Texas Legislature
State Plans to Restore Services after Advocates in Wheelchairs Surprise Officials
How ‘Mad Moms in Minivans’ Injected Themselves into Texas’ Anti-Vaccine Debate
Fringe Factor How a ‘group of mad moms in minivans’ injected themselves into Texas’ anti-vaccine debate In 2015, Jackie Schlegel, a coffee-fue...Read More
New San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg on Priorities, Progressives and the Legislature
Nirenberg doesn’t identify with a specific political party, but thinks future-focused candidates are in a prime position to take back the state.
Ron Nirenberg assumed office in June after defeating former Mayor Ivy Taylor with 54 percent of the vote in a runoff election. Like Taylor, Nirenberg’s job pe...Read More
‘Bathroom Bill’ Opposition Mounts after Trans Activist is Brutally Attacked
Opponents, including activist Stephanie Martinez and Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, say the ‘bathroom bill’ would further fuel anti-trans violence.
Stephanie Martinez told police she met the guy online. Seventeen-year-old Rayshad Deloach, or “Jay” as she knew him, said he wanted to know more about trans...Read More
Red is the New Orange: Handmaids Bring More than Just Silence to the Abortion Fight
The grassroots group of reproductive justice activists have seized a terrifying political moment and created a defiant act of pop-cultural resistance.
In white bonnets and bright-red robes, they sit silently in protest as lawmakers usher in yet another bill that will make it harder for Texans to access abortio...Read More
Why Aren’t More Texas Democrats Running for Office at the State Level?
There are a boatload of Democrats running for Congress in Texas, but the slate for statewide offices and the Legislature is awfully barren.
The hottest new trend in Democratic politics these days is running for Congress — everybody’s doing it. So far, more than 200 Democrats have filed to challe...Read More
The Texas Legislature’s Chainsaw Massacre
In the name of “liberty,” Senate Republicans are hacking down local rules protecting trees — except when they’re making exceptions for themselves.
At least 90 cities and counties in Texas have ordinances protecting trees. San Antonio has an ordinance. Weatherford has an ordinance. Austin has an ordinance. ...Read More
Compassionate (Ab)use: Family Battles Texas over Medical Marijuana
The Zartlers have gone through a veritable pharmacy of prescription drugs, but they say medical marijuana is the only thing that stops Kara from hitting herself.
Mark Zartler measures how well his 17-year-old daughter, Kara, is doing by what he calls a “hit test” — counting the number of times she hits herself on a...Read More
Texas Police Oppose Anti-Union Bill Championed by Abbott, Patrick
“They get the teachers this time … and next time they’re coming after us,” said a police association president about the bill the Senate passed.
The Texas Senate passed a bill late Tuesday night that appears to have driven a wedge between the Texas GOP and one of its key constituencies: law enforcement. ...Read More
What a Ban on Insurance for Abortions Means for Women with High-Risk Pregnancies
UPDATE: Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 214 into law on Tuesday, August 15. The measure passed the Senate on August 13 by a vote of 20 to 10, and in the ...Read More