‘He has a battle rifle’: Police feared Uvalde gunman’s AR-15
In previously unreleased interviews, police who responded to the Robb Elementary shooting told investigators they were cowed by the shooter’s military-style rifle. This drove their decision to wait for a Border Patrol SWAT team to engage him, which took more than an hour.
“We just want parity”: Military groups call on lawmakers to give Operation Lone Star troops death benefits
Law enforcement officers who serve on Operation Lone Star get a $500,000 death benefit for their survivors if they die on duty. But National Guard troops on the same mission don’t get a dime from the state for their families if they die.
Texas cities have adopted ordinances to benefit workers. Sweeping legislation could roll many back.
Lawmakers say their bills are needed to provide small businesses with consistent regulations and that regulatory power should be returned to the state. Labor groups say the proposal could undo hard-fought measures to protect workers.
The Texas House and Senate differ on how to cut property taxes. Here’s what their proposals say.
Cuts to school property tax bills. Bigger tax benefits for homeowners. A controversial idea to limit property tax growth. Here’s what you need to know about the brewing property tax debate at the Texas Legislature.
Ken Paxton’s campaign against election crimes ensnared a Texas justice of the peace three times before judges thwarted the efforts
Many of the illegal voting cases the Texas attorney general has boasted about are unraveling after a key court ruling. But Tomas Ramirez III said the pursuit of charges against him has taken its toll.
Texas families would get $8,000 in tax dollars to send students to private school in sweeping ‘parental rights’ bill backed by Lt. Gov.
The bill, which has the blessing of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, will create new rules on how gender and sexual orientation is taught. It will face a tougher test in the House.
Workforce shortages in the state psychiatric hospital system prolong jail time for mentally ill Texans
The state has added more beds for jail inmates who need psychiatric treatment to be considered competent to face trial. But at least a third remain empty because the state can’t hire enough people to staff them.
Texas bill requiring 10-year prison sentences for gun felonies faces opposition from criminal justice and firearm advocates
Under Senate Bill 23, all felonies involving a gun would incur a mandatory 10-year prison sentence. It’s meant to curb crime, despite the lack of correlation between harsher sentences and crime rates.
SXSW panelists say the only solution to school safety is to address gun policy and mental health, not one or the other
Gun policy reform is the best way to address school safety, according to experts on a panel in Austin on Thursday. They also cautioned against doubling down on surveillance technology.
Ken Paxton’s whistleblowers ask Texas Supreme Court to take up their case as $3.3 million settlement in jeopardy
Lawyers for four former employees who accused the attorney general of firing them for reporting alleged crimes to authorities say Paxton won’t agree to finalizing the deadline by the end of this legislative session.
Lawmakers could use $5 billion of a record surplus for raises, flood prevention and border operations
Budget proposals would boost state spending for the current budget cycle for projects ranging from mental health hospitals to state pay raises. This would leave $27 billion in surplus for next two years.
The Texas House has a record number of LGBTQ representatives as lawmakers face scores of bills focused on gender and sexuality
The Texas Legislature has nine lawmakers who are openly LGBTQ, all Democrats. At the same time, some Republican lawmakers are pushing a slate of bills aimed at drag queens, transgender children and how sexuality is discussed in schools.
Texas Republicans have filed dozens of bills affecting LGBTQ people. Here’s what they’d do.
Texas lawmakers this year will debate whether to block transgender kids’ access to transition-related health care, classify businesses that host drag shows as sexually oriented establishments and limit public school lessons on sexuality and gender identity.
Texas legislative leaders — Dan Patrick, Dade Phelan — jab each other’s priorities in dueling speeches
During dueling speeches to a conservative think tank in Austin, state House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who have a history of animus, split over property tax relief, criminal justice reform and school choice.
Texas’ foster care system has been in shambles for years. Here’s how lawmakers want to fix it.
Texas legislators are considering increasing the Department of Family and Protective Services’ budget, giving extended relatives more money to care for kids and notifying the subjects of child abuse investigations of their rights.
Republican Texas lawmakers rally around bill restricting the college sports teams transgender athletes can join
Seventy-seven Texas House Republicans signed on as co-authors to state Rep. Valoree Swanson’s bill extending restrictions on transgender athletes to college sports. Gov. Greg Abbott has expressed support for the legislation, which is also a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
“We’ve come to say goodbye”: Visitors flock to Fairfield Lake State Park on its last day
For decades the park has sat on leased land that the owner recently decided to sell. As the staff closed the gates Monday night for the last time, visitors and staff held out hope that the state could find a way to save the park.