Vacant offices, strip malls may get new life as housing in Texas’ largest cities
The bill is part of a suite of GOP proposals aimed at curbing the state’s high housing costs — chiefly by allowing more homes to be built. Full Story
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![Empty real estate in downtown Brownwood on Sep 9, 2020.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House bill allowing online voter registration got a public hearing — after missing deadline to become law
Texas is one of eight states without universal online voter registration. A lawmaker pushing for it says he’ll continue the fight. Full Story
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![Online voter registration application from the Texas Secretary of State. Voters in Texas cannot register online — nce filled out, the application must be printed, signed, and sent by mail.]()
Credit: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune -
Business tax breaks closer to reality after Texas Senate approves compromise
The Texas House must approve changes to the proposal that were brokered by party leaders. It’s part of a package of bills to bring down property taxes statewide. Full Story
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![Small businesses are reflected in a storefront window in downtown Smithville on Mar. 11, 2024.]()
Credit: Maria Crane for The Texas Tribune -
Texas allows certain children to get married. Lawmakers may close that loophole.
Lawmakers in 2017 took a major step to end most child marriages. However, emancipated teenagers 16 and older can get married. Full Story
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![The Capitol dome is seen from the north side of the complex in Austin on March 18, 2025.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers want to lower homeowners' insurance costs, but have few options
Texans pay some of the highest insurance premiums in the country, putting lawmakers under pressure to tackle rising costs. Full Story
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![Homes in a college neighborhood off Park Place in College Station, Texas, on April 23, 2024.]()
Credit: Ishika Samant for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House advances bill that would prohibit land sales to people and entities from certain countries
The legislation had only pertained to countries the government deemed national security threats. A last-minute change would let the governor add more countries to the ban. Full Story
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![Texas Rep. Mitch Little, R-Lewisville, sponsor of SB17, stands at the podium in the Chamber on May 8, 2025.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House committee advances legislation that targets state’s universities
Senate bills that reduce the influence of faculties and restrict protests on college campuses were voted out of committee in a last-minute meeting Monday. Full Story
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![The University of Texas at Austin campus.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa for The Texas Tribune -
Amid housing affordability crisis, Texas House votes to take some power from NIMBYs
Texas lawmakers have sought to make it easier to build more homes — and harder for neighbors to block projects. Full Story
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![Newly developed apartments sit next to older homes in Dallas' Oak Cliff neighborhood on July 11, 2024.]()
Credit: Azul Sordo for The Texas Tribune -
Texas homeowners could see lower property tax bills if deal from Republican lawmakers passes
Legislators in the House and Senate have reached an agreement on more property tax relief. But some critics worry the cuts aren’t sustainable forever. Full Story
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![Homes along Lake Austin on March 06, 2023,]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
SpaceX workers in South Texas vote yes to create City of Starbase
Critics of Elon Musk and SpaceX say that a new city will give more power to a company they believe is harming the environment. Full Story
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![SpaceX Starbase, situated off of State Highway 4, is framed in a windshield on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas.]()
Credit: Angela Piazza/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS -
Will Saturday’s elections be the last one in May for Texas?
The Texas House is considering a bill to abolish May elections, which have the lowest turnout of any election. Full Story
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![Love Vial, center, votes at the West Gray Multiservice Center in Houston on Election Day, Nov. 7, 2023.]()
Credit: Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune -
Texas lottery bans online sales through third-party couriers amid mounting criticism
After years of claiming that companies selling lottery tickets online could not be regulated, the Texas Lottery Commission voted to ban the practice. Full Story
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![Members of the Texas Lottery Commission sit at the front of the room during a Texas Lottery Commission meeting on April 29, 2025.]()
Credit: Lorianne Willett/The Texas Tribune -
Requiring voters to prove citizenship spurs concern that eligible Texans won’t be able to cast ballots
Democrats and other critics say Texas legislation threatens to keep citizens who can’t easily access the right documents from voting. Full Story
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![The Texas House Elections Committee listens to public testimony on House Bill 5337 at the Capitol in Austin on April 24, 2025. The bill seeks to require people to submit proof of citizenship to register to vote.]()
Credit: Kaylee Greenlee for The Texas Tribune and Votebeat -
Texas lawmakers consider barring counties from mailing unsolicited voter registration forms
Voting rights advocates worry that legislation approved by House and Senate committees could make it harder to get more people on the rolls. Full Story
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![Alex Flucke, regional program manager of Texas Rising in Corpus Christi, right, helps Jessica López, 42, center, register to vote during a Pride celebration in Corpus Christi on Oct. 5, 2024.]()
Credit: Gabriel Cárdenas for VoteBeat -
Texas bill increasing public school funding and teacher pay gets final House approval
The lower chamber overwhelmingly voted in favor of House Bill 2, a sweeping $8 billion piece of legislation that would also limit schools’ reliance on teachers without formal classroom training. Full Story
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![State Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, shakes hands with Rep. Brad Buckley R-Salado, House Education chair, after the vote on school finance on April 16, 2025. The bill passed, 144-4.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
The Texas Legislature is having big battles over gender and sexuality. Track them here.
The Senate voted Wednesday to give initial approval to a bill that would require buildings, including public schools and universities, among others to segregate private facilities, like bathrooms, by sex. Full Story
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![Attendees wave a trans flag while marching with over 300 activists and supporters from the Bexar County Courthouse to Crockett Park in “March for Us,” San Antonio's third annual celebration of Transgender Day of Visibility, on Saturday, March 29, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.]()
Credit: Salgu Wissmath for The Texas Tribune -
Toilet to tap: El Paso is about to embark on a whole new way to save its limited water supply
El Paso’s dry climate — it rains just 9 inches annually — is one of the reasons the city has taken water management so seriously. Full Story
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![Contractors work on expanding the Roberto Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant in El Paso on March 5, 2025. By 2028, the utility expects treated wastewater from the plant to be further purified at the new Pure Water Center next door to produce up to 10 million gallons of drinking water.]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Verifying hand-counted ballots in Texas elections may be easier under GOP bill
The proposal would require counties who opt for hand counts to use ballots that can be scanned and tabulated by a voting machine. Full Story
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![Election workers count ballots by hand inside of The Edge in Fredericksburg on Mar. 5, 2024. Early voting ballots for the Republican primaries were hand counted on Election Day at this location.]()
Credit: Maria Crane/The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ clarifying abortion bill draws criticism
While Democrats and abortion access advocates pushed to ensure pregnant women aren’t criminalized, some conservatives questioned whether this bill is needed. Full Story
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![An empty emergency room at Goodall-Witcher Hospital in Clifton on August 3, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Despite Texas defendant’s death in Louisiana prison, lawmakers unlikely to end reliance on out-of-state lockups
Lawmakers are pursuing legislative changes that would keep more people locked up in overcrowded county jails while awaiting resolution to their cases. Full Story
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![Sarah Knight poses for a portrait at her home in Houston with a birthday card she made for her son Jaleen Anderson on May 13, 2024. Anderson died earlier in the year while being held in LaSalle Correctional Facility in Louisiana.]()
Credit: Danielle Villasana for The Texas Tribune