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Texas Republicans have been pushing an aggressive agenda despite promised court challenges, including legislation that would let police ask drivers whether they're in the U.S. legally, restrict what school bathrooms transgender students can use, ban most second-trimester abortions and let adoption agencies reject gay couples over religious objections. The lawsuits have already begun: El Paso County on Monday asked a federal court to block a "sanctuary cities" crackdown signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that opponents say invites racial profiling by police and will push immigrant crime victims further into the shadows.
A point of order brings representatives to the dais as lawmakers in the House of Representatives debate points about fetal remains Friday at the Texas Capitol. The House tentatively passed Senate Bill 8 after more than five hours of often emotional and testy debate.
In this July 21, 2015 photo, Jeanette Williams places a bouquet of roses at a memorial for Sandra Bland near Prairie View A&M University, in Prairie View, Texas. The sister of Sandra Bland, a black woman found dead in a Texas jail following a confrontational traffic stop with a white state trooper, says it is "gut-wrenching" that lawmakers stripped police reforms from a bill named after her sibling and are now pushing a weakened compromise that "painfully misses the mark."
I'm not going to begin to pretend I understand the finer points of Texas Legislature procedure and nomenclature, but I'm scratching my head as to why a proposed statewide ban of texting-while-driving that has bi-partisan support and has already passed the state house may not get a vote in this year's legislature. According to the Austin-American Statesman , the reason the bill may die is because Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is sitting on it, apparently because of a political formality.
Abbott tweeted the word "Boom" in celebration of the Texas Legislature approving a call for a "conv... Texas has charged to the forefront of national debate over immigration as Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a so-called "sanctuary cities" ban that lets police ask during routine stops whether someone is in the... Texas has charged to the forefront of national debate over immigration as Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a so-called "sanctuary cities" ban that lets police ask during routine stops whether someone is in the U.S. legally. The most prominent domestic violence hotline in the U.S. says there's been a sharp increase in calls from abuse victims struggling with issues related to their immigration status.
In this March 24, 2017, file photo, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott talks to reporters outside the White House in Washington. Abbott tweeted the word "Boom" in celebration of the Texas Legislature approving a call for a "convention of states."
In case anybody didn't know that Texas U.S. Rep. Randy Weber was conservative, his tearful request for God's forgiveness removed all doubt. Weber, R-Alvin, took the podium at the annual "Washington - A Man of Prayer" event in the nation's capitol in Wednesday, April 26, 2017.
In this Wednesday, April 26, 2017 photo, Rep. Cecil Bell Jr., R-Magnolia works at his desk in the House Chamber at the Texas State Capitol, in Austin, Texas. Republicans control Congress and President Donald Trump has promised to drastically cut federal regulations, but for fiercely conservative Texas it may not be enough.
A top private prison company is struggling to convince Texas lawmakers to license one of its facilities to hold immigrant parents and their children together -- a practice that President Donald Trump's administration recently committed to upholding. The Karnes Residential Center, 60 miles south of San Antonio, opened as a family detention center in 2014 and used to hold detainees for months, until a federal judge ruled that children held longer than 20 days must be housed in "non-secure" facilities with child care licenses.
A Republican-drawn map setting the boundaries of Texas' statehouse districts violates the U.S. Constitution by intentionally discriminating against minority voters, a federal court found Thursday - the third such ruling against the state's voting laws in roughly a month. The latest ruling means Texas' strict voter ID law, congressional maps and state legislative maps - all of which were enacted in 2011 - have recently been found in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act.
The Texas House is lagging behind the Senate on some key legislation, says state Rep. Matt Schaefer. And with only seven weeks to go in the session, hopes are dimming that some conservative objectives will be accomplished in this biennium.
The rainy day fund contains $10-plus billion at a time when slumping oil prices have left the state facing a potential $6 billion shortfall just to maintain current spending levels in the 2018-2019 budget the Legislature is now devising. Democrats and Republicans in the House want to spend some of that to forego widespread cuts.
Federal judges found more problems in Texas' voting rights laws, ruling that Republicans racially gerrymandered some congressional districts to weaken the growing electoral power of minorities, who former President Barack Obama set out to protect at the ballot box before leaving office. The ruling late Friday by a three-judge panel in San Antonio gave Democrats hope of new, more favorably drawn maps that could turnover more seats in Congress in 2018.
In a surprise move, state leaders are exploring the use of special budget "riders" to avoid a special legislative session over the likely repeal of Obamacare. Senate and House leaders said Tuesday that because of uncertainty over how much federal funding will be available to Texas for health care programs, should Congress repeal the Affordable Care Act, they are skeptical that a state budget can be finalized by the time the legislature adjourns in June.
The Senate voted March 2 to confirm former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, President Trump's nominee for secretary of energy. The vote was 62-37, with Perry winning support from every Republican member of the Senate who voted, as well as from 10 Democrats and one Independent.
In this Jan. 12, 2017, file photo, Housing and Urban Development Secretary-designate Ben Carson testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. The next Trump administration Cabinet nominee up for a vote in the Senate is celebrated neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
The next Trump administration Cabinet nominee up for a vote in the Senate is c... Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry cleared a Senate hurdle in his bid to become Energy secretary in the Trump administration. At his confirmation hearing, Perry vowed to be an advocate for an agency he once pledged to eliminate and promised to rely on federal scientists, including those who work on climate change.
A long-running lawsuit over Texas' contentious voter ID law will move forward in federal court, even as the Republican-controlled Legislature considers how best to modify it. A federal judge on Friday denied a request from the U.S. Justice Department and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to delay the case.
Planned Parenthood South Austin Health Center is seen in Austin, Texas, U.S. on June 27, 2016. REUTERS/Ilana Panich-Linsman/File Photo A federal judge on Tuesday ruled Texas officials cannot cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, allowing the organization to continue providing reimbursed services - at least temporarily - to the 12,500 Texas Medicaid patients who rely on it.