Senate Bill 3 would require all power generators, transmission lines, natural gas facilities and pipelines to make upgrades for extreme weather. Its prospects are uncertain in the House, which is scheduled to take up a series of related, standalone bills on Tuesday.
87th Legislative Session
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Texas Legislature 2021
Higher education officials urge Legislature to invest in colleges and universities after pandemic takes toll on students and economy
As the Legislature grapples with a struggling pandemic economy and the impact of an unprecedented winter storm, higher education advocates are vying for lawmakers’ attention, trying to make the case for more investment in colleges and universities.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott backs bill to stop social media companies from banning Texans for political views
Senate Bill 12 would prohibit social media companies — including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube — from blocking, banning, demonetizing or otherwise discriminating against a user based on their viewpoint or their location within Texas.
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Point of Order
Point of Order: Higher ed’s gap year
In the latest episode of our podcast about the Texas Legislature, Evan Smith talks to Renu Khator, the president of the University of Houston, about a difficult 12 months of disruption and dislocation for the more than 47,000 students on her campus — and what state lawmakers can do to help.
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Winter Storm 2021
Watch live: Texas House and Senate holding hearings about last week’s winter storm
Lawmakers will continue asking a litany of officials and executives how last week’s power outages happened. Legislators in both chambers spent more than 12 hours investigating the disruptions Thursday.
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Public Education
Watch: State Rep. Harold Dutton, chair of public education committee, discusses how Legislature should respond to pandemic, winter storm
Dutton joined The Texas Tribune on Thursday for a conversation moderated by Aliyya Swaby, the Tribune’s public education reporter.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Democratic lawmakers hope to enact statewide nondiscrimination law and ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ Texans
As the Biden administration works to expand federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people, Texas advocates and lawmakers are pushing for similar legislation here.
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Texas Legislature 2021
GOP leaders have expressed skepticism about expanding gambling in Texas. But supporters see hope in the long run.
People pushing for the move say they are hopeful they’ll get legislative approval this year. If not, one executive said, it’s “inevitable” in the future.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick starts 2021 legislative session with an unusually low profile
The lieutenant governor is not starting the biennial legislative session in his characteristically outspoken style, particularly when it comes to making clear his policy priorities.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott has set his legislative agenda. These lawmakers could influence how much is accomplished.
There are a total of 181 legislators in the Capitol, but the influence is not evenly distributed. Due to the lawmakers’ positions, ideology and tenure, some will have a much bigger say on the biggest issues this session.
