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Will Dan Patrick’s Senate Stymie Fentanyl Test Strip Legalization (Again)?

https://www.texasobserver.org/fentanyl-test-strips-texas-legislature/

Published: May 6, 2025 13:00

On April 11, 2023, the Texas House voted 143-2 for a bill that would have legalized strips that test for the presence of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, only for the legislation to die without a hearing in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.…

The High Cost of Texas’ Property Tax Cut-and-Run Politics

https://www.texasobserver.org/high-cost-property-tax-cuts-texas/

Published: May 6, 2025 12:30

Once again, the Texas Legislature is entering the final stretch of its session and, once again, Republicans’ high-profile promise to deliver property tax cuts to the landed masses still hangs in the balance.  In 2023, the two chambers squabbled over…

The Crypto Racket

https://www.texasobserver.org/the-crypto-racket/

Published: May 5, 2025 13:00

Editor’s Note: This story is copublished with The Nation. Read their version here. The five members of the Navarro County Commissioners Court had rarely seen such a large audience for their Tuesday meeting as they saw in October 2024, when they weighed a…

At UT, a Day of Drag and Defiance

https://www.texasobserver.org/university-texas-students-day-of-drag-defiance/

Published: May 2, 2025 14:44

On an average school day, harried students at the University of Texas at Austin rush across Speedway to get to class, stopping only to dodge a dangerously fast Lime scooter. On Monday, however, several students made a pitstop to get their makeup done by…

The Lege’s ‘Big Government Intrusion’ into University Academics

https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-lege-anti-dei-crusade-college-courses/

Published: April 24, 2025 13:59

Even at Texas Woman’s University, whose very name shows its legacy, gender studies programs face potential pushback from lawmakers.  Just three years ago, Texas Woman’s University (TWU) approved a new bachelor’s degree program in Multicultural Women’s and…

It’s a Long Way to the Top (if You Wanna Oust the Pols)

https://www.texasobserver.org/its-a-long-way-to-the-top-if-you-wanna-oust-the-pols/

Published: April 23, 2025 14:11

Twenty-five years in, and the state of Texas has only elected two governors in the 21st Century, two lieutenant governors, and two attorney generals. The current governor was elected AG in 2002 to succeed the first GOP attorney general since…

Ending 30 Years of Resistance, Trump and Abbott Break the ‘People’s House’

https://www.texasobserver.org/abbott-trump-house-vouchers-pass/

Published: April 17, 2025 19:45

The morning of the Texas House vote on school vouchers Wednesday included, among other last-minute maneuvering, a phone call from President Donald Trump.  “It’s one of the most important votes you’ve ever taken,” Trump told the House GOP caucus in a…

Opposition to Abbott’s Vouchers Plan Includes Conservatives

https://www.texasobserver.org/abbott-vouchers-conservative-opponents/

Published: April 15, 2025 21:33

Brian and Joy Roberts are not public school advocates. The co-founders of the Grayson County Conservatives, based in the deep-red county on the state border with Oklahoma, do not liken themselves to other conservatives in Texas who have long fought school…

Slowly and Painfully, House Passes $337 Billion Budget

https://www.texasobserver.org/slowly-and-painfully-texas-house-passes-337-billion-budget/

Published: April 11, 2025 18:22

The Texas House spent over 14 hours debating—but mostly, just standing around—amendments during a marathon proceeding to pass its biennial budget.  Ultimately, the House voted 118-26 to adopt a $337 billion budget early Friday morning. The bill, shepherded…

Texas House Weighs How to Get Harsh on Hemp

https://www.texasobserver.org/advocates-speak-against-lege-thc-hemp-restrictions/

Published: April 9, 2025 13:00

A police chief compared the shops across Texas that sell hemp-derived products to “candy stores or fireworks stands,” targeting children with bright-colored gummies and chips. At the same House Committee on State Affairs hearing on Monday, a Kentucky-based…

House Committee Passes ‘Texas Two Step’ of Vouchers and Public Ed Funding

https://www.texasobserver.org/house-ed-committee-approves-vouchers-and-public-school-funding/

Published: April 4, 2025 18:15

After hours of intense debate on Thursday, the Texas House Public Education Committee passed altered versions of its marquee education legislation this session: a bill to add $7.7 billion in new funds for the public school system and a $1 billion bill for…

‘It’s About Censorship, Erasure, and Control’: the GOP’s Push for Parental Rights

https://www.texasobserver.org/senate-gop-parental-rights-bills-school-control/

Published: April 3, 2025 12:30

Adults in the committee hearing room spent hours discussing ways to affirm parental rights in Texas’ public school classrooms, but it was a teenager who wanted to school them on how some of the proposed legislation under consideration might do the…

Texas’ AI-Powered Surveillance Arsenal Has Ballooned. Proposed Laws Provide Few Guardrails.

https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-dps-surveillance-arsenal-artificial-intelligence-lege/

Published: March 31, 2025 18:02

Editor’s Note: This story was produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network. Over the past several years, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has quietly built out an expansive surveillance apparatus—one that’s…