Posted inNews
Cuts to the VA renews urgency for Texas lawmakers to back study of psychedelics for treating PTSD
The state is becoming what some experts are calling the center of a ‘psychedelic revolution.’
Texas legislature
Posted inNews
Wide-ranging crackdown on abortion pills passes Texas Senate
The bill gives the state new tools to try to stop the flow of abortion pills, but critics say it’s legally dubious on several fronts.
Posted inNews
Texas students say DEI ban and other anti-LGBTQ+ bills threaten their safety, voice and mental health
Students are concerned the legislation could silence supportive teachers, dismantle safe spaces, lead to overenforcement and prevent honest conversations about identity.
Posted inNews
In booming Central Texas, wastewater is polluting rivers and streams
A bill in the Legislature would protect the last 21 pristine watersheds in Texas. But for years, previous attempts have been defeated by powerful homebuilders.
Posted inNews
Texas lawmakers want to exempt police from deadly conduct charges
Local prosecutors have used the charge to punish police accused of misconduct. Legislation that would prevent that is advancing through the Legislature.
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The Texas Lege’s ‘big government intrusion’ into university academics
Expanding on last session’s anti-DEI campus crackdown, Republicans are now going after gender and ethnic studies programs and faculty independence.
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Abbott signs first bill of session into law, creating a Texas DOGE
The first bill to reach Abbott’s desk this session creates a regulation-cutting state agency under the purview of the governor. It was passed with bipartisan supermajorities.
Posted inNews
House panel passes bill requiring air conditioning in Texas prisons by 2032
Weeks after a federal judge declared hot conditions in Texas prisons unconstitutional, a bill requiring air conditioning in those facilities by 2032 has gained traction in the House.
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Amended bill clarifying Texas abortion laws receives Senate panel approval
The revised bill, which seeks to clarify when a doctor can perform medically necessary abortions, aims to address concerns from abortion advocates and conservative groups.
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Texas may study the impact of immigration again, but focus only on costs
The only time the state conducted such an assessment two decades ago, it found that undocumented Texans contributed more to the state’s economy than they cost the state.
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Texas Lottery executive director resigns as lawmakers’ scrutiny mounts
The Texas Lottery Commission did not immediately clarify why Ryan Mindell chose to resign, as lawmakers have discussed abolishing the lottery outright.
Posted inNews
‘It’s what’s best for a very select few’: Some Texans skeptical about vouchers as they near the finish line
Texas Republican lawmakers in regions known for support of public schools defended voting for vouchers, saying they gained leverage to seek concessions.
Posted inNews
Election officials wary of shift to Texas’ centralized voter-registration system
Some lawmakers say a bill requiring counties to switch to TEAM would make it easier to monitor voter rolls. But the system has had its problems.
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Bill would stop Texas oil drillers from secretly burying toxic waste on private property
House Bill 4572 would introduce new requirements for pits where drillers bury oil and gas waste.
Posted inNews
Ending 30 years of resistance, Trump and Abbott break ‘The People’s House’
The Legislature’s lower chamber has finally blessed school vouchers—and denied ordinary Texans the chance to weigh in.
Posted inCannabis
Texas hemp farmers fear full THC ban would nip industry in the bud
As lawmakers work to close loopholes that allow minors access to cannabis consumables, hemp farmers warn a total THC ban would strangle a once-hailed crop.
Posted inNews
House Republicans refuse to pass ceremonial resolution honoring Cecile Richards
Normally, memorial resolutions to honor Texans who have died are passed without controversy. But the resolution for Richards, a former president of Planned Parenthood who died this year, sparked a cascade of outrage from conservatives.
Posted inNews
Women warn bills in front of Texas lawmakers to clarify state’s abortion ban could make it far more severe
Unless amended, two bills that purport to clarify when doctors can perform abortions could open the door to criminal penalties on women who get the procedure.
Posted inNews
Texas Republican lawmakers unwilling to change abortion laws to address doomed pregnancies
For the first time since Texas outlawed nearly all abortions, lawmakers are clarifying the ‘life of mother’ exception. But they don’t plan to address cases where the fetus won’t survive.
Posted inNews
‘It’s about censorship, erasure and control’: The GOP’s push for parental rights
It’s part of a new right-wing project to control public schools.