https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/stephen-simpson/The latest news by Stephen Simpson.enFri, 22 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/22/texas-police-records-g-file-senate-bill-15/Senate Bill 15’s supporters say police shouldn’t be publicly maligned for allegations that aren’t proven. Critics say the bill disincentivizes agencies from properly investigating complaints.By Alex Nguyen, Hayden Betts and Stephen SimpsonFri, 22 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/22/texas-police-records-g-file-senate-bill-15/https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/18/texas-senate-second-special-session-thc-disaster-relief-bathroom-bills/Senators moved fast on Gov. Greg Abbott’s agenda for the second special session. With House Democrats back in Texas, bills can now move through that chamber.By Jayme Lozano Carver, Carlos Nogueras Ramos, Alejandra Martinez, Alex Nguyen, Ayden Runnels, Eleanor Klibanoff, Emily Foxhall, Joshua Fechter and Stephen SimpsonMon, 18 Aug 2025 21:30:46 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/18/texas-senate-second-special-session-thc-disaster-relief-bathroom-bills/State Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, speaks on the Senate floor at the Capitol on July 21, 2025.State Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, speaks on the Senate floor at the Capitol on July 21, 2025.Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/15/texas-kratom-hemp-thc-opioid-drug/Texas law bans the sale of synthetic kratom, but it isn’t enforced. Earlier this year, legislation died in the Texas House to ban the natural plant, too.By Stephen Simpson, Data reporting by Dan KeemahillFri, 15 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/15/texas-kratom-hemp-thc-opioid-drug/A worker shifts a barrel of kratom inside the 1836 Kratom warehouse and headquarters in Pflugerville on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. 1836 Kratom produces the natural form of Kratom, and owners Tiffani and Jeremy Steding caution against the use of synthetic kratom, often called 7-OH.A worker shifts a barrel of Kratom inside the 1836 Kratom warehouse and headquarters Friday, Aug. 8, 2025 in Pflugerville, TX. Kratom is shipped to the United States as a crushed powder and is distributed by 1836 Kratom into various consumption forms.Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/13/texas-crime-labs-THC-hemp-ban-regulations/Crime lab officials told lawmakers Wednesday they are struggling to keep up with deadlier drugs like fentanyl and a THC ban or new regulations would add to the challenge.By Stephen SimpsonWed, 13 Aug 2025 15:38:08 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/13/texas-crime-labs-THC-hemp-ban-regulations/Steve Dye, city of Allen police chief, testifies in favor of House Bill 5 banning THC during a committee hearing at the state Capitol in Austin on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. Dye spoke on the worrying cost of testing THC products and enforcing regulation.Steve Dye, city of Allen chief of police, testifies in favor of Senate Bill 5 banning THC during a committee hearing at the state Capitol in Austin on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. Dye spoke on the worrying cost of testing THC products and enforcing regulation.Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/01/texas-rural-thc-hemp-cannabis-marijuana/As lawmakers continue to debate banning hemp-derived THC, some rural Texans say it helps ease addiction, health concerns and economic woes that hit their communities the hardest.By Stephen SimpsonFri, 01 Aug 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/01/texas-rural-thc-hemp-cannabis-marijuana/Romana Harding greets goats and miniature horses on her farm outside of Midway, on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. Romana plans to use the 10 acres she owns to make a farm for other veterans to visit and experience healing.Romana Harding greets goats and miniature horses on her farm outside of Midway, TX, on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. Romana plans use the 10 acres she owns to make a farm for other veterans to visit and experience healing.Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/texas-hemp-thc-senate-bill-5/The Senate’s decision signals another potential standoff with Gov. Greg Abbott, who vetoed a similar ban earlier this year as he called for more regulations instead.By Stephen SimpsonWed, 30 Jul 2025 14:26:33 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/30/texas-hemp-thc-senate-bill-5/State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, sponsor of Senate 5 which would ban THC-containing products, speaks on the Senate floor on July 30, 2025.Employees trim leaves off a hemp flower at Caprock Family Farms, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Lubbock. The farm harvests the hemp and then manufactures the product to businesses, if requested.Annie Rice for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/22/texas-thc-senate-ban-abbott-hemp/Senate Bill 5 would ban products containing any detectable amount of any cannabinoid, creating criminal offenses for possession of hemp-derived THC.By Stephen SimpsonTue, 22 Jul 2025 15:23:07 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/22/texas-thc-senate-ban-abbott-hemp/Texas Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, speaks during a public hearing on his bill to ban THC at the Capitol's Senate Chambers on Tuesday.Texas Sen. Charles Perry R-Lubbock speaks during a public hearing at the Senate Chambers on Tuesday, July 22, 2025 in Austin, Texas.Ronaldo Bolaños/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/22/texas-marijuana-hemp-data-poison-control-overdose/Experts say poison control data don’t specify which calls are related to hemp versus more dangerous K2, but show that most THC poisonings cause minor side effects.By Stephen Simpson, Data reporting by Dan KeemahillTue, 22 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/22/texas-marijuana-hemp-data-poison-control-overdose/A container of dried hemp plant with leaves and stems, photographed on Jan. 23, 2020.A container of dried hemp plant with leaves and stems on Jan. 23, 2020.Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/16/texas-robert-roberson-execution-date/Roberson’s attorneys have asked the state’s Court of Criminal Appeals to pause his execution until the court has considered his case.By Jess Huff and Stephen SimpsonWed, 16 Jul 2025 11:51:20 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/16/texas-robert-roberson-execution-date/Shackled and chained, Robert Roberson is led away from his lawyers by an Anderson County Sheriff’s Office deputy Wednesday morning after a new execution date of Oct. 16, 2025 was set by presiding Judge Austin Jackson of Smith County at the Anderson County Courthouse in Palestine.Shackled and chained, Robert Roberson is led away from his lawyers by an Anderson Co. Sheriff’s Office deputy Wednesday morning after a new execution date of Oct. 16, 2025 was set by presiding Judge Austin Jackson of Smith County at the Anderson County Courthouse in Palestine.Joel Andrews for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/14/texas-schools-budget-cuts-mental-health/Federal cuts and a lack of dedicated mental health funding from the state could erode programs to address chronic absenteeism, crises and more.By Stephen SimpsonMon, 14 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/14/texas-schools-budget-cuts-mental-health/https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/01/texas-hemp-thc-marijuana-medical-regulations/Medical program leaders want a ban on synthetic delta-8 THC, which makes up the bulk of consumable hemp products.By Stephen SimpsonTue, 01 Jul 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/01/texas-hemp-thc-marijuana-medical-regulations/Texas Original Director of Cultivation Jason Sanders gives a tour of the business’ facility on Sept. 26, 2024. Texas Original is Texas’ first licensed medical cannabis distributor.Texas Original Director of Cultivation Jason Sanders gives a tour of the business’ facility on Sept. 26, 2024. Texas Original is Texas’ first licensed medical cannabis distributor.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/24/texas-psychologist-licensing-exam/Texas and other states have criticized a decision by the national psychologist licensing board to add another expensive test in order for psychologists to become certified.By Stephen SimpsonTue, 24 Jun 2025 14:50:27 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/24/texas-psychologist-licensing-exam/Chair John Bielamowicz speaks during a Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists meeting on April 11, 2024 in Austin. During the meeting, the state board met with the Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards to discuss the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology.Chair John Bielamowicz speaks during a a Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists meeting Thursday, April 11, 2024 in Austin. During the meeting, the state board met with the Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards to discuss the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology.Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/23/texas-hemp-regulations-age-restriction-enforcement-thc-sb-3/Hemp industry leaders say they agree with regulations similar to how the state regulates alcohol.By Stephen SimpsonMon, 23 Jun 2025 17:15:21 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/23/texas-hemp-regulations-age-restriction-enforcement-thc-sb-3/The Texas Original cannabis farm on Sept. 26, 2024. Experimenting with different ways to cultivate cannabis, growers use red light to bleach the flower of the plant.The Texas Original cannabis farm on Sept. 26, 2024. The red light is an experimental form of growth where the light bleaches the flower of the plant.Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/20/texas-nursing-home-disabilities-intellectual-developmental-lawsuit-IDD/A federal judge determined the state illegally institutionalized severely disabled people for decades, often in poorly run facilities.By Stephen Simpson and Zach DespartFri, 20 Jun 2025 14:23:09 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/20/texas-nursing-home-disabilities-intellectual-developmental-lawsuit-IDD/An employee of the Amistad Nursing and Rehabilitation Center walks with a resident on April 1, 2021.An employee of the Amistad Nursing and Rehabilitation Center walks with a resident on April 1, 2021.Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/17/texas-robert-roberson-execution-date-ken-paxton/A court hearing on Wednesday will determine whether to proceed with Paxton’s request.By Kayla Guo and Stephen SimpsonTue, 17 Jun 2025 12:50:30 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/17/texas-robert-roberson-execution-date-ken-paxton/Robert Roberson at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has requested a new execution date for Roberson.Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Projecthttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/17/texas-thc-hemp-medical-marijuana-ban-veterans-pain/Texas hemp users stockpile products and consider moving out of state as ban looms, saying the medical marijuana program is currently an untenable alternative.By Hayden Betts and Stephen SimpsonTue, 17 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/17/texas-thc-hemp-medical-marijuana-ban-veterans-pain/Wesley Barnes, 55, at his home in Onalaska, Texas on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Barnes, a Gulf War veteran who has long struggled with pain, tried legal opiates and illegal THC over the years before finding affordable and effective relief in legal hemp flower beginning in 2018.Wesley Barnes, 55, stands for a portrait at his home in Onalaska, Texas on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Barnes, a Gulf War veteran who has long struggled with pain, tried legal opiates and illegal THC over the years before finding affordable and effective relief in legal hemp flower beginning in 2018.Ishika Samant for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/17/texas-bail-criminal-justice-reform-parole/Texas lawmakers approved a sweeping package to overhaul the state’s bail system, a longtime priority of Gov. Greg Abbott’s.By Stephen SimpsonTue, 17 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/17/texas-bail-criminal-justice-reform-parole/An empty visitation window at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Jan. 31, 2024. This year Texas lawmakers approved many criminal justice bills, including some to reform the state's bail system and increase local law enforcement collaborations with immigration authorities. Many proposals to address problems at the state's jails and prisons were left on the table.An empty visitation window at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Jan. 31, 2024.Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/13/texas-legislature-health-bills-abortion-vaccines/Amid a quiet legislative session for health, lawmakers’ priority legislation reinforced the U.S. health secretary’s agenda.By Terri Langford, Stephen Simpson and Eleanor KlibanoffFri, 13 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/13/texas-legislature-health-bills-abortion-vaccines/https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/11/texas-psychedelics-ibogaine-treatment-addiction-rick-perry-funding/Lawmakers have approved funding clinical trials for ibogaine as a treatment for addiction and brain trauma. It comes as Texas contemplates banning THC.By Stephen SimpsonWed, 11 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/11/texas-psychedelics-ibogaine-treatment-addiction-rick-perry-funding/The Rotunda seen from the Capitol Extension in Austin on Aug. 11, 2021.The Rotunda seen from the Capitol Extension in Austin on Aug. 11, 2021.Sophie Park/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/06/texas-hemp-marijuana-drugs-policy-legislature/Texas passed sweeping changes to cannabis policy, including expanding the medical marijuana program and banning hemp products, while also boosting psychedelics research.By Stephen SimpsonFri, 06 Jun 2025 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/06/texas-hemp-marijuana-drugs-policy-legislature/A hemp plant at Caprock Family Farms in Lubbock on May 23, 2025.Hemp plants are seen at Caprock Family Farms, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Lubbock.Annie Rice for The Texas Tribune