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Texas leaders defend Black official after lawmaker’s public interrogation of DEI policies left her in tears Texas Water Development Board Chair L’Oreal Stepney wiped tears from her eyes Thursday as a House hearing turned into a tense line of questioning over race and the future of state hiring practices. The exchange left Stepney visibly distraught, ignited a broader discussion about political rhetoric and respect …

Texas Senate’s voucher proposal would give families $10,000 to fund students’ private school The Texas Senate revealed a bill on Friday to create an education savings accounts program, a top priority for Gov. Greg Abbott and top lawmakers after a similar bill failed to pass last legislative session. The bill, co-authored by Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Republican from Conroe who chairs the Senate Education Committee, …

As landowners resist, Texas’ border wall is fragmented and built in remote areas In December 2021, Gov. Greg Abbott traveled to South Texas to inaugurate the first 880-foot stretch of the state’s newly constructed wall on its border with Mexico. At the press conference, with cameras zoomed tightly on him against a backdrop of the three-story high, slatted wall in Starr County, the Republican governor declared the b…

Texas regulators shelve an electricity market reform proposal they say does too little to shore up grid The Public Utility Commission on Thursday shelved the performance credit mechanism, a controversial idea that was designed to bring more power onto the state grid and increase its reliability. “I don’t believe that the PCM, as currently designed, will provide the reliability benefits needed in the ERCOT market,” …

Trump’s promise of mass deportation throws undocumented Texans into fear, uncertainty In public, he uses his commanding baritone voice to rally and inspire people as an immigrant activist. In private, the 41-year-old man says he lies awake at night, consumed by fear and aware of the fragility of his life in the United States. After coming to the U.S. at age 7 with his mother and two siblings from Monterrey, Mexico,…

A South Texas lawmaker's 15-year fight for a Rio Grande Valley law school McALLEN — The Texas Legislature can be full of surprises. But for the last eight sessions, there has been one constant: state Rep. Armando "Mando" Martinez’s proposal to establish a public law school in the Rio Grande Valley. For the Weslaco Democrat, establishing a law school would open the door to more job opportunities for Valley resident…

Texas weighs social media bans for minors as schools and police face challenges As school districts struggle to control the spread of cyberbullying, pornographic images and online exploitation among their students, Texas lawmakers could consider banning social media from minors, among other sweeping measures, in the upcoming legislative session. Over the last decade, Texas lawmakers have attempted to slow the sprea…

How David Cook went from Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan’s ally to lead the movement to replace him Last year, state Rep. David Cook of Mansfield was quietly but steadily climbing the ranks of Texas politics. The sophomore lawmaker had been named vice chair of the committee overseeing the state’s criminal laws. He carried and passed a GOP priority bill aimed at reining in “rogue” progressive district attorneys. An…

Crypto miners must register with state and reveal power usage under new Texas rule Texas’ utility regulator on Thursday adopted a rule requiring cryptocurrency mining facilities connected to the state’s main electric grid to register with the state’s grid operator. The rule, which was mandated by lawmakers in a 2023 bill, requires crypto mining facilities that consume more than 75 megawatts of power to tell the Pub…

Trump’s promise to unravel Biden's climate policies could take years to fulfill On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to unchain the oil and gas industry from federal regulations aimed at slowing climate change. Last week, the President-elect once again promised to follow through, saying the U.S. would “have more liquid gold than any country in the world,” a promise that climate policy experts and advocates …

Republicans reassert their dominance in Texas Republicans reasserted their decades-long iron grip on Texas by securing comfortable victories all over the ballot Tuesday, dashing Democrats’ hopes of an upset and propelling the state further to the right. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994, and Democrats again failed to break through in Tuesday’s elections. At the top of the ticket, former Presi…