Texas lawmakers laid the foundation for a housing boom. Here’s how.
The Legislature passed laws allowing smaller homes on smaller lots and making it harder for neighbors to block new housing. Full Story
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![Houses in a North Austin neighborhood on Oct. 9, 2020.]()
Credit: Amna Ijaz/The Texas Tribune -
See how your representatives in the Texas Legislature voted on this year’s major bills
Our interactive tool allows you to search how state lawmakers voted on the most consequential proposals debated during the session, which ended June 2. Full Story
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![Six boxes with lines and rectangles representing bills and votes for the session on a gray background. There's a large address bar with a pointer in the middle.]()
Credit: Illustration by Carla Astudillo -
Lawmakers passed bills this session to boost the state power grid but failed to limit renewables
With demand expected to soar, the Legislature passed bills aimed at boosting supply and making the grid more reliable. Bills to impose more regulations on renewables died. Full Story
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![A pump jack operates near a gas turbine power plant in the Permian Basin oil field outside of Odessa, Texas, U.S. February 18, 2025.]()
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Texas legalizes shooting invasive sheep from a helicopter
Aoudad sheep are joining the short list of animals Texas lawmakers allow to be shot from a helicopter, along with coyotes and feral hogs. Full Story
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![Barbary sheep, also known as Aoudad sheep, were introduced to Texas from their native habitat in North Africa mid-20th century. Popular among hunters, considered an invasive species by farmers and ranchers, the Texas Legislature has added them to the list of animals that can be hunted helicopters, along with feral pigs an coyotes.]()
Credit: Courtesy of Leroy Williamson/Texas Parks and Wildlife -
Texas lawmakers pull funding for child identification kits again after newsrooms report they don’t work
For the second time, lawmakers cut funding for kits meant to help find missing kids after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune documented the lack of evidence that the kits work. Full Story
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![The House chamber at the Texas Capitol during a session.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill creating more weekend early voting could boost turnout, but delay election results
A bill headed for Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk may not go into effect until 2027. Election administrators say the changes could create staffing challenges. Full Story
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![The line wraps around the sidewalk at the Cinco Ranch Branch Library on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, in Ft Bend County.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Voters will have final say on billions of tax cuts for Texas homeowners, businesses
Texas is slated to spend $51 billion on property tax cuts over the next two years. Some worry that’s unsustainable. Full Story
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![An aerial view of new construction homes in a subdivision next to farmland and an irrigation canal in Edinburg, Texas on May 12, 2025.]()
Credit: Michael Gonzalez for The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Did lawmakers improve Texas’ infrastructure?
Will Texas be able to keep the lights on and water flowing til the next legislative session? Full Story
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![A crew worker attempts to extinguish a leakage as they work to upgrade pipes and valves at a North Alamo Water Supply Corporation water plant in Donna on July 18, 2024.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers voted to ban consumable THC products. Will Gov. Greg Abbott sign — or veto — the bill?
Abbott faces pressure from both sides of the aisle. The prohibition was a priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, but some hemp farmers and veterans want it killed. Full Story
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![Displaying boxes of petitions, members of the Texas Hemp Business Council hold a press conference calling for Gov. Greg Abbott to veto SB 3, a bill which would ban THC products, at the Texas Capitol on June 2, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
School vouchers, THC ban, property tax cuts: Here’s what Texas lawmakers did in the 2025 regular session
The Legislature wrapped up without the same drama that defined the end of the last two sessions, with state GOP leaders checking off nearly everything on their to-do lists. Full Story
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![State Rep. Ann Johnson, D-Houston, looks out the window from the Texas House of Representatives chamber as the lawmakers debate on bills at the Texas Capitol, on Monday, May 26, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Watch a conversation with North Texas lawmakers on legislative session’s impact
State Reps. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, and Salman Bhojani, D-Euless, discussed the House’s move toward the right. Full Story
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Texas poised to add $100 million to child care scholarship program
Reallocated funding for the program that will go to providers will benefit nearly 95,000 children on a waitlist for scholarships. Full Story
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![Teacher Pita Espinosa leads a group of young children in a song that teaches Spanish words at the Learning Tree childcare center in Yoakum on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Watch: Texas policy experts discuss how lawmakers addressed education, infrastructure needs this year
Policy experts discussed a new school funding bill, a $20 billion package to keep up with water demand and the state’s energy fund. Full Story
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Oil companies win protections from Texas Legislature ahead of selling fracking water
At least four companies say they are prepared to treat the water well enough to be released into rivers in West Texas. Environmental groups say the state is moving too fast. Full Story
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![Produced water ponds, constructed by Martin Water, in Lenorah, on Feb. 24, 2024. The Railroad Commission approved the construction of the ponds, used to treat and recycle produced water from fracking, next to the Circle 6 Baptist Camp in the Permian Basin.]()
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Texas GOP’s bill requiring voters to prove citizenship stalls in House
Senate Bill 16 is imperiled after missing a deadline in the House. It was among the most sweeping proof-of-citizenship proposals in the U.S. and would have applied retroactively to all voters. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol between the Texas Department of Transportation and the Secretary of State buildings in Austin on June 12, 2023.]()
Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas colleges will soon be able to pay their athletes
House Bill 126, which allows student athletes to receive a slice of the billions Texas colleges generate in revenue from their teams, now awaits the governor’s signature. Full Story
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![The University of Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin on August 31, 2019.]()
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Lawmakers approve bill limiting protests at public universities
The proposal is largely in response to massive pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year. Critics say it would walk back free speech protections that conservatives advocated for in previous legislative sessions. Full Story
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![Protestors chant at Texas Department of Public Safety troopers as they begin to push students towards Guadalupe Street from the South Lawn during a demonstration in support of Palestine Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at the University of Texas in Austin.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
“Anti-Red Flag Act” that would limit when guns can be taken from people advances in Texas House
Senate Bill 1362 would prevent officials from taking someone’s firearms if they haven’t been charged with a crime or aren’t subject to a protective order under the Texas Family Code. Full Story
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![Patrons of the SAXET Gun Show look at handguns at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds in Robstown on Feb. 26, 2023.]()
Credit: Blaine Young for The Texas Tribune -
Texas oil companies face new deadlines to plug inactive wells
Senate Bill 1150, which is on its way to Gov. Greg Abbott, is a rare example of the Texas Legislature regulating the state’s oil and gas industry. Full Story
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![A plugged well on the Scouras’ property in Lee County on July 12, 2021. The Scourases are two of many Lee County residents whose water sources have dried up as a result of Vista Ridge Pipeline Project.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas bill allowing smaller homes on smaller lots amid housing affordability crunch advances in House
Senate Bill 15, a top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, is part of a broad push by lawmakers to put a dent in the state’s high home prices. Full Story
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![A construction worker builds homes in far west San Antonio on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Scott Stephen Ball for The Texas Tribune