Floor Pass
The Strange Death and Legacy of House Bill 4105
House Republicans fumbled their anti-gay marriage bill from the start, tanked it to avoid a floor vote, then crowed about their commitment to the cause....Read More
The Legislature’s Never-Ending Primary
With only a few weeks left to go, it’s safe to say that this year’s legislative session has been less than productive. Instead, it has become a never-ending...Read More
Texas House Gives Preliminary OK to Abortion Restrictions for Minors
The Texas House gave preliminary approval late Wednesday night to House Bill 3994, which changes the legal process set up for minors seeking an abortion. The bi...Read More
Lawmakers Could Slow Spread of Video-Only Jail Visitations
Prison phone service companies like Secures Technologies have found a new way to profit from their captive audience through video visitation systems. This new t...Read More
Too Young to Jail
Texas has come a long way in juvenile justice reform. But this year, the question of whether to raise the age of "criminal responsibility" has split some lawmak...Read More
Quixotic Plan to Amend U.S. Constitution Passes Texas House
While many economist and critics decry the idea, the Texas House passed a resolution requesting that Congress convene a convention of states to consider amendin...Read More
Anti-Gay Marriage Bill Faces ‘Critical Showdown’ In House
The future of the battle over gay marriage in Texas—and possibly in other states—is likely to be determined by the House of Representatives in the next 72 h...Read More
Senate Votes to Increase Funding for ‘Godless,’ ‘Socialistic’ Pre-K
After about an hour of debate, the Senate passed legislation Thursday that would modestly increase funding for pre-K programs. House Bill 4, a priority of Gov. ...Read More
House Republicans Open Another Front in Voter ID Fight
Four years after Texas passed one of the strictest voter ID laws in the nation, lawmakers will debate another measure on Thursday that could make it even more d...Read More
State Budget Experts Mistakenly Claim Sodomy is Still Illegal
Texas’ "homosexual conduct" law was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, yet the Legislature has yet to remove the sodomy ban from the books and state budge...Read More