A $20 billion effort to avoid calamity: Here’s what Texas lawmakers did to save the state’s water supply

Latest News

• Texas public health departments brace for another $119 million in federal cuts

  By Terri Langford 1 hour ago

  Three months ago, Texas lost $700 million in unspent federal pandemic-era funding. Full Story 

• Watch a conversation with North Texas lawmakers on legislative session’s impact

  By Texas Tribune Events Staff Updated: 3 hours ago

  Beginning at 12 p.m. Friday, we’ll discuss bills that the Legislature passed, how North Texans will be affected and what they should know going forward. Full Story 

• Trans Texans brace for life under strict sex definition law

  By Eleanor Klibanoff June 12, 2025

  Texas has strictly defined man and woman, leaving trans Texans in legal limbo. Full Story 

• Texas parents and teachers worry bills to root out liberal sway from public schools pave the way for conservative bias

  By Sofia Sorochinskaia June 12, 2025

  Advocates say the bills will give parents more power over their children’s schools. Critics say they don’t give parents anything they didn’t already have and will only strain their relationship with teachers. Full Story 

• Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker announces run for Lina Hidalgo’s seat atop Harris County government

  By Atirikta Kumar June 11, 2025

  If Hidalgo decides to seek another term, she and Parker would face off in the March 2026 Democratic primary. Full Story 

• Watch the TribCast team discuss legislative session’s impact on Texas schools and libraries

  By Texas Tribune Events Staff Updated: June 11, 2025

  During our TribCast Live event at Austin Central Library, we explained what happened, looked ahead toward the impact on Texas schools, and heard from experts about what comes next Full Story 

• Here are the new Texas laws that will affect trans and LGBTQ+ people

  By Ayden Runnels June 11, 2025

  Of the more than 100 bills aimed at LGBTQ+ people in the state, less than 10 were approved by lawmakers this session. Full Story 

• Trump aides want Texas to redraw its congressional maps to boost the GOP. What would that mean?

  By Owen Dahlkamp, The Texas Tribune, and Natalia Contreras, Votebeat and The Texas Tribune June 11, 2025

  The plan would shift voters from safely red districts into blue ones. Members of the state’s Republican delegation aren’t sold on the idea. Full Story 

• With Rick Perry’s backing and $50 million from the state, Texas set to become a leader in psychedelics research

  By Stephen Simpson June 11, 2025

  Lawmakers have approved funding clinical trials for ibogaine as a treatment for addiction and brain trauma. It comes as Texas contemplates banning THC. Full Story 

• Hundreds protest in Austin against nationwide ICE detentions

  By Ayden Runnels Updated: June 10, 2025

  Thirteen people were arrested on various charges during the protest Monday, which ended when officers fired tear gas into a crowd that neared a federal building. Full Story 

• Texas high school students’ STAAR scores show gains in STEM fields, struggles in reading and literacy

  By Atirikta Kumar, Graphics by Edison Wu June 10, 2025

  Education policy experts say the results align with Texas’ workforce goals but note that students still need help. Full Story 

• Amarillo breaks ground on psychiatric hospital, part of the state’s $1.5B investment in mental health

  By Jayme Lozano Carver June 10, 2025

  The facility will bring mental health resources closer to the largely rural region that’s home to nearly 436,000 people. Full Story 

• Texas lawmakers pushed bills aimed at illegal immigration. Here’s what passed and what failed.

  By Alejandro Serrano and Uriel J. García Updated: June 10, 2025

  From requiring law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal officials to forcing state contractors to use E-Verify, here’s how immigration bills fared in this year’s legislative session. Full Story 

• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s push to ban THC in Texas draws rare backlash from the right

  By Alejandro Serrano June 10, 2025

  It’s an unusual situation for the lieutenant governor, long viewed by GOP activists as a stalwart conservative responsible for driving the Legislature rightward. Full Story 

• Texas’ abortion bans are here to stay despite narrow clarification

  By Eleanor Klibanoff June 10, 2025

  Legal challenges have failed, elections haven’t moved the needle and the fight for a narrow clarification shows how immovable these laws are. Full Story 

• Trump’s use of Enemy Aliens Act against alleged gang members is illegal, El Paso judge rules

  By Robert Moore, El Paso Matters June 9, 2025

  The judge’s order prohibits the federal government from using the act to deport people in a large swath of Texas who are accused of being Tren de Aragua members. But the ruling did not order anyone’s release from custody. Full Story