A Republican effort to set deadlines to plug orphan wells in Texas hits resistance
The bill would have set deadlines for the oil and gas industry to plug inactive wells, which can pose a danger to the environment. Full Story
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![A pump jack and a gas flare in the Eagle Ford oil patch south of San Antonio.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Despite promise of “total transparency,” secrecy will be a big part of Ken Paxton impeachment trial
From deliberations to documents, the Texas Senate’s rules create an opaque process for the suspended attorney general’s impeachment trial, set to begin Sept. 5. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recaps the 88th Legislative Session with Sherry Sylvester, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, at TPPF Headquarters in downtown Austin, on May 30, 2023.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas Senate moves to create new immigration enforcement unit, allow state police to arrest for border crossings
The House has already passed the bill, but the two chambers will need to iron out the differences in their versions before it is sent to Gov. Greg Abbott. Full Story
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![Migrants carry supplies before crossing the Rio Grande River and into the U.S. from Mexico on Monday, May 8, 2023, in Juárez, Chihuahua. Several hundred migrants have been waiting on the U.S. side of the river to be picked up and processed by CBP.]()
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune -
GOP border bill expanded to stiffen penalty for human smuggling, create border-crossing crime
State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, tacks two of his stalled bills onto legislation that would create a border police unit and increase state spending in border communities. Full Story
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![A group migrants waits at a gate near the U.S. and Mexico border in Del Rio on July 22, 2021. The group turned themselves over to the National Guard and Customs and Border Protection officials.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Guard’s border mission needs an additional $531 million to continue past this month, top general says
Texas Military Department leaders say they’ve addressed many of the issues that arose late last year when the mission ramped up to 10,000 service members — but more money is needed to run the mission at its current pace. Full Story
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![National Guard oversee an area where the border wall ends in Del Rio, on Nov. 7, 2021.]()
Credit: Verónica Gabriela Cárdenas for ProPublica/The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers hope an additional $200 million will decrease dreaded wait times at driver's license centers
The money will be used to hire more employees, give a raise to current staffers and open two new driver’s license offices in Angleton and Denton. The Department of Public Safety's management of the offices has drawn criticism, but lawmakers stopped short of moving those duties to another agency. Full Story
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![A line begins to form outside the DPS office in Northwest Austin shortly before it opens at 8 a.m. on Jan. 24, 2019.]()
Credit: Emree Weaver / The Texas Tribune -
He thought he had a free court-appointed lawyer. Then he got a $10k bill.
Defendants in Texas and across the country are sometimes asked to reimburse the government for the cost of their court-appointed lawyer through a practice called recoupment. Full Story
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![The Hill County Courthouse in Hillsboro.]()
Credit: Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0. -
Convention of states resolution is on its way to full Texas Senate
The Senate State Affairs Committee addressed one of Gov. Greg Abbott's four emergency items Thursday: passing a resolution showing the state backs an Article V convention. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott prepares to deliver his State of the State address, flanked by (l.-r.) Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, state Sens. Donna Campbell, R-San Antonio, and Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and House Speaker Joe Straus.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Dan Patrick makes only one change atop Senate committees
Only one committee received a new committee chair in the Texas Senate. Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, will chair the Senate Administration Committee. Full Story
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Credit: Rick Mach -
Senator Brian Birdwell Finally Gets Chance to Thank Man who Helped Him on 9/11
It’s been nearly 15 years since the lives of Texas state Sen. Brian Birdwell and Rob Maness, candidate for the open U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana, were thrust together for a few chaotic moments outside the Pentagon on 9/11. Full Story
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![Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell shows his cast to Marion Jordan and physical therapist Kristen Dammen at Washington Hospital Center burn unit. Birdwell was badly burned while working at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.]()
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Video: Higher Ed and the 84th Legislature
At our 11/16 symposium on higher education, Matthew Watkins talked to state Sens. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, and Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo; state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin; and Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes about how higher ed issues played in the 84th Legislature. Full Story
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Patrick Directs Senators to Study Jail Safety, Police Safety
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick added police safety and jail safety issues, as well as sanctuary cities and veteran benefits to the Senate's to-do list Friday ahead of the next scheduled legislative session in 2017. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick stopped by Hope AME Church following a memorial service for Sandra Bland in Prairie View on July 19, 2015.]()
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Bill to Rein In Hazlewood Costs Dies
Lawmakers said Saturday they were unable to reconcile House and Senate versions of a bill to tighten eligibility rules for a popular veterans' tuition program. Full Story
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![Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, listens during a debate over Senate Bill 11 on March 18, 2015.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Revised Campus Carry Bill Would Give Universities More Say
House and Senate negotiators are sending a version of "campus carry" back to their chambers that gives universities more say over where and how concealed handguns are permitted on campus. Full Story
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Hazlewood Conundrum Lingers Into Weekend
Key lawmakers are still far from an agreement on the future of a popular college tuition program for Texas veterans and their children. If nothing is done, some lawmakers say, the program known as Hazlewood could financially cripple the state's universities. Full Story
![Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, listens during a debate over Senate Bill 11 on March 18, 2015.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House, Senate Make Progress on Border Security Legislation
The House and Senate are close to coming together on another thorny subject that Gov. Greg Abbott declared a priority this session. But this issue doesn't involve tax cuts. Full Story
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![Sen. Brian Birdwell R-Granbury listens during debate of his campus carry bill SB #11 on March 18th, 2015]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
The Brief: April 27, 2015
There was more fallout late last week from the Southern Methodist University-led research study that linked wastewater injection wells to a swarm of earthquakes near Reno and Azle in late 2013 and early 2014. Full Story
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![Texas Railroad Commission lead engineering technician for districts 1 and 2, Michael Polasek, inspects a salt water disposal injection well at a Heckman Water Resources commercial disposal facility on the LAMZA lease near Highway 80, January 22, 2012.]()
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Senate Committee Backs Hazlewood Program Changes
Amid concerns raised about the rising costs of a college tuition program for military veterans, a Texas Senate panel on Wednesday backed a plan that would tighten eligibility rules. Full Story
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The Brief: March 18, 2015
A bill allowing the carrying of handguns on college and university campuses wasn't heard on the Senate floor on Tuesday because of a paperwork error. But it is expected to be heard today and will likely pass. Full Story
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![Sen. Joan Huffman R-Houston]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
The Brief: March 16, 2015
Legislative activity begins to ramp up in the two chambers this week with speculation rampant that the Senate might take up as early as today legislation that would allow permitted gun owners to carry handguns openly. Full Story
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![Anti-guns advocates inside Texas Capitol where the Senate Committee on State Affairs is listening to testimony SB 11 & SB 17 both related to handguns on Feb. 12th, 2015]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera