Store, harvest, fix: How Texas can save its water supply
State lawmakers are poised to devote billions to save the state’s water supply. These are some of the ways the state could spend the money. Full Story
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![Treated water at the Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant on Tuesday, March 25, 2025 in Austin, TX. The treatment plant will undergo a billion dollar expansion starting this summer to meet the increasing demand due to the growth the city has faced. Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Lawyers for Houston-area midwife accused of illegal abortions condemn state’s investigation
Maria Rojas’ attorneys got their first chance to address the claims against her Thursday. She was released on bond but a judge ordered the clinics to remain closed. Full Story
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![On March 27, 2025, Clinica Waller Latinoamericana, one of Maria Margarita Rojas' network of clinics in Waller, Texas, remains closed after a Waller County judge granted a temporary injunction prohibiting the facilities from providing medical services. Rojas, a licensed midwife, has been charged with the illegal performance of an abortion and practicing medicine without a license.]()
Credit: Hope Mora for The Texas Tribune -
Abortion opponents laud bill that would clamp down on pill providers and out-of-state abortions
Some health care providers in support of Senate Bill 2880 said people who are mailed abortion pills aren’t given instructions and do not receive follow-up care. Full Story
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![An examination room in Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services in San Antonio on June 14, 2022.]()
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Critics: Texas bill to clarify abortion ban won’t save lives
Senate Bill 31 supporters say it would clarify when doctors should intervene to save a pregnant woman’s life, but critics say its vagueness and a measure to resurrect pre-Roe laws hamper it. Full Story
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![A patient returns for a follow up appointment to make sure her abortion treatment was successful hours after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade at the Alamo Women’s Reproductive Services abortion clinic in San Antonio on June 24, 2022.]()
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Texas AG investigating insurance company accused of spying on lawmakers, journalists, other Texans
Superior HealthPlan’s CEO, whom lawmakers grilled about the company’s alleged hiring of private investigators, was reportedly fired after the inquiry was announced. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton addresses the crowd during a rally at the Tarrant County Republican Party Headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025.]()
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he’ll push for special session if THC ban, bail changes fail
Only Gov. Greg Abbott can call for a special session. But in his role presiding over the Texas Senate, Patrick can block any bill from passing, giving him leverage to compel overtime sessions by killing must-pass legislation. Full Story
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![Lt. Governor Dan Patrick speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Voting-rights coalition quits challenge to Texas’ 2021 redistricting after court setback
The remaining plaintiffs in the case are organizations representing Latino and Black voters, with a trial set to begin May 21. Full Story
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![Salman Bhojani, a former candidate for Texas Senate District 9, shows where he lives on an updated map that now draws him out of District 9 and now into District 2, at his offices in Irving, on Oct. 17, 2021. Bhojani suspended his campaign after state legislature adopted new district maps which draw Bhojani's home out of District 9.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
Jewish Texans disagree on how to combat antisemitism in schools during hearing on Senate bill
Lawmakers propose addressing antisemitism by requiring schools to use a set definition. Critics say the measure will stifle speech. Full Story
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![The Senate Committee on Education K-16 holds a hearing for SB2 to establish an education savings account program on Jan. 28, 2025.]()
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Billions more for tax relief and border security under budget approved by Texas Senate
Next step will be action in the state House, where budget writers have different plans for distributing property tax help. Full Story
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![Senator Joan Huffman, R-Houston, speaks with Senator Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, during a Texas Senate meeting on March 25, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
West Texas lawmakers push bills to divert some oil and gas taxes to help oil-producing counties with roads, other needs
Reps. Tom Craddick and Brooks Landgraf want to divert 10% of taxes collected on oil and gas production to help budget-strapped counties keep up with growth. Full Story
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![Truckers line up to receive a load of sand, used in oil and gas fracking, at the Capital Sand plant Monday, July 1, 2024, outside of Monahans.]()
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Lawmakers push to spend billions of dollars for water projects and debate which ones to prioritize
Gov. Greg Abbott has made water a priority for this legislative session. Lawmakers will debate whether to invest more into new water supplies or repairing old, leaking pipes around Texas. Full Story
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![Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, during a Senate meeting on March 11, 2025.]()
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Texas’ DEI debate centers on a disagreement about whether programs perpetuate or prevent discrimination
Supporters say diversity initiatives close educational and income gaps born from a history of prejudice. Republican officials say they prioritize identity over merit. Full Story
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![Illustrated posters reading “We Belong Here” litter the Capitol’s rotunda floor during Texas Students for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s protest of HB1 Rider No. 186, which would defund DEI initiatives at public universities, on Mar. 23, 2023.]()
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Texas’ DEI bans: What to know about the term and the debate
Diversity, equity and inclusion has become highly politicized — and there’s no standard definition for what it is. Full Story
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![The Capitol dome is seen from the north side of the complex in Austin on March 18, 2025.]()
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Federal judge strikes down Texas' mail ballot ID requirement
The judge found that the provisions of SB1, the state's 2021 voter security law, discriminate against voters with disabilities. Full Story
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![A ballot is dropped in Austin in October, 2020.]()
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How Texas Republicans plan to keep cracking down on abortion
A flurry of bills aims to restrict the flow of abortion pills into the state and abortion seekers traveling out of the state. Full Story
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![Misoprostol on the shelf at Parker Road Drug Store in Greenville, S.C., on June 13, 2024.]()
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Republican lawmakers revive effort to give attorney general more power to prosecute election crimes
Critics fear increased election prosecutions could intimidate voters and local election officials. Attorney General Ken Paxton has long sought more autonomy over election cases. Full Story
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![Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas, speaks to the media Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, during a press conference following arguments in the case “Free Speech Coalition, Inc., et al. v. Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas,” at the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington, D.C.]()
Credit: Luke Johnson for The Texas Tribune -
Texas is poised to make measles a nationwide epidemic, public health experts say
Public health experts say Texas needs better messaging on vaccinations and quarantining and more people conducting contact tracing to contain the spread. Full Story
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![A sign donning measles information is posted outside of the office of Dr. Rumbidzai Mutikani, a pediatrician at the Hobbs Medical Clinic, as she works at her desk Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, in Hobbs, N.M.]()
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95,000 Texas children are waiting for state help to pay for day care
Adding more funding to scholarships is just one way experts say state lawmakers could address Texas’ child care crisis. Full Story
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![Clarissa Alday spends her morning reading to children at Katherine Sage Temple Early Learning Center, on Tuesday February 25, 2025, in Diboll.]()
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Different pace and priorities separate Texas Senate and House on school vouchers
The gaps over eligibility and on spending levels are narrower than the fundamental differences of the previous session. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, left, and House Speaker Dustin Burrows applaud as Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock gives the biennial State of the Judiciary speech in the Texas House chamber on Feb. 26, 2025.]()
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Texas Senate advances bill to allow smaller homes on smaller lots
Lawmakers, who are preempting locals on lot sizes in new subdivisions, have been eyeing ways to allow more homes to be built as the state faces a shortage. Full Story
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![The Mueller neighborhood in East Austin on Oct. 7, 2023.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune