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Past articles by Austin:
Texas lawmakers host dueling events at state Capitol today on border security
Republican Sens. Ted Cruz, John Cornyn and Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro all head to Austin to offer differing views on whether there is truly a 'crisis' at the Mexican border. → Read More
Congressional Democrats launch investigation into Texas’ botched voter purge
The committee is requesting a slew of documents from the Texas secretary of state's office, including any correspondence with Trump administration officials and state Attorney General Ken Paxton's office. → Read More
100-degree heat in mock prison cell illustrates plight of Texas inmates
An activist group is challenging Texas lawmakers to spend three minutes in a mock cell that simulates the conditions of inmates in state lockups that lack air conditioning. The demonstration happens Tuesday at the state capitol. → Read More
New voter purge list mistakenly sent out by Secretary of State vendor
The misstep comes after a federal judge ordered a halt to the state's flawed attempt in January to remove up to 95,000 potential non-citizens from the voter rolls. → Read More
Educators call on lawmakers to “do better” when it comes to teacher pay raises
Thousands of school employees, students, parents and community members from across the state - including 275 from San Antonio and 350 from Houston - descended on the state Capitol on Monday, demanding that the House and Senate work out their differences and pass a plan that gives adequate raises to all Texas public school employees. → Read More
Legislators file bill to restore Open Meetings Act after court ruling
A provision of the Texas Open Meetings Act that makes it a crime for officials to meet in small groups to discuss the public's business was struck down last week by the state's highest criminal court. → Read More
Mental health bill clears hurdle in state Senate, despite opposition from conservative groups
AUSTIN - A mental health bill Gov. Greg Abbott named a priority in his state of the state address cleared its first major hurdle Tuesday. The state Senate voted 31-0 to advance the bill, which would create a mental health consortium among medical schools to award research grants and expand children's access to psychiatrists through tele-medicine. Billed as a response to the Santa Fe school… → Read More
Secretary of state advises Texas counties they may keep vetting list of suspected non-citizen voters
The advisory, which will be sent to all 254 counties in the state, notifies election offices that they must abide by the Feb. 27 court order that bars them from alerting people on the list that they're under examination or removing anyone from the rolls without approval from the court → Read More
Abbott blames flawed voter purge effort on ‘faulty information’ from Department of Public Safety
In radio interview, Gov. Greg Abbott says Secretary of State David Whitley did not know of significant flaws in the data his office used to identify suspected non-citizen voters. → Read More
Democrats press to weaken or repeal Texas anti-sanctuary cities law
Democrat-backed bills would repeal S.B. 4, which requires local law enforcement to help federal officials enforce immigration laws. → Read More
Corporations, wealthy donors give nearly $5 million to bankroll Texas governor’s inaugural celebration
AT&T, H-E-B and Petroplex Energy Inc. are among businesses that gave $100,000 or more, according to a newly released list of donors. → Read More
30 groups ask Texas Democrats to block confirmation of embattled secretary of state
Texas Secretary of State David Whitley is up for confirmation in the Texas Senate, amid ongoing scrutiny of his office's flawed effort to remove non-citizens from voter rolls. → Read More
Abbott touts bill that bars cities from mandating paid sick leave
Legislation comes after San Antonio and Austin passed ordinances requiring private employers to provide paid sick leave. → Read More
Top official leaves secretary of state’s office amid controversial voter purge
Betsy Schonhoff, who managed voter registration at the state office, resigned last week without giving a reason. → Read More
Trump owes El Paso an apology, Texas congresswoman says
Democratic Congresswoman Veronica Escobar sent a letter to President Donald Trump Thursday asking him to apologize to El Pasoans for misrepresenting their hometown during his State of the Union address Tuesday. → Read More
Public education, school safety flagged as emergency items by Gov. Greg Abbott
In addition, in his State of the State Address, Abbott called on the Legislature to tackle soaring property tax bills, the state's mental health needs and funding for Hurricane Harvey relief. → Read More
George P. Bush set to present General Land Office budget to Texas Senate on Wednesday
Also at the Texas Legislature on Wednesday, House and Senate committees are taking up school and state finance matters as they continue to hammer out dueling state budget proposals. → Read More
Three San Antonio women inducted into Texas Women’s Hall of Fame
Among seven inductees were San Antonio resident and Grammy winner Vikki Carr joined state Senator Judith Zaffirini, who represents part of San Antonio and former Our Lady of the Lake University President Sister Elizabeth Anne Sueltenfuss. → Read More
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is more powerful than Russia’s Putin?
Abbott and other state leaders are making the comparison - including in inauguration speeches Tuesday - based on the countries' competing economies. → Read More
Texas issues February food benefits early due to federal government shutdown
Texas administers over $410 million in SNAP benefits each month, mostly to low-income children and families. The program, formerly known as food stamps, is funded entirely by federal dollars. → Read More