The Texas Tribune

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. State Rep. John Raney, R-College Station, has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office confirmed Thursday night. The lawmaker tested positive Thursday morning before heading to the House floor and was not exhibiting symptoms, which …

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. At least 23 children have died in Texas’ long-term foster care system since summer 2019, according to a new report by court-appointed monitors for state agencies in charge of the system. Six of the children …

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. The Texas House on Thursday voted to financially penalize the state’s largest cities if they cut their police budgets. House Bill 1900 comes after a year of civil rights advocates calling on cities to reduce …

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. The Texas House on Wednesday moved to advance a bill that would ban homeless encampments in public places statewide, a move that comes less than a week after voters in Austin reinstated a similar ban …

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. In response to nationwide protests against police brutality last year, the Texas House on Wednesday moved to raise criminal penalties and require jail time for people who obstruct a roadway if it prevents the passage …

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. The Republican-led effort to allow Texans to carry handguns without any kind of license cleared what is likely its biggest remaining hurdle in the Capitol on Wednesday, when the Texas Senate moved in a nail-biter …

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. The Lamar County Democratic Party is not accepting the resignation of its chair after he reportedly used the slur “oreo” to describe U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, who is Black, in a now-deleted Facebook post, according …

Correction, May 4, 2021: This story previously stated that state Rep. Gary VanDeaver voted against advancing Senate Bill 29 out of a House committee. VanDeaver voted for advancing the bill. Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. A bill that would prevent …

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Dozens of students at the University of Texas at Austin who give campus tours to prospective Longhorns are refusing to work this week over a dispute about a plaque with “The Eyes of Texas” lyrics …

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. During February’s deadly winter storm, Gov. Greg Abbott and many state lawmakers quickly criticized the Electric Reliability Council of Texas because several members of its large governing board reside outside Texas. Many of the out-of-state …

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Texas will close the books on its current budget cycle with an extra $725 million in the bank — which is welcome news as Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar had predicted in January that the state …

Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. The Texas House on Monday moved to alter the way criminal defendants can be released from jail before trial. The priority legislation would, in part, require judicial officers to use a risk assessment tool when …