INSIDER
With little say over Robert Roberson’s fate, Texas lawmakers take extraordinary steps to buy him more time
Read full article: With little say over Robert Roberson’s fate, Texas lawmakers take extraordinary steps to buy him more timeWith Roberson’s options dwindling, a House panel used its bully pulpit to prove his case and excoriate the failures of the state’s junk science law.
Former Uvalde police chief indicted over response to Robb Elementary shooting
Read full article: Former Uvalde police chief indicted over response to Robb Elementary shootingUvalde’s former school police chief has been booked and released from jail following a grand jury investigation into the police response during the Robb Elementary School shooting in 2022.
Bills by the handful perish as Texas House hits crucial late-session deadline
Read full article: Bills by the handful perish as Texas House hits crucial late-session deadlineIt was a night of frustration, retaliation and, for some, elation as the stroke of midnight spelled doom for a lot of legislation.
Texas House passes ban on devices that modify handguns, but averts vote on increasing age to buy semi-automatic rifles
Read full article: Texas House passes ban on devices that modify handguns, but averts vote on increasing age to buy semi-automatic riflesA Texas lawmaker introduced an amendment that would have revived a proposal to raise the minimum age to buy certain semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 before it was ultimately withdrawn.
Uvalde school shooter wrote ‘LOL’ on whiteboard in victims’ blood, lawmaker tells families during emotional hearing
Read full article: Uvalde school shooter wrote ‘LOL’ on whiteboard in victims’ blood, lawmaker tells families during emotional hearingFamilies whose children were killed in the Uvalde school shooting heard the news after waiting all day to testify on a gun regulation bill in a state House committee hearing.
Lawmakers offer stark choices for ending the crisis in Texas’ youth prisons — shut them all down, or build more
Read full article: Lawmakers offer stark choices for ending the crisis in Texas’ youth prisons — shut them all down, or build morePlagued by decades of scandals over sexual and physical abuse of children, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department is at a crossroads.
El Paso lawmaker aids Uvalde shooting investigation three years after massacre in his city
Read full article: El Paso lawmaker aids Uvalde shooting investigation three years after massacre in his cityState Rep. Joe Moody rushed to the site of a mass shooting in his city in 2019, then warned House colleagues that it would happen again as they passed a permitless carry bill. Now he’s at the center of the investigation into the Uvalde massacre.
Texas House publishes report of Uvalde school shooting investigation in Spanish
Read full article: Texas House publishes report of Uvalde school shooting investigation in SpanishThe House committee investigating the Uvalde school shooting said it intended to publish the report in both languages but was unable to get it translated before a meeting last Sunday when the English version was released.
City of Uvalde police will cooperate with shooting probe, house committee says
Read full article: City of Uvalde police will cooperate with shooting probe, house committee saysThe chair of the House committee investigating the police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting said Uvalde police will cooperate with the investigation. A day prior, Republican State Rep. Dustin Burrows told reporters that cooperation was a question mark.
Witnesses testify behind closed doors in Uvalde mass shooting probe
Read full article: Witnesses testify behind closed doors in Uvalde mass shooting probeThe state House committee investigating the police response to the mass murders at Robb Elementary School held its first session in Uvalde Thursday. All testimony given to the committee was done behind closed doors.
El Paso lawmakers say that despite polarized climate, Texas Legislature must act on guns, reproductive rights
Read full article: El Paso lawmakers say that despite polarized climate, Texas Legislature must act on guns, reproductive rightsDuring a Texas Tribune event, Democratic state Reps. Joe Moody and Claudia Ordaz Perez and state Sen. César Blanco said the Uvalde school shooting and the overturning of Roe v. Wade demand action in the Texas Legislature.
Texas shooting records could be blocked by legal loophole
Read full article: Texas shooting records could be blocked by legal loopholeSome Texas lawmakers and advocates are concerned that law enforcement authorities will use a legal loophole to block the release of further information related to the mass shooting at an elementary school.
Texas House kicks off inquiry into Uvalde shooting behind closed doors
Read full article: Texas House kicks off inquiry into Uvalde shooting behind closed doorsState Rep. Dustin Burrows, the chair of the investigating committee, said he couldn’t promise a timeline for the review and that witnesses will be questioned in private.
House Speaker Dade Phelan announces legislative committee to investigate Uvalde shooting
Read full article: House Speaker Dade Phelan announces legislative committee to investigate Uvalde shootingPhelan said it is an “outrage” that officials still do not have a clear picture of what happened during the shooting. The committee’s findings will inform the House’s legislative response.
Texas lawmakers visit woman on death row with hugs, prayers
Read full article: Texas lawmakers visit woman on death row with hugs, prayersSeven Texas lawmakers who traveled hundreds of miles to update death row inmate Melissa Lucio on their efforts to stop her execution were able to connect with her through embrace and prayer.
Watch state Reps. Jeff Leach and Joe Moody discuss lawmakers’ criminal justice work at The Texas Tribune Festival
Read full article: Watch state Reps. Jeff Leach and Joe Moody discuss lawmakers’ criminal justice work at The Texas Tribune FestivalLeach, a Plano Republican, and Moody, an El Paso Democrat, co-chair the House Criminal Justice Caucus.
Lawmaker relationships fray as Texas Democrats’ quorum bust to block voting bill drags on
Read full article: Lawmaker relationships fray as Texas Democrats’ quorum bust to block voting bill drags on“There’s been some significant — if not irreparable — damage to the relationships within the body,” said state Rep. Justin Holland, R-Rockwall.
El Paso Democrat Joe Moody stripped of leadership position in Texas House after leaving state with Democrats
Read full article: El Paso Democrat Joe Moody stripped of leadership position in Texas House after leaving state with DemocratsMoody, one of House Speaker Dade Phelan's closest Democratic allies, is the first Democrat to suffer political backlash after the quorum break.
After Austin shooting, advocates and Texas Democrats renew calls for action on gun violence
Read full article: After Austin shooting, advocates and Texas Democrats renew calls for action on gun violenceState Rep. Joe Moody, a Democrat from El Paso, said a special legislative session already planned for later this year should also address gun violence.
Texas House gives initial approve to "constitutional carry," which would allow people to carry a gun without a license
Read full article: Texas House gives initial approve to "constitutional carry," which would allow people to carry a gun without a licenseIn economic crisis, Texas Democrats push to legalize marijuana. Key Republicans likely stand in the way.
Read full article: In economic crisis, Texas Democrats push to legalize marijuana. Key Republicans likely stand in the way.State Rep. Terry Canales of Edinburg has proposed putting the question of legalization to Texas voters. And even less controversial measures, like lowering criminal penalties for marijuana possession, have fallen flat in the Texas Senate. Dan Patrick, a staunch conservative, at the helm of the upper chamber, it remains unlikely that a legalization bill will make it out when the Legislature reconvenes in January. But given the state of the economy and more states following the trend to legalize and tax cannabis, they said action was needed. A report by the American Civil Liberties Union found that, in 2018, Black people in Texas were 2.6 times more likely to be arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession than white people.
State Rep. Joe Moody joins the Texas House speaker's race
Read full article: State Rep. Joe Moody joins the Texas House speaker's raceState Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, listens to public testimony in 2019. Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas TribuneState Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, filed Tuesday for Texas House speaker, becoming the eighth candidate in what’s quickly become a crowded race. In a statement, Moody said he was running to change the "impenetrable and transactional" nature of the House. Moody joins fellow Democratic state Reps. Oscar Longoria of Mission, Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio and Senfronia Thompson of Houston in the race. Candidates are running to replace GOP House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, who will retire at the end of his term after a political scandal last year. Morrison has picked up support from state Rep. John Cyrier — a Lockhart Republican who filed for speaker Thursday but withdrew from the race the next day — and state Rep. Phil King, a Weatherford Republican who chairs the powerful House Redistricting Committee.
Texas Democrats from the border team up for new PAC in effort to flip the state House
Read full article: Texas Democrats from the border team up for new PAC in effort to flip the state HouseLawmakers from the border say they are teaming up to influence the 2020 race for control of the Texas House. Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneA group of Democrats representing the state's border with Mexico in the Texas House has launched a new political group to unify their ranks and pitch in on the fight for the lower-chamber majority this November. The House speaker pro tem, Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso, is helping organize and serving as the treasurer of the group, Corazón de la Frontera PAC, or "Heart of the Border." The PAC plans to help statewide by aiding freshman Democrats in their reelection bids as well as Democrats running to flip open seats in battleground districts. Democrats are currently nine seats away from the majority in the House, following their gain of 12 seats in 2018.