Criminal Appeals scuttled nearly 450 cases, saying migrants arrested for trespassing in Kinney County can’t ask Austin judges to hear their appeals.

Rural communities face compounding reasons they can’t improve their water infrastructure, including inflation and a lack of human resources.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz condemned the comment by the former president, but he also said that reporters were overblowing the story and should instead “focus on what matters.” Sen. John Cornyn called the move “irresponsible” on Monday.

Nelson planned to retire from the Senate after 30 years in office. But her nomination will give Abbott a clearer path to having his nominee confirmed by the Senate after his last three have gone unconfirmed.

After 30 years in the Texas Legislature, Sen. Jane Nelson will replace John Scott as the secretary of state.

The capital city’s mayoral race is something of a test case in how the state’s rising housing costs might influence local races in major cities.

The dueling approaches are coming into focus as lawmakers prepare to return to Austin for the session which begins Jan. 10.

In a Monday committee hearing, lawmakers questioned whether a Public Utility Commission proposal to redesign Texas’ electricity market would lead to the building of more natural-gas-fired power plants. Regulators say it would.

The League of United Latin American Citizens sued the city Monday, asking a federal court to halt its practice of electing five of its 16 council members through at-large elections.

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Scott as secretary of state in October 2021, and he served in an interim capacity pending Senate confirmation. He is stepping down right before the legislative session in which his appointment would have come up for debate.

Under the state’s Permanent School Fund’s Bond Guarantee Program, schools get the best interest rate on bonds. That soon may be over if the federal government doesn’t act.

Republican members of the Texas House endorsed Phelan’s bid for reelection in a nonbinding vote on Saturday. An official vote from the entire Texas House will take place in January.

Those leaving are frustrated that the church has taken positions they feel are too liberal.

Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Palmhurst attorney Horacio Pena to serve as judge of the new 476th state district court in Hidalgo County.

State police often rely on federal immigration officials to lock up migrants on state trespassing charges, according to a new complaint by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. The collaboration contradicts federal and Texas officials’ attacks on each other’s immigration policies.

Mike May, who lost to Houston state Rep. Jon Rosenthal by 6,000 votes, wants the Texas House to order a new election. State law allows such an appeal, but the House hasn’t approved one in more than 40 years.

Texas policies targeting access to health care for transgender youth forced one family to leave the state.

The announcement signals a shift in Abbott’s approach to fighting the opioid epidemic. He had previously pushed back against bills calling for the decriminalization of fentanyl testing strips.

More than 16 million people had already been approved for student loan debt relief by the Education Department when a federal judge in North Texas struck down the plan last month.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday, the city of Uvalde says the district attorney is restricting information needed by its independent investigator. Uvalde wants a judge to compel the prosecutor to hand over all relevant investigative information.

Republican critics say conservative priorities will always be hamstrung if Democrats, who are in the minority party, get a say in which legislation reaches the floor.

The latest county to make a disaster declaration is an eight-hour drive away from the Texas-Mexico border, but local officials there say they’re under “invasion.”

Texas homeowners have some of the highest property tax bills in the nation, a byproduct of the state’s reliance on such taxes to help pay for public schools and the state’s lack of an income tax.

The flights, financed by Florida at the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis, were filled by Perla Huerta of San Antonio, who was added to a lawsuit against DeSantis and others on Tuesday.

Patrick, who presides over the Senate and wields tremendous power over legislation, said lawmakers have an “extraordinary opportunity” to shape the future of Texas at the start of the next legislative session, which begins Jan. 10.

Adam Hinojosa finished 659 votes behind Democrat Morgan LaMantia in a race that garnered 175,415 total votes.

A rural hospital hasn’t closed in Texas since the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020. That could change as federal relief ends.

Abdul Wasi Safi was trying to reach his brother, who immigrated legally to Houston after helping the U.S. military. Legal experts say Wasi may have to serve a criminal sentence before he can pursue asylum.

The 20-year-old Fort Hood soldier’s murder prompted nationwide outrage and calls to reform the way the military addresses sexual violence within its ranks.

Changes to Texas’ power grid have improved ERCOT’s ability to keep power flowing during major winter storms, but in an extreme scenario, the grid could still face rolling blackouts, a seasonal assessment shows.

The lawsuit accuses Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the shooter’s weapon, of marketing that primes “young buyers to purchase AR-15-style rifles as soon as they are legally able.”

Regents said they chose the UT System because of its access to the Permanent University Fund, which consists of oil and gas assets.

For more than 24 hours, nearly everyone in the nation’s fourth-most-populous city had been asked to boil water after a power outage at a water treatment plant Sunday.

O’Rourke’s campaign said they gave the money back before the company’s scandals became widely public, because they were taken aback by such a large unsolicited donation.

Former DFPS commissioner Anne Heiligenstein was tapped by Abbott in June to serve as the agency’s executive deputy commissioner. Last month, she was out. Now she’s back.

Many residents in the nation’s fourth-most-populous city heard that they couldn’t drink tap water from friends or neighbors, not from City Hall.

The first-term DA was under fire for the office’s mishandling of criminal cases and for potentially jeopardizing the prosecution of the man charged in the 2019 Walmart massacre.

Advocates say discontent with public schools’ pandemic rules and teachings on race and gender identity have helped raise support for school choice to an all-time high.

Extremism experts and historians sound alarms as politicians, media personalities and celebrities amplify antisemitic conspiracies that have historically led to the killing of Jews.

Millions of Houston residents are expected to be under a boil water notice until Tuesday after a power outage at a water treatment plant. At least four school districts canceled Monday classes.

Zavalla lost all water for several days. The Texas Department of Emergency Management has sent pallets of bottled water and a team to help.

The Sea Port Oil Terminal would be 30 miles off the Texas coast and is one of four proposed offshore terminals designed to dramatically expand the U.S. oil export capacity.

Under Texas law, homeowners can claim a homestead exemption only on their primary residence. The GOP Senate candidate registered to vote in Georgia last year.

The judge opted not to apply a $750,000 cap Texas imposes on punitive damages, questioning its constitutionality and saying Jones had “done something horrible” in claiming the shooting was faked.

Frisco ISD’s new bathroom policy and Keller ISD’s ban on books that reference gender fluidity violate federal rules prohibiting sex-based discrimination, the ACLU said.

A court ordered Harris County to keep its polls open late on Election Day, but Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the state Supreme Court to not allow ballots cast after normal deadline to count.

This probe is part of the state’s wider investigation into FTX’s multibillion-dollar bankruptcy.

In this week’s episode, Texas Tribune regional editor Nic Garcia guest-hosts from Texas Tech University for a discussion about the issues facing the rural residents of the state.

A council organized by policy nonprofit Raise Your Hand Texas spoke with over 15,600 Texans about testing and accountability for public schools.

The blame isn’t only on TCEQ. The Legislature is responsible for taking up TCEQ’s sunset legislation, and keeping the agency accountable to the public.

While there has not been time to track the impact of the law, law enforcement reports crime, violence, shootings, and attacks on officers are rising.

By a 5-2 vote Monday, the Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees adopted a property tax rate of $1.208690 per $100 valuation for the 2022-2023 school year.

The lawsuit, which a judge has combined with a similar suit by Latino and Black voters, will go to trial at the end of September, too late to affect this year’s midterm elections.

The lawsuit, which a judge has combined with a similar suit by Latino and Black voters, will go to trial at the end of September, too late to affect this year’s midterm elections.

O'Rourke, the Democratic candidate for governor, presents himself as a listener and an advocate for the state's progressive activists.

At this weekend’s convention in Dallas, a contentious election for party chair revealed racial and gender-based fault lines.

We can invest in initiatives that will lead to a better connection between student’s academic pathways and the current and future workforce needs.

In a memo issued last week, Attorney General Ken Paxton said prosecutors “may choose to immediately pursue criminal prosecutions based on violations of Texas abortion prohibitions predating Roe that were never repealed by the Texas Legislature.”

I remain skeptical the Texas Legislature will truly ever face the issue of gun violence and mass shootings -- no matter how big a problem it becomes.

The governor’s orders to the Texas House and Senate come as Democrats and gun-reform groups are instead urging lawmakers to immediately return to Austin for a special legislative session addressing gun laws.

The Republican governor asked lawmakers to form special legislative committees in order...

Find out what's on the ballot and voting locations for Nueces, San Patricio, Aransas and Kleberg county voters on Saturday, May 7, 2022.

The idea that internet access is a luxury was already demolished before anybody ever heard of COVID-19. But the pandemic — and the demands of switching work, school and medicine from in-person to virtual experiences — made it impossible for state officials to ignore.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] Opinions San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

The City of Wimberley has hired a company to help define and potentially create a historic district in the downtown area.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s marching orders come after he threatened to revoke tenure for some professors who teach about critical race theory and its history at public universities.

Three years ago, Texas lawmakers were trying to honor a promise to cut property taxes and raise the state’s share of the cost of public education.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] Opinions San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said he’ll make legislation eliminating tenure at state universities – as a way to ban the teaching of critical race theory – a top priority for the 88th Texas Legislature.

Attorneys for the Mexican American Legislative Caucus took their latest challenge to Texas’s new political maps to the state’s high court. They argue lawmakers violated the Texas Constitution when drawing state house districts in the Rio Grande Valley.

As Austin schools held Pride Week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the district was breaking state law.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pledged to end tenure for new faculty hires at the state’s public universities and colleges when the Texas Legislature reconvenes next year. Patrick’s Feb. 18 attack on tenured college professors came days after the University of Texas at Austin Faculty Council passed a resolution Feb. 14 defending professors’ academic freedom, particularly […]

During her two terms, state Rep. Jessica González, the first openly gay Latina in the Texas Legislature, has proven she's not afraid to make waves.

Local law enforcement held a discussion alongside Platinum Group Metals (PGM) of Texas on Wednesday morning focusing on options and solutions regarding catalytic converter theft in San Marcos.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Booming population growth, coupled with changing climate patterns, unslakable groundwater thirst and political challenges, leave the Texas Hill Country newly vulnerable. Driving the news: A recently released report from the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network reveals a region facing profound threats to its future. The network is a partnership of dozens of organizations working across an 18-county region of Central Texas to protect waterways, vistas and wildlife.Stay on top of the latest mark

Hays County has created an adult Sexual Assault Response Team, thanks to a new state law.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Answers to your questions about the state's new rules targeting transgender kids. Answers to your questions about Texas’s new rules targeting transgender kids.

The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) has earned the Texas Optimization Program (TOP) Award from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for the eighth year in a row.According to th[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

The lawsuit alleges a GOP-drawn map of Texas Senate districts dilutes the voting power of minorities in North Texas. Attorneys say it could be a preview of what’s to come in the larger legal battle facing the state’s controversial new political boundaries.

The 2022 Texas primary elections are March 1. Use this guide to find voting information for Nueces, San Patricio, Aransas and Kleberg counties.

All over the state, county officials report they’re rejecting hundreds of applications for mail-in ballots, an issue several attribute to recent election law changes championed by state Republicans.

All over the state, county officials report they’re rejecting hundreds of applications for mail-in ballots, an issue several attribute to recent election law changes championed by state Republicans.

GOP leaders in the Legislature signed off on the money, according to a statement.

“If they want it, they’re gonna get it.”

Most elections, experts warn, could be over during primaries — which means fewer voters will be choosing candidates.

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION — Generations of Texans are poised to benefit from action by the...

Over a dozen plaintiffs, including a Rio Grande Valley organization, sued Gov. Greg Abbott over redistricting maps passed by the Texas Legislature that they believe violate the voting rights of the Latino community in Texas.

The Texas Legislature adjourned from its third special session of the year early Tuesday morning after a final flurry of activity that included agreeing on how to spend billions in federal COVID-19 re[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

The Texas Legislature adjourned from its third special session of the year early Tuesday morning after a final flurry of activity that included agreeing on how to spend billions in federal COVID-19 relief funds, approving a negotiated new congressional map and signing off on a last-minute proposal that will put to voters whether to increase the homestead property tax exemption.

Take a look at the top five trending stories across all of Community Impact Newspaper’s coverage areas as of Oct. 12.

Citing the Biden administration’s recent vaccine mandates, the governor signed an order on Oct. 11 preventing any entity from mandating a vaccine.

A Texas House committee on Tuesday voted out a revised draft to redraw the lower chamber’s districts, which will give Republicans stronger positioning in the House of the Legislature for the next deca[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Gov. Greg Abbott has asked the Texas Legislature to increase the penalty for illegal voting, adding the item to the third special session now underway.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Redistricting is in full swing the Legislature. That means Republicans are on the march and Democrats are on defense.

Texas House members on Thursday released the first proposal for a new map redrawing the chamber's 150-member districts.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Texas House members on Thursday released its first proposal for a new map redrawing the chamber's 150-member districts. The initial draft would both increase Republicans' strength across the state and the number of districts in which white residents make up a majority of eligible voters.

TX-33 in Dallas looks like a snake eating its own tail, and also packs non-Anglo voters into one district more tightly than before.

Redistricting is one of the items on the third special session, and the state Senate released proposed maps on Sept. 18.