State Government 29
Texas’ new House map challenged in state court, expanding redistricting fight
BY ALEXA URA at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 3, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Opening a second front in widening legal wars over redistricting, a coalition of mostly Hispanic, Democratic members of the Texas House filed suit in state court Wednesday
Republican John Lujan wins special election runoff to flip Texas House seat in San Antonio
BY PATRICK SVITEK at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 2, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. SAN ANTONIO — Republican John Lujan has won the special election runoff for Texas House District 118, flipping the Democratic-friendly seat in San Antonio. The victory by
“A pivotal day”: Texas abortion law’s Supreme Court hearings spur hope for some, fear for others
BY ABBY LIVINGSTON AND BETHANY IRVINE at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 1, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Editor’s note: This story contains explicit language. WASHINGTON — The dividing line in front of the U.S. Supreme Court was both invisible and unmissable. It extended
Gov. Greg Abbott chastises school board group with vague accusation of “pornographic images” in library books
BY CASSANDRA POLLOCK at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 1, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Gov. Greg Abbott asked the Texas Association of School Boards on Monday to determine the extent to which “pornography or other inappropriate content” exists in public schools
Evan Young, former clerk to conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, appointed to Texas Supreme Court
BY PATRICK SVITEK at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 1, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Gov. Greg Abbott named Austin lawyer Evan Young to the Texas Supreme Court on Monday. Young is a former clerk for the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Former ACLU lawyer Rochelle Garza decides to run for attorney general after redistricting upends congressional campaign
BY PATRICK SVITEK NOV. 1, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Democrat Rochelle Garza, a former lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union from the Rio Grande Valley, is running for attorney general after redistricting complicated her campaign to succeed retiring U.S.
How today’s near-total abortion ban in Texas was 20 years in the making.
BY KEVIN REYNOLDS at The Texas Tribune, NOV. 1, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Here is a list of Texas laws since 2000 that restrict abortion access. 2000 – First parental notification law goes into effect Doctors must notify a parent
Special election runoff on Tuesday for Texas House seat in San Antonio carries high stakes for both parties
BY PATRICK SVITEK at The Texas Tribune, OCT. 30, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. The special election runoff Tuesday for a state House seat in San Antonio carries high stakes, with Republicans working hard to flip it as part of their
Texas sues the Biden administration over federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates
BY JAMES POLLARD at The Texas Tribune, OCT. 29, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Attorney General Ken Paxton, on behalf of the state, sued the Biden administration on Friday over its coronavirus vaccine mandate for federal contractors. The federal requirement, which
Texas lawmaker keeping mum on inquiry into what books students can access as school districts grapple with how to respond
BY CASSANDRA POLLOCK AND BRIAN LOPEZ at The Texas Tribune, OCT. 29, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. State Rep. Matt Krause said he will not be offering specifics related to his inquiry over which books about racism and sexuality are available at certain
Congressional Democrats ask feds to investigate whether Texas migrant arrests violate constitutional rights
BY JOLIE MCCULLOUGH at The Texas Tribune, OCT. 29, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. More than two dozen Democratic members of Congress called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. attorney general to investigate legal problems that have
For Texans who want a child but have difficult pregnancies, the new abortion law just made that journey even harder
BY BEKAH MCNEEL, THE TEXAS TRIBUNE OCT. 29, 2021 Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. At her sonogram appointment in late September, Kendra Joseph received ominous news. Signs pointed to an impending miscarriage, but she wasn’t far enough along for the doctor
