State news in Texas
Statewide Texas News
Texas Parents Push Lawmakers To Deliver Public Education Reforms
Advocates are focused on stronger laws to address the “epidemic” of physical and sexual abuse in schools.
Texas A&M Faculty Senate Approves “Climate Ethics” Course
The move comes after regents ended an LGBTQ minor and other low-performing programs.
Conservative Lawmakers Warn Texas House Is Running Out of Time To Pass GOP Priorities
As the regular legislative session heads into its final weeks, conservative House members say leadership needs to move quickly to address Republican priorities.
House Committee Prioritizes Controversial ‘HPV Plan’ Over National Security Measures in Higher Ed
A Republican-controlled committee is pushing a pro-Big Pharma proposal while a measure to better protect higher education from national security threats lacks key enforcement.
State Archive
Texas Democrats’ 2019 Plan: Elect Coalition Speaker to Stop Conservative Bills
A candidate in a Democrat runoff race for the Texas House spoke openly about Texas Democrats’ plan to suppress conservative legislation in the next legislative session: another “coalition” Speaker of the House. In a forum Monday night, Chito Vela, the top vote-getter...
Why are Todd Staples and TXOGA backing liberal Democrats?
It’s a common feature of Austin lobby organizations—they often seem to represent the interests of lobbyists against the interests of their own members. It appears that the Texas Oil & Gas Association, under the leadership of former Agriculture Commissioner Todd...
UT-Austin Campaign Aims to Redefine Masculinity
A new program run by the University of Texas is aiming to expand the definition of “what it means to be masculine,” and it’s using taxpayer dollars to do it. The campaign, which goes by the name MasculinUT, began to gain attention on social media with the launch of a...
Major Victory for Texas Voter ID Law
Texas’ photo voter ID law is nondiscriminatory and must be reinstated, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the state’s revised voter ID law in a split decision, saying the lower court was guilty of...
Teacher Strikes Get National Attention: Is Texas Next?
Next week, teachers in Arizona are set to take part in a statewide walkout in response to a 20-percent pay increase proposed by Gov. Doug Doucey that they feel doesn’t go far enough. The walkout comes on the heels of other recent teacher demonstrations in West...
Paxton Weighs In on BBQ Battle
In an opinion released Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is weighing in on Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s interpretation of recently passed legislation, saying his department’s authority over weights and measures does not extend to barbecue restaurants....
Texas Senator Calls for end of “Debtors’ Prison” Driver Responsibility Program
State Sen. Don Huffines (R-Dallas) has joined the Senate Finance Committee in the fight against the ineffective and counterproductive Driver Responsibility Program, or DRP. Established in 2003 with the intent of raising money for roads and trauma centers, the DRP...
Texas GOP Affirms Support for Second Amendment
At the State Republican Executive Committee held in Austin this past weekend, the governing body of the Republican Party of Texas unanimously passed a resolution affirming the party’s support for the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The resolution notably...
Should State Lawmakers Start Making Local Housing and Land Use Policy?
As big-city affordability crises continue to sweep the nation, the voices insisting that it is time for state governments to intervene grow in numbers, and louder by the day. In calling for last summer’s special session of the Texas Legislature, Gov. Greg Abbott...