Texas Senate

The committees were made to honor slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk and come as university faculty have come under online scrutiny.

Republican lawmakers are poised to push the map through over fierce Democratic opposition, positioning the GOP to net up to five additional seats in Texas.

A second special session that has made approving the map a priority started Friday, shortly after the first one ended.

The Texas Senate's packed floor session Tuesday wasn't without its own political drama. Early on, nine of the chamber's Democrats walked out to protest the same Republican-backed plan to redraw the state's congressional districts that prompted the House quorum break earlier this month.

Allred is the first major Democrat to announce his candidacy for the seat currently held by Cornyn, but several others have indicated their interest, including Beto O’Rourke, a former El Paso congressman and statewide campaign veteran; U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a longtime San Antonio legislator; and state Rep. James Talarico, a four-term lawmaker from Austin who is seen as a rising star in the party.

Soon after Birdwell announced his retirement, state Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, said he was running for the seat.

Lawmakers are expected to hold a special session next month to set new regulations on the state's multi-billion dollar hemp industry.

The bill would prevent using nondisclosure agreements in sexual abuse and human trafficking cases.

94 year-old Reta Ward has been calling all the Texas state lawmakers for decades to weigh in on everything from water policy to school vouchers.

The base salary for state judges hasn't changed or adjusted for inflation since 2013, ranking Texas second-to-last for judicial salaries in the country.

The council says it will have to make changes to its naming and policies to avoid confrontation with federal and state governments hostile to DEI initiatives.

The bill aims to ban nondisclosure agreements in child sexual abuse cases, sexual assault cases and human trafficking cases.