The Latest Breaking News from Paul Bettencourt

Republicans are wrestling over how much of the state’s nearly $33 billion budget surplus to spend on property taxes. Democrats have their own ideas about what to do with the cash.

Rural school leaders in Texas have been able to stave off the legislative priority of some of the state’s most prominent Republicans. But private school officials hope this year will be different.

Democrats are seeking to expand voting access and Republicans pledge to make elections more secure

State policymakers have mapped out familiar territory early in the legislative session, with Democrats seeking to expand voting access and Republicans pledging to make elections more secure.

While the Legislature will soon start its new session, some laws passed in 2021 are just now taking effect.

At a senate committee hearing in Marshall, Texas Republican lawmakers accused investment firms of pulling back on fossil fuels, running afoul of a 2021 law that prohibits the state from contracting with or investing in companies that “boycott” oil, natural gas and coal companies.

The dueling approaches are coming into focus as lawmakers prepare to return to Austin for the session which begins Jan. 10.

A Democrat who is the top official in Texas’ largest county on Thursday acknowledged problems around Houston on Election Day that included paper ballot shortages and delayed openings of polling locations

Local governments in Texas have spent the summer preparing their budgets for next year, wrestling with inflation and a law that prohibits them from raising property tax revenues beyond 3.5% without voter approval.

The head of the Texas state police pronounced the law enforcement response to the Uvalde school shooting an “abject failure.”

Steve McCraw testified before a Texas Senate committee, laying blame on local police officers in Uvalde for not acting faster to save children during the school shooting.