In the months leading up to their committee hearing, Woori Juntos community members trained on how to share their personal stories with legislators — in their own language.

The Senate advanced a bill that could create such high financial risks for doctors and health insurers that they’d stop providing or covering gender-affirming care — even for adults.

The House passed a bill with a late amendment to make it a state jail felony for a “public officer” to give alcohol to a minor under any circumstances. Slaton voted for the amendment.

Relative caregivers, like grandparents who want to keep kids out of foster care, usually get half as much state assistance as strangers who take in children.

In 2021, a bill that would block transgender kids’ access to transition-related care passed the Senate but died in the Texas House. This year, a majority of House members back such a ban.

Proposed legislation from Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, would criminalize explicit performances where children are present and strip libraries of state funding for hosting any event featuring performers in drag. Critics say the bill is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Texas is attempting to address the fentanyl crisis gripping schools by having staff learn how to administer lifesaving medication.

Many Texas universities don’t have early-voting locations on campus. And state laws regarding voter ID and registration make it hard to turn out younger voters, advocates say.

Republican and Democratic state legislators joined Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith in a panel at the University of Texas at San Antonio on Wednesday.

Officials in the state’s major metropolitan areas are increasingly scrambling to find health care workers to deal with a wave of patients with COVID-19.

State Rep. Craig Goldman and state Sen. José Menéndez discuss what the Texas Legislature can do to better prepare for extreme weather and the impact the winter storm will have on the energy industry. Join The Texas Tribune at noon Central March 10 for a live interview with state Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, and state Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio. He serves as chair of the House Energy Resources Committee and sits on the Licensing and Administrative Procedures and Redistricting committees. This conversation is presented by Lone Star College and Texas State Technical College and supported by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. Though donors and corporate sponsors underwrite Texas Tribune events, they play no role in determining the content, panelists or line of questioning.