INSIDER
Anti-voucher Republicans said they voted for the bill so they could fight to improve it, and also to fend off political retribution.
Normally, memorial resolutions to honor Texans who have died are passed without controversy. But the resolution for Richards, a former president of Planned Parenthood who died this year, sparked a cascade of outrage from conservatives.
The bill would let families use taxpayer dollars for their children’s private schooling. Lawmakers also signed off on a sweeping $7.7 billion package to boost public school funding.
The lower chamber overwhelmingly voted in favor of House Bill 2, a sweeping $8 billion piece of legislation that would also limit schools’ reliance on teachers without formal classroom training.
As the Texas House expects to vote on a bill to create a $1 billion school voucher, a showdown is expected between optimistic supporters and critics hoping to sink the vote again, as they did in 2023.
A last-minute amendment would require students to go to alternative education settings if they attack a teacher or make terroristic threats.
The vote instructs lawmakers who are negotiating a budget with the Senate to advocate for awarding Paxton the salary he missed while impeached over corruption allegations.
From The Blast: More than 50 House Democrats have signed on to a plan to spike all constitutional amendments unless the House allows voters to decide whether school vouchers will be legalized.
Lawmakers are quietly pushing bills that would limit access to bathrooms and measures preventing trans people from changing government documents.
The legislation was written after the state’s largest wildfire scorched more than 1 million acres in the Panhandle last year.
The proposal aims to make working conditions safer for teachers but critics worry it could push the state’s most vulnerable students out of the classroom.
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said Texas A&M is better positioned to grow the Victoria school and serve the region’s petrochemical and agriculture industries.
Most lawmakers — as well as Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — want to invest big in water. Here are the proposals that would do it.
Proponents say the changes would better serve special education students with widely varying needs — and help schools pay for it.
The hearing on House Bill 3 started Tuesday and ended Wednesday morning. Hundreds of Texans waited overnight to testify.
The new legislative panel has been tasked to reduce the size and scope of government. But Democrats say they’re not interested in replicating Musk’s slash-and-burn approach.
House Bill 239, which echoes a bathroom bill that failed in 2017, includes new provisions for shelters and prisons.
Turner’s death comes two months into his first term representing Texas’ 18th Congressional District, the seat long occupied by former U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who also died in office last year amid a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Neither of the Legislature’s voucher bills require private schools to accept certain students, which some warn could block the neediest children from access.
The proposal sets a few possible points of contention between the House and Senate, including how much money should families get through the program.
Supporters of voucher-like education savings accounts are trying to press their advantage early and build a sense of inevitability.
The package was fast-tracked after Gov. Greg Abbott declared “bail reform” an emergency item. The bills now head to the House for consideration.
The aggressive Republican agenda’s success depends on how well the three leaders harmonize their tactics and goals for the legislative session.
Senate Bill 2 now heads to the House, where top officials say they have the support to create education savings accounts.
Conservative activists in the GOP caucus called any power sharing with the minority party a betrayal of Republican voters.
Both chambers set aside $1 billion for a voucher-like education savings account program — double what was on the table two years ago — in a sign that supporters are emboldened after recent electoral gains.
The Democrats’ short list of possible benefits: A leader who learned to keep promises, a chance at chairing committees, and what they see as more chances for a fairer playing field.
From debating school vouchers and improving the state’s water supply to reining in property taxes, the GOP-led body will look to pass its conservative priorities amid fighting within the party.
Rep. Cody Harris filed a complaint against Texas GOP Chair Abraham George for sending mailers and censuring lawmakers who support Rep. Dustin Burrows as House speaker.
Some voucher opponents are ready to compromise; others are hoping supporters will fumble over the program's size, eligibility and accountability.
In a Q&A, Burrows said he’s still confident he’ll win. But he says the leadership race is bigger than any one person and his supporters are trying to protect the integrity of the House.
Days after the Texas House GOP caucus backed Cook, Abbott made clear that he expects Republican representatives to do the same.
Phelan, a Beaumont Republican, had previously insisted he had enough votes to thwart a challenge from the right led by state Rep. David Cook of Mansfield.
The two-term Republican caught many Capitol observers off guard when he emerged as the standard-bearer for a coalition that wants to depose Phelan and reshape how the House operates.
Turner served in the Texas House for four years and was also executive director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in the first Trump administration.
Tuesday marked the first day lawmakers could file bills for next year’s legislative session.
Last year, Abbott refused to give public schools a major raise without passing a voucher program. His tone was more conciliatory after Election Day.
The AG also said he’d make a criminal referral against the lawmaker, who apologized for texting a Court of Criminal Appeals judge about a new trial for the death row inmate.
Across a dozen of the most competitive House races, Republicans raked in more than $11 million over the last month, compared to the nearly $3.5 million collectively raised by their Democratic counterparts.
After the attorney general insisted on the death row inmate’s guilt in a graphic press release, four lawmakers issued a point-by-point rebuttal.
Democrats have long held an edge in South Texas, but Republicans see an opening there to expand their House majority.
Phelan appears to lack support from the majority of House Republicans, but he could still win with some Democratic support.
Four GOP state representatives suspended their bids to challenge Phelan and 48 Republicans backed Cook, which could threaten Phelan’s shot at a third term.
The first-term Republican defending her seat said a private school voucher program will help her community, especially students from low-income families.
Frank said he would work to bring better communication, member empowerment and management of the flow of legislation if he became the chamber’s leader.
Reps. Tom Oliverson and Shelby Slawson, both members of House Republican leadership, became the first two candidates to challenge Phelan’s speakership.
The Texas House speaker race is becoming increasingly crowded. Phelan, who is under fire from his right, says he plans to seek the leadership position again.
The donation follows another $6 million Yass gave Abbott in January, which the governor’s campaign said was the largest single donation in Texas history.
The censured members said they had been punished for campaigning against “liberal incumbents” alongside statewide elected officials like Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton crusaded against House Republicans who voted against school vouchers and in favor of impeachment, respectively.
The announcement came two days after Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, narrowly survived a runoff challenge from the GOP’s hard right.
Neither of the Texas GOP’s dueling factions landed a clean knockout blow during a grueling primary season that only seemed to set up further chaos and strife.
Six of eight GOP incumbents lost their races. Gov. Greg Abbott declared he “now has enough votes to pass school choice.”
Phelan’s primary has emerged as a last stand for the Republican Party’s business-minded establishment against an insurgency primarily motivated by social and cultural issues.
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a Dallas Democrat who previously served in the Texas House with Thierry, spoke at a campaign event where she condemned her former colleague.
There is no process in Texas for a voter-driven statewide referendum. So, supporters are going city by city to build statewide momentum.
A lack of air support and ineffective coordination hurt efforts to contain this year's Panhandle fires, the committee said.
In June 2022, state Rep. Frederick Frazier was indicted on two charges of impersonating a public servant. A Collin County district judge dismissed the misdemeanor charges as part of his deferred adjudication.
Gonzales, 43, faces Brandon Herrera in the May primary runoff election for South Texas District 23.
The two dozen Republican signatories called on the next House leader to commit to their list of conservative demands that served as a repudiation of Speaker Dade Phelan.
Nine Houston area state representatives have written a letter to the Speaker of the Texas House requesting a public hearing on allegations that Houston ISD violated state law by having unaccredited teachers in the classroom.
The Beaumont Republican’s foes are trying to paint him as soft on the border, even after last year’s passage of far-reaching laws and record border funding.
All told, 11 of the 28 House candidates supported by Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks won their primaries outright, and another eight are headed to runoffs this May.
The May 28 runoff promises to be an expensive, high-profile contest that will help reshape the political dynamics of the Texas House.
Johnson is virtually assured to have won the seat, because there is no Republican challenger in November.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton beat impeachment, and now he wants political revenge.
In a district composed mostly of communities of color, Neave Criado hopes to topple Johnson with her stances on immigration, domestic violence and women’s issues.
In a statement, Biedermann said the point he was trying to make was that leaders “selectively punish impropriety.”
The Houston Democrat is recovering from abdominal surgery. Democrats did not expect him to attend the vote, but his surprise appearance sank the impeachment vote.
