Heider Garcia, the Tarrant County elections administrator, and Isabel Longoria, the Harris County elections administrator, discussed the future of voting in Texas, a state with some of the nation’s most restrictive voting rules.
A month before the 2021 legislative session, much remains unclear, including how a session will work during a pandemic and what the priorities of the governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker will be, Texas Tribune reporters said. The conversation, moderated by Tribune CEO Evan Smith, included Tribune political reporters Cassi Pollock, Alex Samuels, Patrick Svitek and Alexa Ura. Following an election that largely maintained the status quo within the Texas Legislature, Pollock said Democrat...
The state’s budget and redistricting, along with access to education, will be some of the top priorities for new members of the Texas Legislature as the state wrestles with soaring COVID-19 cases and a projected shortfall of nearly $5 billion. “The more things change, the more things stay the same,” said Rep.-elect Shelby Slawson, R-Stephenville, adding that supporting law enforcement is also one of her top concerns. The conversation, moderated by Tribune political reporter Cassi Pollock, also i...
Last legislative session, the Texas House had a “shocking underrepresentation” of women on its most powerful committees, said state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, in a conversation about what a group of women lawmakers wants to see in the upcoming legislative session. “I think just the fact that we only had one woman on the Calendars Committee — the committee that sets the agenda for the entire House — was a hard pill to swallow.” This time around, a group of Democratic lawmakers are hoping to ch...
During the 2021 legislative session, the Texas Legislative Black Caucus will focus on continuing efforts to reform the state’s criminal justice system, said state Rep. Nicole Collier, the caucus’ first vice chair. “We have different police departments with different policies,” Collier, D-Fort Worth, said. “We want to aim to provide uniformity, some type of consistent system, that people in Texas can look to and say, ‘This is what is expected of our law enforcement officers all across the state.”...
Editor's note: This session was recorded Dec. 4, when Sen. Chuy Hinojosa was vice chair of the Senate Finance Committee. On Dec. 9, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick appointed Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. as vice chair of the panel, replacing Hinojosa. Two Texas lawmakers said despite an expected shortfall of almost $5 billion for the current two-year budget, they hope to increase funding for health care and broadband services in the next budget, without increasing taxes. “In these times of economic uncertainty and ...
Drawing the Maps at The Texas Tribune's symposium previewing the 2021 legislative session The redistricting process — redrawing congressional and state legislative districts — could take longer than usual this year, two state lawmakers said. Redistricting takes place every 10 years following the census. “There’s a lot of unknowns,” said state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Redistricting. “We’ll start the session with those unknowns still there.” Huffman w...
Health care will likely be top of mind for Texas lawmakers as they return to the Capitol for the 2021 legislative session during the worst public health crisis in a century. “It is time for us to be very pragmatic and take a common-sense approach to how we cover the health care needs of Texans,” said state Sen. Beverly Powell, D-Burleson, during a Texas Tribune panel discussion on the state Senate’s agenda. She added that, amid a mounting number of uninsured Texans, she was “extremely optimistic...
Several Texas lawmakers said the upcoming legislative session will likely be pushed into a special session next year if federal census results are delayed for long. The comments came from state Reps. Four Price, R-Amarillo; Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth; Toni Rose, D-Dallas; and Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, during a conversation about the House agenda moderated by Cassandra Pollock, the Tribune’s state politics reporter. Price, who went through redistricting in 2011, said that under any circumstance...
Three veteran Texas lawmakers said that Dade Phelan, the presumptive Texas House speaker, will unite lawmakers through his experience and sincerity in what will be the Legislature’s first chance to address the health and economic impact of the pandemic next month. “With coronavirus, COVID-19, the agenda could be very narrow this session,” said state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, during a panel discussion previewing the Phelan administration and the 2021 legislative session. “And Dade Phela...
Texas lawmakers will meet next month to address the health and economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but social distancing measures will likely disrupt the Legislature’s daily grind, said Ross Ramsey, executive editor of The Texas Tribune. “It's a social mechanism,” Ramsey said during a panel discussion explaining the Legislature and previewing the 2021 session. “This is where we go to debate, jump up and down, scream at each other, come out with a kind of forced agreement – and if you ca...
Speakers: Merlyn Holmes, John Howard, Bella Rubio, Anthony Williams Moderator: Evan Smith This session was recorded on Nov. 4. It is presented by Texas Rural Funders and supported by Texas Tech University, TORCH - Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals and Texas Cattle Feeders Association.
Speakers: Charlie Cano, Annette Gutierrez, Jennifer Harris Moderator: Chris Cobler This session was recorded on Nov. 6. It is presented by Texas Rural Funders and supported by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, TEXAS 2036, TORCH - Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute / The Hackett Center and the Texas Rural Health Association.
Speakers: Sudip Bose, James Frank, Leticia Rodriguez Moderator: Shannon Najmabadi This session was recorded on Nov. 5. It is presented by Texas Rural Funders and supported by TORCH - Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute / The Hackett Center, Texas Rural Health Association, Office of Public Insurance Counsel, TEXAS 2036 and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.
Speakers: Brenda Kays, Mike Reeser, Sandra Woodley Moderator: Kate McGee This session was recorded on Nov. 3. It is presented by Texas Rural Funders and supported by Texas Tech University and the Texas Association of Community Colleges.
Speakers: Donna Hale, Georgina C. Pérez, Gary VanDeaver Moderator: Aliyya Swaby This session was recorded on Nov. 6. It is presented by Texas Rural Funders and supported by Raise Your Hand Texas.
Speakers: Chuy Hinojosa, Tracy King, Geanie Morrison, Drew Springer, James White Moderator: Ross Ramsey This session was recorded on Nov. 6. It is presented by Texas Rural Funders and supported by Texas Farm Bureau, Water Grows, Texas Corn Producers Association, Texas Municipal League, Raise Your Hand Texas, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Texas Agriculture Council, Texas Tech University and Office of Public Insurance Counsel.
The current higher education climate seems bleak with nationally declining enrollment, especially among the poorest and most vulnerable students. The declines are especially concerning at community colleges, which traditionally sees an increase in enrollment as unemployed people return to school to learn new skills. Instead, students are working full time or pushing off college dreams. Meanwhile, others are questioning the value of the degree as they pay large amounts for a much more restricted ...
As Texas continues to grow and change demographically, colleges and universities must adapt to be more welcoming to students who haven’t traditionally enrolled. K-12 schools must become a partner in preparing students to think about college, sometime as early as middle school. Those are just a few points Lisa Blazer, associate vice president for enrollment services at Texas A&M University and Ruth N. López Turley, director of the Houston Education Research Consortium and associate director o...
College students have shown resilience throughout the pandemic as their courses shifted online. But Sara Brennan, student government president at the University of Texas at Dallas and Jasmine Khademakbari, president of the Student Government Association at the University of Houston, told Texas Tribune reporting fellow Sami Sparber that it’s difficult to ignore that they’re missing the in-person college experience they grew accustomed to as freshmen and sophomores. Both students say barriers to o...
