JOE MOODY

State Rep. Joe Moody rushed to the site of a mass shooting in his city in 2019, then warned House colleagues that it would happen again as they passed a permitless carry bill. Now he’s at the center of the investigation into the Uvalde massacre.

The House committee investigating the Uvalde school shooting said it intended to publish the report in both languages but was unable to get it translated before a meeting last Sunday when the English version was released.

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Texas State Representative Joe Moody about the report he helped write on the Uvalde elementary school shooting, and what he hopes will come of the investigation.

Texas State Rep. Joe Moody, who helped write the report on the shooting, says he hopes the investigation helps lawmakers improve policy going forward — particularly when it comes to gun control.

UVALDE (AP) — A Uvalde police officer criticized over video of him checking his phone during the massacre at Robb Elementary School is the husband of a teacher who was killed in the classroom and had [San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

After KVUE and the Austin-American Statesman published video from inside Robb Elementary, one policeman incorrectly became a symbol of larger failures.

The chair of the House committee investigating the police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting said Uvalde police will cooperate with the investigation. A day prior, Republican State Rep. Dustin Burrows told reporters that cooperation was a question mark.

The state House committee investigating the police response to the mass murders at Robb Elementary School held its first session in Uvalde Thursday. All testimony given to the committee was done behind closed doors.

During a Texas Tribune event, Democratic state Reps. Joe Moody and Claudia Ordaz Perez and state Sen. César Blanco said the Uvalde school shooting and the overturning of Roe v. Wade demand action in the Texas Legislature.

The loophole has been used repeatedly by Texas law enforcement agencies to deny family members and the public the details about cases when someone charged with a crime dies while in custody.

A law barring information from being released in crimes for which no one has been convicted comes under focus in the Uvalde school shootings.

Some Texas lawmakers and advocates are concerned that law enforcement authorities will use a legal loophole to block the release of further information related to the mass shooting at an elementary school.

State lawmakers launched an investigation into the Uvalde massacre Thursday, but the witnesses, testimony and specific goals of the investigation will remain secret for now.State Rep.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

State Rep. Dustin Burrows, the chair of the investigating committee, said he couldn’t promise a timeline for the review and that witnesses will be questioned in private.

Texas Department of Public Safety officials were heavily criticized by Uvalde parents and residents for walking back some initial information provided to the public — including key details about the police response.

Phelan said it is an “outrage” that officials still do not have a clear picture of what happened during the shooting. The committee’s findings will inform the House’s legislative response.

HOUSTON (AP) — The seven Texas lawmakers who traveled hundreds of miles to update death row inmate Melissa Lucio on their efforts to stop her execution were also able to connect with her through embra[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]

Seven Texas lawmakers who traveled hundreds of miles to update death row inmate Melissa Lucio on their efforts to stop her execution were able to connect with her through embrace and prayer.

Leach, a Plano Republican, and Moody, an El Paso Democrat, co-chair the House Criminal Justice Caucus.

“There’s been some significant — if not irreparable — damage to the relationships within the body,” said state Rep. Justin Holland, R-Rockwall.

Moody, one of House Speaker Dade Phelan's closest Democratic allies, is the first Democrat to suffer political backlash after the quorum break.

Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and other Republicans who were initially noncommittal about the bill were under immense political pressure this session from conservatives and gun rights advocates, who have long lobbied the Texas Legislature for permitless carry.

State Rep. Joe Moody, a Democrat from El Paso, said a special legislative session already planned for later this year should also address gun violence.

The Republican-dominated Legislature approved the measure Monday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has said he will sign it despite the objections of law enforcement groups who say it would endanger the public and police.

The Republican-dominated Legislature approved the bill Monday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has said he will sign it. Law enforcement groups have said it would endanger the public and police.

House Bill 1927 would nix the requirement for Texas residents to obtain a license to...

State Rep. Terry Canales of Edinburg has proposed putting the question of legalization to Texas voters. And even less controversial measures, like lowering criminal penalties for marijuana possession, have fallen flat in the Texas Senate. Dan Patrick, a staunch conservative, at the helm of the upper chamber, it remains unlikely that a legalization bill will make it out when the Legislature reconvenes in January. But given the state of the economy and more states following the trend to legalize and tax cannabis, they said action was needed. A report by the American Civil Liberties Union found that, in 2018, Black people in Texas were 2.6 times more likely to be arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession than white people.

State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, listens to public testimony in 2019. Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas TribuneState Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, filed Tuesday for Texas House speaker, becoming the eighth candidate in what’s quickly become a crowded race. In a statement, Moody said he was running to change the "impenetrable and transactional" nature of the House. Moody joins fellow Democratic state Reps. Oscar Longoria of Mission, Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio and Senfronia Thompson of Houston in the race. Candidates are running to replace GOP House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, who will retire at the end of his term after a political scandal last year. Morrison has picked up support from state Rep. John Cyrier — a Lockhart Republican who filed for speaker Thursday but withdrew from the race the next day — and state Rep. Phil King, a Weatherford Republican who chairs the powerful House Redistricting Committee.

Lawmakers from the border say they are teaming up to influence the 2020 race for control of the Texas House. Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneA group of Democrats representing the state's border with Mexico in the Texas House has launched a new political group to unify their ranks and pitch in on the fight for the lower-chamber majority this November. The House speaker pro tem, Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso, is helping organize and serving as the treasurer of the group, Corazón de la Frontera PAC, or "Heart of the Border." The PAC plans to help statewide by aiding freshman Democrats in their reelection bids as well as Democrats running to flip open seats in battleground districts. Democrats are currently nine seats away from the majority in the House, following their gain of 12 seats in 2018.