Texas House passes ban on devices that modify handguns, but averts vote on increasing age to buy semi-automatic rifles
A Texas lawmaker introduced an amendment that would have revived a proposal to raise the minimum age to buy certain semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 before it was ultimately withdrawn.
El Paso lawmaker aids Uvalde shooting investigation three years after massacre in his city
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 heโs at the center of the investigation into the Uvalde massacre.
Texas House publishes report of Uvalde school shooting investigation in Spanish
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.
City of Uvalde police will cooperate with shooting probe, house committee says
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.
El Paso lawmakers say that despite polarized climate, Texas Legislature must act on guns, reproductive rights
During a Texas Tribune event, Democratic state Reps. Joe Moody and Claudia Ordaz Perez and state Sen. Cรฉsar Blanco said the Uvalde school shooting and the overturning of Roe v. Wade demand action in the Texas Legislature.
Texas House gives initial approve to "constitutional carry," which would allow people to carry a gun without a license
In economic crisis, Texas Democrats push to legalize marijuana. Key Republicans likely stand in the way.
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 joins the Texas House speaker's race
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 whatโs 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 โ a Lockhart Republican who filed for speaker Thursday but withdrew from the race the next day โ and state Rep. Phil King, a Weatherford Republican who chairs the powerful House Redistricting Committee.
Texas Democrats from the border team up for new PAC in effort to flip the state House
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, Corazรณn 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.