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The Lege This Week: The Capitol’s Longstanding Toxic Culture
From allegations of sexual misconduct to Dan Patrick's push for permitless carry, here's what happened this week in the 87th Texas Legislature.
Justin Miller
Justin Miller is the news and politics editor for the Texas Observer. He joined the Observer in 2018 as a staff writer covering state politics and the Legislature. He’s covered lobbying and money in politics, border security and state contracting, and much more. He previously worked at The American Prospect magazine and received a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota.
Articles by Justin Miller
The Lege This Week: Instead of Addressing Mass Shootings, Lawmakers Expand Gun Rights
The Texas House passes a controversial bill that would allow Texans to carry a handgun without a permit.
The Lege This Week: Stimmy for Schools?
The Texas Senate passes its budget bill without addressing billions of dollars in unspent federal relief. Now, public education advocates are demanding that lawmakers open up the spigot for local school districts.
The Lege This Week: “Another Watershed Moment”
The push for an omnibus reform package named after George Floyd underscores how outrage over his death changed local and state policy debates around policing.
The Lege This Week: GOP Launches Election Crackdown
The state’s biggest counties took action to make it easier to vote during the pandemic, helping spur record-level turnout. Now, Texas Republicans are vying to prohibit those measures in future elections.
The Lege This Week: Abbott Lets His Mask Slip
From one crisis to the next: With Texas still reeling from the February blackouts, the governor decides to lift state COVID-19 mandates—then blames immigrants for spreading the virus.
The Texas Public Utility Commission’s Revolving Door Between Industry and Regulator
The state’s utility regulator drew intense scrutiny from legislators last week for failing to regulate the electric industry ahead of the February blackouts. Many of its top staffers have worked for the power companies it oversees.
The Lege This Week: Adventures in Circular Finger Pointing
The main theme to emerge from the Lege’s blackout hearings? Mea culpas for thee, but not for me.
ERCOT Increased Revenue and Executive Pay In Years Before Texas Power Outages
Top ERCOT officials collected six-figure salaries while failing to prepare for extreme weather events that they were warned about.
The Lege This Week: Out Cold
As disaster unfolded across Texas, state lawmakers were quick to blame the state’s grid operator and the public utility commission. But the Legislature will face a reckoning of its own.