Texas lawmakers are requiring youth camps to have weather alert systems, emergency preparedness plans and several communication methods available to help children and their families feel safe when they return to camp after this year's catastrophic flooding.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott will sign two camp safety bills into law on Friday morning in Austin in response to the deadly July flooding.

The House refused Senate changes allowing exports to continue while the state studies its underground water supply. Lawmakers left the Capitol without reaching a compromise.

The parents of Camp Mystic flood victims delivered emotional testimonies before the Texas Senate Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding on Tuesday, urging lawmakers to pass Senate Bill 1.

Senate Bill 1, which would require more oversight of emergency plans and evacuation procedures at summer camps, was advanced after the emotional hearing Wednesday.

Parents of the 27 campers and counselors killed when floodwaters rushed through a girl's summer camp in the Texas Hill Country pleaded with lawmakers to pass a bill that would boost camp safety.

Advocates against a THC ban plan to rally against the legislation Saturday

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has asked the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to remove from office a top state lawmaker he called the “ringleader” of Democrats who left the state to block a vote on a new congressional voting map pushed by President Donald Trump.

The five-year-old plan, required by the state, detailed when additional monitoring was to take place and who was responsible for alerting the public to evacuate.

The Senate’s decision signals another potential standoff with Gov. Greg Abbott, who vetoed a similar ban earlier this year as he called for more regulations instead.

Senate Bill 5 would ban products containing any detectable amount of any cannabinoid, creating criminal offenses for possession of hemp-derived THC.

Texas lawmakers are scrutinizing the state’s emergency response to the July 4 floods that killed at least 136 people.

Among other changes is a new law that says homeowner associations can no longer fine Texans for not watering their grass during a drought.

House Bill 6, which now heads to the governor, targets the increase in violence that has plagued schools since the pandemic.

House Bill 46, which awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s approval, would include more patients with chronic pain and allow for prescribed vaporized and aerosol products.

The deal allocates $1 billion a year to water projects for 20 years, which some groups estimate is a fraction of what Texas needs to save its water supply.

While state leaders say growers can still produce industrial hemp, farmers say they will quit growing the plant altogether under a total THC ban.

The Texas Senate had previously proposed more severe consequences in the bill.

Some hemp retailers are looking at other states, while others say they are ready to take Texas to court over a THC ban.

The Senate has a similar proposal, but is more prescriptive in how the money should be spent. The two chambers must agree on the final proposal to send to voters.

The Texas House took its first step toward revising a priority Senate bill last week. The changes were lauded by the state’s water community.

As lawmakers work to close loopholes that allow minors access to cannabis consumables, hemp farmers warn a total THC ban would strangle a once-hailed crop.

Senate Bill 7, which won unanimous approval, is among legislation that seeks to avert a looming water crisis as the state’s population booms.

Gov. Greg Abbott has made water a priority for this legislative session. Lawmakers will debate whether to invest more into new water supplies or repairing old, leaking pipes around Texas.

Patrick says the measure will shut down the dangerous THC products business. The House’s proposal would tighten oversight of the industry without a full ban.

The state House and Senate have similar proposals to solve the state's water crisis, but there are stark differences on how to invest billions of dollars to resolve.

Farmers and elected officials told a Senate committee Monday that the lack of water is becoming dire, with little relief in sight.

There is little doubt that a ban will sail through the Senate. But its prospects are far less certain in the House.

So far, nine HHSC employees have been fired for accessing without a “business” purpose the private information of Texans seeking public assistance that includes Medicaid and food stamps.

Texas’ population is booming and there is not enough water for everyone. State Sen. Charles Perry hopes to fix that.

Local leaders and rural revitalization experts say Texas’ smallest towns can survive — despite a shift to urban and suburban counties — but it will take investments.

Medical marijuana providers say they must operate under strict rules while hemp products like delta-8 can proliferate.

The state has built about 34 miles of wall spread out across at least six counties on Texas’ 1,254-mile border with Mexico.

Lawmakers are struggling to balance demands for medicinal cannabis products with a wildly growing market that is outpacing meaningful regulation.

Immigration experts say the most recent proposals would raise constitutional challenges in the U.S. and Mexico, as federal courts have repeatedly ruled that immigration law enforcement falls under federal jurisdiction.

At stake in next week’s constitutional amendment election is $13 billion in infrastructure spending. Supporters say it’s an opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime investment.

Following one of the hottest summers on record, lawmakers have set an ambitious target: By 2033, they want to bump up the state’s water supply by an amount equal to three of the largest reservoirs in the state.

The bill aims to create a water supply four times the size of Lake Livingston, one of the state’s largest reservoirs. But it may still be a “drop in the bucket” compared to the state’s needs.

Water agencies have long resisted working together out of fear of losing their local powers. But an example from Florida could help save the Lone Star State’s water and infrastructure.

Texas lawmakers want tougher criminal penalties for possession of delta-8 and fentanyl. But that would mean much more work for the crime labs handling most of the drug testing for the state’s 254 counties.

Critics say Senate Bill 16 is overly vague and will create a chilling effect that will prevent important conversations about race and gender. But Republican supporters say the legislation is necessary to protect conservative students who are self-censoring in the classroom.

The Senate on Monday passed a bill that would create a new state fund tailored for large or long-shot water supply projects, including marine desalination. The bill will advance to the House.

Opponents of the bill call it a “power play aimed at making the lives of transgender children as difficult as possible.”

Voters would have the final say on whether the state sets aside billions of dollars to acquire new water sources and invest in aging infrastructure.

The measure, endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott, originally would have banned citizens of China, Iran, Russia or North Korea from buying land in Texas. Under a new version considered Thursday, the ban wouldn’t apply to dual citizens or lawful permanent residents.

Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Stephanie Muth told lawmakers Friday the agency will require a different set of skills from its employees as it changes how foster children’s cases are managed.

The new delta-8 hemp products, which are widely available, can produce a high similar to marijuana’s. State Sen. Charles Perry said he and his peers never intended for such products to reach the market.

Texas’ biggest single solution to providing enough water for its soaring population in the coming decades is using more surface water, including about two dozen new large reservoirs. But climate change has made damming rivers a riskier bet.

Gender-affirming care, which leading health care organizations in Texas say is the best way to provide care to transgender children, is emerging as a top target of state Republicans and lies at the heart of brewing political and legal battles.

Transgender students would be prevented from joining public school and university sports teams that correspond to their gender.

Gov. Greg Abbott added the legislation to the special session agenda after similar bills failed to pass during the regular session earlier this year.

The city made plans to join the state's main power grid in 2015. But some residents and leaders feel anxious about the move after February's deadly winter storm.

As the clock ticks on this year's legislative session, the House scheduled a Tuesday floor debate for a bill that would limit transgender children's sports team participation. Other GOP bills that would restrict or punish transition-related health care, like puberty blockers, missed a key Sunday deadline to advance.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas are suing over the West Texas city's “sanctuary city for the unborn” ordinance.

Lubbock officials initially planned to join ERCOT once its 15-year-long contract with Xcel Energy, a member of the Southwestern Public Service Company, expires. Spencer lives in Lubbock, one of the few areas of the state not connected to Texas’ independent power grid. AdThe failures of Texas’ independent power grid have led to some counties mulling a way out. Lubbock officials initially planned to join ERCOT once its 15-year-long contract with Xcel Energy, a member of the Southwestern Public Service Company, expires. Lubbock City Councilperson Jeff Griffith he still feels confident Lubbock will move forward with the plans to join ERCOT.

State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, argues that the water could eventually help the state replenish its diminishing water supplies. Now, he said, “the regulatory environment is set up to have the produced water conversation.”But reusing produced water is far from financially viable today, industry analysts said. And it’s usually cheaper for companies to buy fresh water for hydraulic fracturing than to treat produced water for that purpose. Environmental groups and some scientists warn against releasing the produced water, even after treatment, into Texas streams and rivers. “We don’t have standards for produced water — we’ve never had to deal with it,” said Scanlon, the UT hydrogeologist.

Greg Abbott, accusing him of overstepping his authority in responding to the coronavirus pandemic, while state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, called for a special session so lawmakers could have a say in how Texas proceeds amid soaring caseloads. The party executive committee in Ector County, home to Odessa, passed the censure resolution 10-1, with one abstention and three voting members who were not present, according to the chairperson, Tisha Crow. "This is why I urge Governor Abbott to convene a special session to allow the legislature to pass legislation and hold hearings regarding the COVID-19 response," Perry said. In the upper chamber, state Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, has also called for a special session, as have several House Republicans. Abbott has not explicitly ruled out a special session before the Legislature meets again in January.

Crime labs repeatedly told lawmakers and budget officials that they couldn't distinguish between hemp and marijuana without new testing resources. The issue got almost no attention.