AT THE CAPITOL
House Bill 1024, signed into law May 12, allows restaurants and bars to permanently sell alcoholic beverages to-go. (Courtesy Pexels)
Cocktails to-go are here to stay in Texas: Gov. Greg Abbott signs change into law May 12
Federal funding is set aside for public schools to address effects of the pandemic. (Courtesy Adobe Stock)
Why Texas has not yet distributed $18 billion in federal funds intended for public schools
The Texas Senate passed a bill March 29 aimed at overhauling the state's energy market. (Jack Flagler/Community Impact Newspaper)
Texas Senate passes bill mandating changes to state energy market in wake of winter storm
Lawmakers have returned to the Capitol for the 87th Texas Legislature. (Jack Flagler/Community Impact Newspaper)
Proposed curriculum, funding changes: 14 public education bills filed in the 87th Texas Legislature
House Bill 3580 would establish a minimum teacher salary of $70,000 annually and would account for an inflation adjustment and increase. (Ali Linan/Community Impact Newspaper)
Minimum teacher compensation bill filed in Texas Legislature
While not all of the bills announced have been filed as of March 9, according to the Texas Legislature Online, legislators have until March 12 to file bills for consideration in the 2021 session. (Ali Linan/Community Impact Newspaper)
After winter storm, electricity reform dominates House, Senate priorities for 87th Texas Legislature
Snow covers I-45 in Houston during a winter storm that hit Texas the night of Feb. 14. (Shawn Arrajj/Community Impact Newspaper)
Legislators probe energy officials over power failures, lack of preparation heading into winter storm
After every decennial census, states and local jurisdictions must go through a process known as redistricting: redrawing the boundaries for representation. (Ali Linan/Community Impact Newspaper)
More congressional seats, equal populations: What redistricting means for Texas in 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott announced a proposal Aug. 18 to keep cities from increasing property tax revenue if they decrease police department funding. (Screenshot of April 17 press conference)
Gov. Greg Abbott says he will freeze cities' abilities to increase property tax revenue if they cut police funding
Texas schools reopening
Gov. Greg Abbott: Texas students will return to school campuses this fall
Texasu2019 Hispanic residents are hard to count: About 66 percent of the state's residents u2014 and 85 percent of Texas Hispanics u2014 live in census tracts that exceed the national average for low response scores. All of the stateu2019s 5,265 tracts are shown as dots in the chart below, along with the percentage of Hispanics in each tract. An analysis of the data shows that the higher the percentage of Hispanics in a census tract, the more likely the tract is to be hard to count.n
State news: Ahead of 2020 census, Texans are becoming even harder to count
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
In report, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott boasts economic growth, record unemployment
Jean Gearhart gives a tearful statement with her husband Troy Gearhart to the panel about her special needs child. U.S. Department of Education officials held a meeting in Edinburg on their tour of Texas to hear community members' experiences with special education.
Texas Education Agency releases plan to reform special education
Gov. Greg Abbott and appointee Jimmy Blacklock arrive at a press conference at Texas Republican Party headquarters on Nov. 27, 2017.
Going further than prior proposals, Abbott unveils a plan to slow Texas property tax growth
Wimberley Democrats to hold forum with 16 national, state and county candidates
The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 7, 2017.
U.S. Supreme Court to hear case over whether Texas congressional and House maps discriminate
Vanessa Tijerina addresses the panel about her 13-year-old special needs child who has been denied special education for 4 years on December 13, 2016. U.S. Department of Education officials held a meeting in Edinburg on their tour of Texas to hear community members' experiences with special education, continuing an investigation of whether Texas is capping services for students with disabilities.
Feds say Texas illegally failed to educate students with disabilities
What to expect in Texas' voting rights court fights in 2018
Debris from Harvey flooding is removed from a Port Arthur neighborhood on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017.
After First Amendment challenge, FEMA may pay Texas churches to rebuild after Hurricane Harvey