Elections
Harris County rolling out updated issue resolution system during next month’s upcoming election
Posted on · The new ticketing system will give real-time updates throughout to ensure that problems are being resolved, according to the county's election office.
School shooting
“He has a battle rifle”: Police feared Uvalde gunman’s AR-15
Posted on · In previously unreleased interviews, police who responded to the Robb Elementary shooting told investigators they were cowed by the shooter’s military-style rifle. This drove their decision to wait for a Border Patrol SWAT team to engage him, which took more than an hour.
Politics
GOP-authored bills would increase penalties for illegal voting and limit Harris County’s control over elections
Posted on · Senate Bill 2 would make illegal voting a felony again. Other Republican-authored bills, filed in response to the 2022 Harris County general election, could cost Elections Administrator Clifford Tatum his job.
Party Politics
The Crazy 88th
Posted on · Co-hosts Brandon Rottinghaus and Jeronimo Cortina delve into the latest news in national and local politics.
Politics
Senate unanimously passes a bill defining fentanyl poisoning as murder
Posted on · Houston Senator Joan Huffman authored Senate Bill 645, which would make the manufacture and delivery of less than 1 gram of fentanyl a third degree felony. The crime would rise to a second degree felony if a person dies from an overdose.
Houston Matters
Illegal voting, fentanyl, and a new mayoral candidate: the week in politics
Posted on · Political analysts Mark Jones and Renee Cross discuss the latest developments in the Houston Matters weekly roundup.
Houston Matters
Stoppping fentanyl overdoses — are some Mexican pharmacies part of the problem?
Posted on · Research shows some pharmacies catering to American tourists are selling medicine frequently laced with the opioid.
Town Square
Cancel Culture, Has It Gone Too Far?
Posted on · Experts share their thoughts on this issue and if it’s more complex than most realize.
Politics
Senate Republicans aim to cut property taxes by a combined $16.5 billion, more than half the state’s surplus
Posted on · Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Senator Paul Bettencourt signaled potential friction with the House over the lower chamber’s proposal to use an appraisal cap to hold down property tax growth.
Politics
Texas Senate passes bill making illegal voting a felony again; bill moves to Texas House
Posted on · Senate Bill 2, authored by Senator Bryan Hughes, would also change the requirement that a person know he or she was voting illegally in order to be charged and convicted.
Harris County
Harris County considers spending $6 million to expand reproductive healthcare services
Posted on · The money, if authorized by county commissioners, will go toward increased access to contraception and screenings at clinics managed by Harris County Public Health.
Houston Matters
Sixty days in, the real sprint begins for Texas lawmakers in Austin
Posted on · Lawmakers now have roughly two-and-a-half months to pass new bills.
Education
Texas Senate’s priority bills on higher ed would end tenure, diversity policies
Posted on · The bills are part of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s list of priorities and, if passed as filed, could have profound impacts on how Texas universities recruit top faculty and other employees.
Border
Politically motivated border policies, coverage of migrant caravans have done little to curb illegal immigration, Rice University study finds
Posted on · The study tracked coverage of 30 migrant caravans between 2017 and 2022 as well as the policies in place at the departure of each one.
Texas
Texas bill requiring 10-year prison sentences for gun felonies faces opposition from criminal justice and firearm advocates
Posted on · Under Senate Bill 23, authored by Houston Republican Joan Huffman, all felonies involving a gun would incur a mandatory 10-year prison sentence. It’s meant to curb crime, despite the lack of correlation between harsher sentences and crime rates.