State Politics
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VIDEO: ‘Fire who? Elon Musk’ — Thousands of people rally at Texas Capitol
Thousands of people crowded the south lawn of the Texas Capitol on Saturday to rally against President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.
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Telehealth for pets? It’s the cat’s meow, a Texas lawmaker says.
Animal health care experts raised concern that telehealth would lead to misdiagnosis and erode what little care already exists in rural Texas.
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Texas State Veterans Home named for Tuskegee Airmen opens in Fort Worth
A project long championed by the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce to honor the area’s Tuskegee Airmen came to fruition March 22, as Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham hosted the grand opening of the Texas State Veterans Home in Fort Worth that bears their name.
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Congressman denounces ICE response about prosecutor operating racist X account
Last month, Congressman Marc Veasey, a North Texas Democrat, sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Deputy Director Kenneth Genalo demanding a swift investigation into James “Jim” Joseph Rodden, an ICE assistant chief counsel who acts as a prosecutor for ICE in immigration court in Dallas.
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‘Striking close to home’: Zoning bills tackling Texas affordable housing crisis evoke emotion
As part of a potential slate of solutions to Texas’ housing affordability crisis, state senators recently examined a bill authorizing the use of small auxiliary residences behind a larger main house.
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Federal investigators were preparing two Texas housing discrimination cases — until Trump took over
The government spent years probing allegations that a Dallas HOA created rules to kick poor Black people out and that Texas discriminated against minority residents in Houston after Hurricane Harvey, only to suddenly reverse course under Trump.
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Texas A&M can’t ban “Draggieland” drag show, federal judge rules
A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked Texas A&M University System from enforcing a ban on drag shows being held at its special event venues. Judge Lee H. Rosenthal said the student group that organizes Draggieland, the Queer Empowerment Council, was likely to succeed in showing the ban violates the First Amendment.
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These librarians won’t let America’s fever hit Fahrenheit 451
A new documentary shows us our local guardians of intellectual freedom in battle.
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Houston-area midwife arrested for allegedly providing illegal abortions
This represents the first criminal charges under Texas’ near-total abortion ban.
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Texas schools have leaned on uncertified teachers to fill vacancies. Lawmakers want to put a stop to it.
Underprepared teachers have been tied to student learning losses. But amid a teacher shortage crisis, school leaders fear the restrictions will lead to fewer instructors in their classrooms.
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Women’s clothing is often more expensive — and it’s partly due to tariffs
Two Democratic members of the House are pushing for a study of ‘pink tariffs.’
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As Texas measles cases rise, Austin officials blame anti-vax rhetoric
The growing number of Texas measles cases prompted elected officials in Austin to urge residents to get vaccinated and call for an end to anti-vax rhetoric.
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What Ever Happened to Ethics Reform?
The House speaker battle wasn’t really about cleaning house.
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Texas may change how schools select library books. Critics say it could lead to more bans.
Senate Bill 13 would create school library advisory councils largely made up of parents. It would give school boards, rather than librarians, the final say over new books.
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Texas Legislature proposes $400 million cut to higher ed as Dan Patrick threatens university budgets over DEI
At a public event last week, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said higher ed would get less funding if they don’t “kick DEI out of their schools,” a few weeks after lawmakers proposed a massive cut to public universities.
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Fort Worth to spend hundreds of millions to meet booming water demand. Here’s where
With the Fort Worth area’s population expected to grow by more than half a million over the next 20 years, plans to expand pipelines and water treatment plants to meet the city’s growth are moving forward.
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As Texas’ energy demand soars, a pilot program looks to bolster grid with “virtual power plants” fueled by people’s homes
Some Texans who install residential batteries, solar panels and smart thermostats can now send power back to the grid and get a credit on their bill.
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Anti-abortion centers face little regulation. The SAD Act could change that.
Democratic lawmakers are pushing for the federal government to better regulate anti-abortion centers, facilities that seek to dissuade people from terminating their pregnancies, The 19th is first to report.
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Texas Senate panel votes to cut property taxes for homeowners
A Texas Senate committee on Tuesday quickly and unanimously advanced a proposal to provide billions of dollars in tax breaks to homeowners in a bid to blunt the state’s high property tax bills.
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Spring forward? Maybe not in Texas as lawmakers mull ending daylight savings time.
Texas lawmakers are reviving efforts to eliminate the decades-long practice of changing the clocks twice a year.
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Texas Senate passes $1B school vouchers bill to spend public funds on private schools
The Texas Senate easily passed a controversial school voucher bill that Democrats criticized for not prioritizing low-income students.
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Texas lawmakers may ban certain lessons at state colleges under expanded DEI crackdown
This year, the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature is expected to pick up where it left off two years ago to address a perceived liberal bias at the state’s public, four-year universities.
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Trump orders tariffs on Mexico and Canada — Texas’ biggest trading partners
The tariffs, which also target China, are scheduled to go into effect Tuesday. They prompted immediate efforts to retaliate. President Donald Trump made good on his threat to apply high taxes to imports from Mexico, Canada and China, a move that swiftly brought retaliation from Texas’ leading trading partners and set the stage for a…
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Migrants at Texas border in shock after Trump canceled their asylum appointments
Hours after Trump’s inauguration, his administration canceled appointments allowing migrants to enter the U.S. to request asylum, leaving many of them stranded on the U.S.-Mexico border. CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico — Margelis Tinoco Lopez arrived at the border at 4 a.m. Monday for her 1 p.m. immigration appointment along with her husband and her 13-year-old son.…
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Inauguration bromance: Trump praises Abbott as he promises deportations, more miles of border wall
President Donald Trump lavished praise on Gov. Greg Abbott at the inauguration for his efforts at the border, pledging to send troops and build more miles of the border wall.
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Texas lawmakers react to inauguration: Congrats, criticism, and quiet
Elected officials from across Texas shared their reactions to President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
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Texas Legislature 101: How bills become laws — and how you can participate in the process
Here’s a rundown of how legislation moves through the Capitol, the ways lawmakers operate and who the power players are. Editor’s note: This is an updated version of Texas Tribune’s 2023 guide to the Texas Legislature. Texas’ 2025 legislative session runs from Jan. 14 to June 2. Lawmakers will debate a bevy of issues and…
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Texas’ new top cop pledges to secure southern border with Mexico
Col. Freeman Martin was sworn in as the state’s top cop on Monday, becoming the 14th director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
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Author of Texas abortion ban blames everyone but his law for women’s deaths
State Sen. Bryan Hughes defended the Texas abortion ban he wrote just days after the end of an election cycle in which it was harshly criticized.
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How to stay politically engaged in between election cycles
From engaging with representatives to joining advocacy groups, there are numerous ways to continue participating in democracy and shaping policy after the polls close. Every election, voters cast their ballots to have a say in the governments that pass and implement the many policies that shape their lives. But democratic participation doesn’t have to end…
