Special Session

The same plaintiffs who are challenging the state’s 2021 maps have asked the court to block the new GOP-approved districts from being used in the fast-approaching midterms.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott took action on 14 bills Wednesday, signing all but one into law. Among those signed were measures aimed at increasing access to ivermectin and allowing private citizens to sue out-of-state abortion pill prescribers.

The system created by Tom Hofeller has helped Republicans and Democrats embrace partisan gerrymandering. Now that foundation is leading states into a battle to win the U.S. House.

If this summer's special sessions were a midterm exam on disaster preparation, Texas lawmakers would probably get an A. But their final grade will depend on how changes are actually implemented — and how quickly that happens.

House Bill 7 would allow private citizens to sue out-of-state prescribers and distributors of abortion pills sent into Texas.

Between cracking down on abortion pills and restricting transgender restroom use, lawmakers also tackled flood safety and the STAAR test. Left untouched: Texas’ hemp industry.

House Bill 35 goes into effect on Sept. 1, creating a new program that aims to connect firefighters and EMS workers across Texas with peer-to-peer mental health support.

New laws range from school vouchers and water infrastructure funding to a ban on city and county-funded abortion travel funds.

The measure comes four years after the state’s highest criminal court ruled the agency could not bring election cases without an invitation from local prosecutors.

Democrats say recent changes to the bill give too much power to the TEA and fall short of meaningfully easing the pressures of standardized testing.

Senate Bill 8, which now heads to the House floor, would restrict which bathrooms in government buildings transgender people would be allowed to use.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 13 Texas residents, states that the redrawn districts in the new map — which Gov. Greg Abbott says he'll "swiftly" sign into law — are racially discriminatory and violate voter protection laws.