Analysis: Gerrymandering has left Texas voters with few options
Texans who don’t vote in primaries and primary runoffs are missing a chance to choose who goes to Congress and the Texas Legislature. Thanks to the political maps drawn by lawmakers last year, only a handful of those contests will be competitive in November.
Texas CPS department’s culture kept worries about now-shuttered foster care facility from being addressed, official says
It was also revealed at a special Texas Senate committee meeting that the Texas foster care worker who allegedly sold nude pictures of girls is also accused of dating a child trafficker.
State GOP leaders win big in Texas legislative primaries
Almost all the preferred candidates of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan nabbed enough votes to head into the November general election. And nearly all sitting House and Senate members seeking to return to the Texas Capitol kept their seats.
Lamantia, Stapleton-Barrera in dead heat for state senate seat
In Hidalgo County, Lamantia earned 4,754 votes, or 49.37%, over Stapleton-Barrera, Alex Dominguez and Salomon Torres. Dominguez earned 1,711 votes in Hidalgo County, or 17.77%, while Stapleton-Barrera earned 2,365 votes and Torres earned 800 votes. In the Republican race for State Senate District 27, Adam Hinojosa earned 51.53% of the vote with 12,748 votes to Raul Torres’ 5,419 and Isreal Salinas’ 2,177. The Republican ticket for State Senate District 20 saw Westley Wright with a commanding lead over Johnny Partain with 74.45% of the vote, 10,413 votes to 3,701. In Hidalgo County, Wright took 4,484 total votes over Partain’s 2,512 votes.
myrgv.comLt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Trump’s man in Texas, has quietly amassed influence — to the detriment of fellow Republicans
Patrick urged former Gov. Rick Perry to mount a challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seeking a third term. He’s taken the already considerable power concentrated in the state’s No. 2 job to another level, forcing opponents from races and tightening his grip on the Senate.
Federal judges won’t halt Texas primary in state Senate district being challenged for alleged discrimination
The redrawn state Senate District 10 splits Black and Hispanic voters in Tarrant County. A full trial on whether GOP lawmakers intentionally discriminated against voters of color is expected later this year.
First Texas redistricting challenge set to be heard in federal court – Houston Public Media
The lawsuit alleges a GOP-drawn map of Texas Senate districts dilutes the voting power of minorities in North Texas. Attorneys say it could be a preview of what’s to come in the larger legal battle facing the state’s controversial new political boundaries.
houstonpublicmedia.orgZaffrini's Senate District 21 remains in Hays County
Hays County will continue to be a part of Senate District 21, represented by Senator Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo following the completion of the redistricting process for the Congressional, Texas Senate, Texas House and State Board of Education maps.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]
sanmarcosrecord.comA growing number of Texas Republicans want a fourth special session to pass COVID-19 vaccine mandate ban
It remains unclear whether Gov. Greg Abbott — the only official with the power to convene special sessions — will order state lawmakers back to Austin, or what issues he would include on the agenda.
State Rep. Alex Dominguez will run to replace retiring state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. in high-stakes Democratic primary
Lucio is retiring from the Rio Grande Valley seat, and Dominguez wants to continue his legacy of focusing on education in the region. But he suggested he would take a different approach to at least a couple issues, including abortion.
Gov. Greg Abbott signs off on Texas’ new political maps, which protect GOP majorities while diluting voices of voters of color
Texas lawmakers drew new maps for the state House and Senate, congressional delegation and State Board of Education. Here’s what Texans should know about the 2021 redistricting outcomes.
In fast-growing Central Texas, redistricting sparks political reshuffling in upcoming statehouse and congressional races
The fast-growing region likely will see a considerable number of new state and federal lawmakers after the 2022 election. And in many cases, they will be representing districts whose boundaries have significantly shifted.
Texas state Sen. Kel Seliger, a Republican willing to buck his party leadership, will not seek reelection
Seliger has served in the Senate since 2005 and led the higher education committee. He was seen as a champion of public education and local control but was derided as too soft on social conservative issues near the end of his tenure.
Texas voters will decide whether to lower their property tax payments after Legislature completes last-minute Hail Mary
If voters approve the measure next year, it will raise the state’s homestead exemption from $25,000 to $40,000 for school district property taxes, netting the average homeowner about $176 in savings.
Texas Senate approves $3 billion college campus construction bill
The Texas Senate approved a bill Friday that would issue $3 billion in bonds to fund higher education construction programs hours after Gov.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]
sanmarcosrecord.comTexas Senate approves $3 billion college campus construction bill
The Texas Senate approved a bill Friday that would issue $3 billion in bonds to fund higher education construction programs hours after Gov. Greg Abbott appeared to clear the way for the issue to be passed in the final stretch of the Legislature's third special session this year.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]
sanmarcosrecord.comColumn: Help is on the way for Far West Texas – The Big Bend Sentinel
Far West Texas was hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the pandemic placing a greater strain on the region’s already limited medical infrastructure, Far West Texas is in need of help. The support provided for rural hospitals, regional infusion centers and the West Texas mental health facility will help Far West Texans receive the medical treatment they need to live happy, healthy lives. From Marfa’s art scene to the McDonald Observatory and Big Bend State and National Parks, tourism is a vital part of Far West Texas’s economy. Help is on the way for Far West Texas!
bigbendsentinel.comTexas House passes proposed new map for chamber’s 150 districts, aiming to protect Republicans’ majority for the next decade
Members considered more than 50 amendments to the proposed map during debate that began Tuesday and ended early Wednesday. Some of the biggest changes focused on Dallas and Harris counties.
Capital Highlights — State climatologist: Texas getting hotter
The state climatologist recently predicted that Texas will continue to get hotter and for longer periods of time during the next 15 years.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]
sanmarcosrecord.comTexas Senate approves congressional map that draws no new Black or Hispanic districts even as people of color fueled population growth
Texas gained two new seats in Congress based on population growth fueled by people of color. But the Senate’s proposal provides no new majority-Black or majority-Hispanic districts to reflect that growth.
Texas Senate takes another run at supposed election fraud, approving audits of 2020 results and tougher illegal voting penalties
The bills reflect GOP efforts to further tighten voting laws, and pressure from former President Donald Trump on Texas Republicans to help advance his baseless election fraud claims. They are not expected to go far in the House.
Senate approves map cementing GOP dominance in upper chamber, dividing up Tarrant county’s voters of color
Democrats criticized Republicans for “targeting” a North Texas district that had been trending Democratic and for not drawing any new districts where people of color would represent a majority of eligible voters.
Analysis: In the drive to get new Texas political maps, racial representation takes a back seat
Republican lawmakers in Texas are trying to make the most of their majority, drawing new political maps to preserve their political dynasty. The maps they’ve proposed would do that, but don’t represent the state’s population.
Texas House proposes map that increases Republican strength and decreases Black and Hispanic majority districts
The Texas Legislature is in the midst of its third special session, which is dedicated to redrawing political maps based on the latest census data that showed people of color fueled 95% of Texas’ population growth over the past decade.
OPINION: Back to work: Quorum in Legislature met, action on voting bill can begin
Texas Democratic legislators’ walkout only postponed the inevitable. After leaving the state Capitol in May and breaking a quorum to stop passage of controversial bills — a walkout that ended the regular session and lasted through one 30-day special session — lawmakers started trickling in, and on Thursday enough had returned to make quorum and enable action on the bills.
myrgv.comPatrick's Texas Senate Keeps Cranking Out Bills That With No House To Pass Them Will Never Get to The Governor
Texas House Democrats’ dramatic fly-out to Washington, D.C. last week left the state House at a standstill. But across the hall in Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s Senate, Republican lawmakers were undaunted, rapidly passing a conservative laundry list of legislation that's all but assured to die at the special session's end.
houstonpress.comSenate Presses Forward Passing GOP Voting And Bail Bills, As Texas House In Chaos Over Democrats’ Decampment – Houston Public Media
If the House Democrats who skipped town to block voting legislation don’t return before the special session ends, the Senate bills will languish without becoming law.
houstonpublicmedia.orgA Texas GOP Voting Bill Is Likely Dead Due To The Democratic Walkout. So Are These Other Bills – Houston Public Media
In addition to the controversial voting bill, the agenda includes bail reform, restrictions on transgender youth sports participation, and funding for the Legislature itself.
houstonpublicmedia.orgTexas Legislature Approves Bills To Require Power Plants To ‘Weatherize,’ Among Other Measures To Overhaul Electric Grid – Houston Public Media
The Texas House and Senate both approved negotiated versions of Senate Bill 2 and Senate Bill 3, the two sweeping bills to change the state’s power grid and the people who oversee it.
houstonpublicmedia.orgRight-Wing Voting Limits March Ahead As Texas Legislature Hurtles Toward Monday Night Deadline
Instead of enjoying Memorial Day weekend, Texas lawmakers have been working through the night in a sprint to push forward several big-ticket bills before the legally-mandated closing time of the 2021 legislative session at 11:59 p.m. Monday. Most notably, the Republican-majority Legislature is still on track to...
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