The order came at the request of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who O’Rourke accused in a separate lawsuit of going on a “fishing expedition, constitutional rights be damned.”

Gov. Greg Abbott previously asked the court to expel Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic leader. Paxton disputed the governor’s authority to make the request.

The Democratic state lawmaker has inquired about Senate television ad rates, two sources told the Tribune.

The attorney general is calling on the “full faith and credit” clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says states should typically honor each other’s judicial proceedings.

Jaime Galvan Sanchez has lived in the U.S. for more than 20 years. He was deported in less than 24 hours without due process and allowed to return. But his family is still suffering from the aftermath.

The Texas Supreme Court said in 2021 the Constitution allows members to thwart legislation by leaving the state. Abbott wants them to reconsider.

The proposal would put tighter limits on how much property tax revenue cities and counties of a certain size can collect each year.

Two youth camp owners told lawmakers more layered disaster plans would create critical backstops and improve communication with first responders.

While the Democrats could technically derail the GOP’s redistricting map, such efforts have been largely symbolic and had limited success blocking past legislation, experts say.

The situation is an opportunity for the speaker to bolster his credibility with the right, but he has limited tools to combat a prolonged Democratic absence.

Only one Democrat taking part in the quorum break was absent from the panel as the group discussed five bills and the chair vowed their work would go on.

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the state’s voter ID requirements for mail-in ballots do not violate the Civil Rights Act.

Legal experts say it’s “inconsistent with the Texas Constitution” to argue that leaving the state to halt legislative action qualifies as abandoning an office.

The former El Paso congressman also contributed to House Democrats’ 2021 quorum break. A PAC backed by Democratic donor George Soros is also involved in this year’s effort.

The three-judge panel agreed with a lower court that Ken Paxton’s office can’t question officials from Catholic Charities under oath without first filing a lawsuit.

Texas Republicans are trying to redraw congressional districts to pick up five additional U.S. House seats. Democrats face financial and political risk in their bid to block the GOP plan.

Senate Bill 7 would require people to use restrooms that match their birth gender and fine institutions up to $25,000 for repeated violations.

Democrats fled the state to stop Republicans’ attempt to redraw congressional districts, but bills aimed at everything from a THC product ban to bolstering flood response are now in doubt.

The warrants apply only within state lines, making them largely symbolic as most of the legislators in question decamped to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts.

The lawmakers’ absence means the lower chamber won’t have enough members present to function, stalling passage of a draft map Democrats have condemned as a political power grab.

Competing legislative priorities and an industry that has pushed against certain regulations could challenge a suite of camp safety bills this special legislative session.

As lawmakers continue to debate banning hemp-derived THC, some rural Texans say it helps ease addiction, health concerns and economic woes that hit their communities the hardest.

Residents told state lawmakers about what they’ve lost and the hardships they’re experiencing almost a month after the July 4 disaster devastated the region.

Lawmakers plan to hear testimony Thursday in Kerr County. Questions remain about how state and local entities responded to flood warnings.

Miller denies wrongdoing after allegations surfaced during an investigation into one of his aides, who pled guilty to bribery. The agriculture commissioner has not been charged with a crime.

Critics of the bill say the state’s smallest cities and school districts will be silenced at the Capitol.

The Senate’s decision signals another potential standoff with Gov. Greg Abbott, who vetoed a similar ban earlier this year as he called for more regulations instead.

The first draft of the lower chamber’s new redistricting map targets Democratic members of Congress in the Austin, Dallas and Houston metro areas and in South Texas.

The money could be used to cover the $500-a-day fines lawmakers would incur under House rules set to discourage members from absconding after Democrats fled the state in 2021.

The bills would carry a $5,000 fine for a first-time violation and comes as momentum for such restrictions has increased in the state and nationally.

At the first of at least seven hearings, members of the public aired grievances about the unusual mid-decade redistricting effort.

Faced with a skeptical religious community that became the center of the outbreak, public health officials say they may have pushed too hard on vaccine messaging.

Senate Bill 5 would ban products containing any detectable amount of any cannabinoid, creating criminal offenses for possession of hemp-derived THC.

The Texas attorney general said U.S. Masters Swimming violated the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act by allowing trans athletes to compete in women’s events.

The Southlake Republican will serve the remainder of his seventh term. Keller Mayor Armin Mizani said on Wednesday he would run for the District 98 seat.

Lawmakers serving on special committees investigating deadly floods blasted a river authority for failing to build a flood warning system on the Guadalupe River.

With few options to prevent the Republican majority from passing a new congressional map, Democrats threatened to filibuster, delay hearings and even break quorum.

Lawmakers will have 30 days to tackle a packed agenda outlined by Gov. Greg Abbott, from flood relief to redistricting to THC products.

Texas lawmakers start a 30-day special session July 21. They will tackle consumable THC, flood dangers, new congressional districts, abortion pills and other conservative priorities.

Despite receiving substantial state funding to air-condition prisons in the last few years, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has stayed mum on when it will install cooling across the system.

While sirens can help in areas with shaky cell service, experts say officials also need to consider alert fatigue and provide education on what to do in an emergency.

In a statement, Angela Paxton said she moved to end her 38-year marriage “on biblical grounds,” citing “recent discoveries.”

A GOP state lawmaker who represents Kerr County says he likely would vote differently now on House Bill 13, which would have established a grant program for counties to build new emergency communication infrastructure.

While the state says undocumented patients cost hospitals $329 million over three months, critics say the data lacks payment information and more context.

Medical program leaders want a ban on synthetic delta-8 THC, which makes up the bulk of consumable hemp products.

Texas’ attorney general alleged the City of Dallas and the fair were violating state law and the second amendment with the ban, which was adopted after a 2023 shooting.

Soon after Birdwell announced his retirement, state Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, said he was running for the seat.

As federal pandemic aid ends and sales tax revenues cool, analysts say it could constrain the Texas Legislature in coming years. But they don’t see an immediate budget crisis on the horizon.

A North Texas man charged with capital murder after slipping mifepristone into his girlfriend’s food signals another attempt to rein in abortion pills.

The contest coincides with the state’s November uniform election, when voters across Texas will already be at the polls to decide local offices and ballot measures.

The decision, stemming from a 2022 lawsuit, narrows the public’s legal options to challenge Texas officials under the state’s open records law.

The case involves a 2023 state law requiring adult websites to verify users’ ages, but the ruling is expected to have broader implications for free speech law.

Although Patrick and hemp industry leaders have quarreled over the risks and benefits of THC, cannabis researchers say it can be addictive but doesn’t usually cause widespread psychosis or brain damage.

In dueling lawsuits, current and former employees of the attorney general’s office sling allegations that threaten to intrude on Paxton’s U.S. Senate bid.

Abbott ordered two Texas agencies to begin working together and with residents and business leaders to stop the spread of the invasive fly before it even starts.

The statewide survey also found that Texas Republicans are closely divided on the issue.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday signed Senate Bill 3070, which will also criminalize the online sale of lottery tickets through couriers.

Texas and other states have criticized a decision by the national psychologist licensing board to add another expensive test in order for psychologists to become certified.

The North Texas district opened up last week when Republican Kelly Hancock resigned from the upper chamber to take over as the state’s acting comptroller.

Hemp industry leaders say they agree with regulations similar to how the state regulates alcohol.

The clash marks a rare break between two of the most powerful Republicans in Texas after a legislative session that ushered in a series of conservative victories.

Abbott cited uncertainty over federal funding of the program as his reason for rejecting the state’s participation.

Lawmakers added $100 million to a child care scholarship program but failed to expand access to free preschool for children with disabilities.

More than 3 million people call rural Texas home, and many lack access to a primary care doctor.

Abbott will call lawmakers back to Austin to tackle Senate Bill 3, a proposed ban on THC products that he vetoed, as well as five others from his veto list.

The move infuriated Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the powerful head of the Senate, who had called the ban among his top five bills over 17 years in the Legislature.

The agreement targets the environmental review process and cuts down the time it takes for new highways to be approved.

A federal judge determined the state illegally institutionalized severely disabled people for decades, often in poorly run facilities.

Texas lawmakers passed a suite of bills that officials said are crucial to combat losses in the state’s largest oil field.

Hancock, a North Richland Hills Republican, announced his candidacy shortly after being sworn in as chief clerk at the comptroller’s office.

With border crossings at record lows, state authorities are being sent to arrest people accused of committing crimes in Texas after entering the country illegally.

Here’s a look at senators, ranked from most conservative to most liberal, based on votes cast during the 2025 regular session.

Lawmakers passed a handful of bills aimed at easing access to guns as a new pediatric study links state legislation to increased firearm deaths.

A court hearing on Wednesday will determine whether to proceed with Paxton’s request.

Here’s a look at House members, ranked from most conservative to most liberal, based on votes cast during the 2025 regular session.

Texas officials suggested the federal government could pick up construction. However, during President Trump’s first term, his administration built about one-third of what the state was able to put up in the same amount of time.

Texas hemp users stockpile products and consider moving out of state as ban looms, saying the medical marijuana program is currently an untenable alternative.

The Trump administration is proposing limits to the recreational facilities — including beaches — that are eligible for federal assistance.

The Legislature passed laws allowing smaller homes on smaller lots and making it harder for neighbors to block new housing.

Since El Paso joined Operation Lone Star in 2022, migrant remains discovered in the desert west of the city have increased every year, even as they have declined in every other border sector.

Demonstrations in McAllen, Midland, Odessa, Austin and elsewhere in Texas have been largely peaceful, as some protests are expected to go well into the night.

The agency said there was no additional active threat, as Austin demonstrators took aim at the Trump administration.

Three months ago, Texas lost $700 million in unspent federal pandemic-era funding.

Among other changes is a new law that says homeowner associations can no longer fine Texans for not watering their grass during a drought.

Texas has strictly defined man and woman, leaving trans Texans in legal limbo.

Their filing says the lawsuit that struck down in-state tuition for undocumented students was “contrived” to keep their voices out.

Of the more than 100 bills aimed at LGBTQ+ people in the state, less than 10 were approved by lawmakers this session.

Lawmakers have approved funding clinical trials for ibogaine as a treatment for addiction and brain trauma. It comes as Texas contemplates banning THC.

The facility will bring mental health resources closer to the largely rural region that’s home to nearly 436,000 people.

Legal challenges have failed, elections haven’t moved the needle and the fight for a narrow clarification shows how immovable these laws are.

It’s an unusual situation for the lieutenant governor, long viewed by GOP activists as a stalwart conservative responsible for driving the Legislature rightward.

Two years after Stephanie Muth became Department of Family and Protective Services commissioner, staff turnover is down and the number of children without a placement has dropped.

Houston’s National Weather Service office has lost its head meteorologist amid a federal requirement to cut 10% of NOAA’s staff.

Experts say Wednesday’s action to eliminate the long-standing policy could be a “collusive lawsuit,” where the state and feds worked the courts to get a desired outcome.

The program would give low income families an extra $120 per child for summer lunches, but federal debate about food benefits could endanger the program.

At the same time, some Democrats acknowledged the Lubbock Republican let them leave their mark on some of the GOP bills they disagreed with.

Texas passed sweeping changes to cannabis policy, including expanding the medical marijuana program and banning hemp products, while also boosting psychedelics research.

A bill headed for Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk may not go into effect until 2027. Election administrators say the changes could create staffing challenges.

The 33 potential voting violations are a tiny fraction of the roughly 11 million who cast ballots in the November 2024 election.

Jones, a Democrat elected to the Texas House in 2022 and previously served on the Houston City Council, joins a slate of candidates running to fill the solidly blue seat.