STATE GOVERNMENT

District attorneys for Harris, Kaufman, Fort Bend counties voiced concerns over state’s new abortion law at the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival.

The Democratic nominee for governor said during The Texas Tribune Festival that he’s counting on a big turnout of voters energized by the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Ana Marie Cox moderates a conversation about women’s health, women’s rights and an uncertain future with former state Sen. Wendy Davis, state Rep. Donna Howard and Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson.

Texas lawmakers on both sides of the aisle talked schools, abortion and guns in advance of next year’s session in a range of panels at The Texas Tribune Festival.

One of the longest-serving Republican state senators, Robert Nichols is among the first to say publicly he’d support revising the state’s abortion prohibition. He spoke Friday at The Texas Tribune Festival.

The nonbinding legal opinion states local elected and appointed officials can receive up to $25,000 for work done during the COVID-19 pandemic on top of their regular salaries. Unlike other pay raises, these “premium pay” bonuses don’t need to be declared to the public ahead of time.

A long-reliable political playbook of highlighting immigration in election season has been escalated by Govs. Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis.

Citing water quality concerns, the Environmental Protection Agency may refuse to recognize a permit that Texas approved Thursday for a marine desalination plant at the Port of Corpus Christi.

Students had been pushing for the State Board of Education to adopt a new, more inclusive social studies curriculum this year. Instead, the board delayed their scheduled update until at least 2025.

Abbott directed the Department of Public Safety to boost efforts to collect intelligence on cartels and investigate gangs in Texas that support drug and human smuggling.

Texas ranks last among states in access to health care and has the highest rate of uninsured people in the country. Two longtime doctors in rural Henderson County created a homegrown safety net to fill the gap.

“It was just a matter of time before the baby died, or maybe I’d have to go through the trauma of carrying to term knowing I wasn’t bringing a baby home,” said 27-year-old Lauren Hall. “I couldn’t do that.”

Tune in on Monday as candidates for statewide offices speak with Texas Tribune reporters Patrick Svitek and James Barragán at the 2022 Texas Disability Issues Forum.

Across the country, more books have been challenged and removed as religious and conservative groups target LGBTQ and race issues.

Lawmakers say they need the latest pregnancy-related death data to more precisely address the problem during the legislative session. But delays means they won’t see it until after the session ends.

Friday’s injunction applies to all members of PFLAG, an LGBTQ advocacy group with more than 600 members in Texas.

The state’s parole board did not explain why it was denying the request to pardon Floyd, who was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer, for a minor 2004 drug conviction. Last year, the board recommended Abbott pardon Floyd, then rescinded that suggestion.

Texas’ environmental regulators make it tricky for residents to track, or speak out against, industrial projects proposed near their homes. Advocates in Houston built a high-tech workaround.

The high number of contests contributes to the state’s low voter turnout — but it’s not the only reason.

For example, members of the Railroad Commission don’t deal with railroads. Here’s what the many officials elected statewide do with the power voters give them.

Gov. Greg Abbott largely remained silent as dangerous conditions caused by a lack of staff persisted at Texas juvenile facilities during the summer.

Among voters near the Texas-Mexico border, immigration and border security are a leading cause for flipping from Democrat to Republican.

A commission tasked by the Texas Legislature to recommend new ways to fund community colleges is suggesting the state fund schools based on how successful students are at completing programs in high-demand fields and transferring to universities to continue their education.

An online survey of 1,291 teachers by the Charles Butt Foundation shows more teacher dissatisfaction as Texas school districts scramble to attract talent.

In his second attempt to oust the incumbent, Collier is actively courting Republican voters who are turned off by the Legislature’s hard-right turn in recent years.

U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor’s ruling could threaten access to sexual and reproductive health care for more than 150 million working Americans on employer-sponsored health care plans. The ruling will likely be appealed.

Hegar, who is running for his third term as Texas comptroller of public accounts, has made increasingly provocative moves in recent weeks, challenging financial companies he says are anti-oil and gas and threatening budget sanctions against Harris County over police funding.

Despite its dwindling population, rural Texas has consistently helped protect GOP dominance in statewide races, even as Democratic support grows in the state’s populous metro centers and suburbs.

Abbott late Wednesday announced Chicago would be a new destination for migrants bused from Texas in his strategy to draw attention to the influx of people at the southern border. Chicago leadership welcomed the migrants “with dignity and respect.”

After protesters solicited donations to distribute posters to schools across the state in Arabic, state Sen. Bryan Hughes sent a letter to the Texas Education Agency clarifying his legislation requiring schools to display signs with the national motto.

The gunman in Uvalde bought two AR-15-style rifles days after he turned 18, the legal purchasing age in Texas, and used the weapons to kill 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary.

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services leaders instructed employees to avoid written communications about the cases and barred low-level employees from handling the investigations, according to internal agency communications.

Critics are skeptical about whether the new rules by the Railroad Commission will prevent another catastrophe like the power grid disaster in February 2021.

Uvalde trustees are unsure if officers who will provide school security this year were part of the delayed response to the shooting at Robb Elementary.

In parts of Mexico where abortion has not been legalized, women rely on volunteer networks to provide medication and emotional support for at-home abortions. As access to abortion is shut down in Texas, similar networks are being built in the U.S.

O’Rourke said he is resting at home in El Paso and will be back on the road “as soon as I am able.”

The governor has made a vocal enemy in the families of Robb Elementary shooting victims. They are demanding a special legislative session to reach a compromise on the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic rifles.

Gonzales broke with his party to support sweeping gun safety legislation that passed after the city’s tragedy. He drew backlash from GOP activists again after he voted to protect same-sex marriage.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed the “trigger law” last year, ensuring that Texas would automatically outlaw abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court ever overturned Roe v. Wade. That happened in June, mobilizing Democrats nationwide and giving O’Rourke’s campaign a burst of momentum.

Texas, the largest state to restrict abortions, now has three significant bans on the books, setting up a potential legal minefield.

Attorney general’s opinion invites lawsuits over long-established ballot security and sets up election officials for possible criminal charges.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar singled out financial firms under a 2021 state law that prohibits most state entities from contracting with companies that have reduced or cut investments in the oil and gas industry.

Texas heat has killed prisoners and cost the state millions in wrongful death and civil rights lawsuits. Prison rights advocates hope a budget surplus next year will finally push lawmakers to invest in air conditioning.

Comptroller Glenn Hegar said the state could block the approval of Harris County’s budget because it’s not allowing constables to roll $3 million in unspent funds into next year’s budget — even though the constables’ total funding will go up next year.

The suit comes two days before the state’s newest abortion ban, triggered by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, goes into effect.

The Grapevine-Colleyville district, between Dallas and Fort Worth, added two conservative members to its seven-member school board in May.

“In God We Trust” was adopted as the nation’s motto in 1956.

Advocates have previously called for repealing the sales tax on products like tampons, sanitary pads and pantyliners. Menstrual products are already tax-free in 24 states.

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, some faith leaders in Texas rallied in favor of abortion access and offer supportive spiritual counsel for those who have sought abortion.

Last May, Lubbock became the biggest city in Texas to ban abortion within city limits. Now, with abortion outlawed throughout the Lone Star State, the fight over reproductive rights is taking a new turn.