Cassandra Pollock
Texas Tribune
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Past articles by Cassandra:
Longtime Houston Democrat Garnet Coleman to retire from Texas Legislature
The lawmaker has represented parts of central and southeast Houston in state House District 147 since 1991. → Read More
Jay Kleberg, King Ranch scion and conservationist, to run for land commissioner as a Democrat
At least three other Democrats and four Republicans are vying for the office that GOP incumbent George P. Bush is leaving to run for attorney general. → Read More
Texas voters split on whether voting laws should be more strict, UT/TT Poll finds
The October poll found that the percentage of Democrats who said voting rules should be less strict increased significantly, with 64% of voters taking that position compared to the 51% in August. → Read More
Fights over the Alamo persist as George P. Bush seeks higher office
The redevelopment of the Alamo, which Bush oversees as land commissioner, has prompted pushback across the political spectrum. → Read More
Gov. Greg Abbott chastises school board group with vague accusation of “pornographic images” in library books
Abbott’s letter comes on the heels of an inquiry launched by state Rep. Matt Krause, a Fort Worth Republican running for Texas attorney general. Krause sent a letter to certain school districts with an 850-book list that included novels about racism and sexuality. → Read More
Texas House proposes map that increases Republican strength and decreases Black and Hispanic majority districts
The Texas Legislature is in the midst of its third special session, which is dedicated to redrawing political maps based on the latest census data that showed people of color fueled 95% of Texas’ population growth over the past decade. → Read More
State Rep. Chris Paddie, chair of powerful state affairs committee, says he won’t run for reelection
The news comes less than a month after Paddie, who has represented House District 9 since 2013, announced he would run for reelection. → Read More
Gov. Greg Abbott signs bill restoring the funding that he vetoed for the Texas Legislature and its 2,100 state employees
Abbott vetoed the funding earlier this year as retribution for the House Democrats’ walkout to block the GOP elections bill at the end of the regular session. → Read More
With special session’s end looming, Texas Democrats and Republicans mull their next moves
Abbott has promised to call a second special session to pass the GOP’s priority voting bill, but the exact timing is uncertain. And House Democrats have not yet revealed what they have planned after the session ends this week. → Read More
With time running out, Texas Legislature still at impasse on GOP elections bill
Republicans believe they have already compromised enough on the legislation, while Democrats are distrustful of both the policy driving the bill and their GOP colleagues after seeing how they have managed the process around the proposal so far. → Read More
Texas House Democrats and legislative staffers take Gov. Greg Abbott to court for defunding Legislature
The governor had vowed to veto the Legislature’s funding in the final hours of the regular legislative session in May after House Democrats broke quorum and left the chamber to prevent passage of a controversial elections bill. → Read More
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sets July 8 date for special legislative session on voting bill, other issues
Abbott’s office did not specify what legislative priorities will be included on the special session agenda and said in an advisory that such items “will be announced prior to the convening of the special session.” → Read More
Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman resigns
Her resignation is effective Friday, she told Gov. Greg Abbott in a letter. → Read More
Texas’ GOP leadership already at odds over plans for special legislative session
Since House Democrats staged a walkout that killed Republicans’ priority elections bill for the regular session, the governor and the leaders of the state House and Senate have diverged notably in interviews about how they are approaching the overtime round. → Read More
Effort to curb governor’s pandemic emergency powers falls short at Texas Legislature
The proposal’s low bill number signaled it was a priority of new House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Beaumont Republican who referred to the legislation as “the House’s blueprint for pandemic response.” → Read More
Medicaid expansion, federal coronavirus aid could spur legislative fights as Texas House debates $246 billion state budget
House members have filed nearly 240 proposed tweaks to the massive spending plan and are expected to spend hours taking votes on controversial issues ranging from Medicaid expansion to border security. → Read More
Warren Buffett group lobbying Texas lawmakers for deal to build $8 billion worth of power plants for emergency use
In return, lawmakers would agree to create a revenue stream for Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway through an additional charge on Texans’ power bills. → Read More
Debate ramps up at Texas Legislature over governor’s emergency powers during pandemic
Gov. Greg Abbott is well aware that some lawmakers, particularly in his own party, are interested in reining in his authority. However, it remains to be seen how much power Abbott is willing to relinquish. → Read More
When will Texans get their power back? Officials don't know.
ERCOT says while it's working to restore power to residents — many of whom had been without it for multiple hours or longer as temperatures remained well below freezing — it was also aiming to avoid a complete shutdown of the grid, which is used by roughly 90% of the state. → Read More
“If we’re all sick, we can’t legislate”: Coronavirus cases at Texas Capitol put lawmakers further on edge
At least four Texas House members have tested positive for the coronavirus since the legislative session began this month. → Read More