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The House Public Health Committee is debating House Bill 1686, which would block transgender kids' access to puberty blockers, hormone therapies and surgeries — the latter of which is very rare for kids. The legislation is identical to Senate Bill 14.
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Four days after TX Senate State Affairs Committee heard overwhelming testimonies opposing two drag-related bills (SB 12 and SB 1601), the committee has voted to send both bills to the full chamber by 6-2 along partisan line.
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Caseworkers and foster care providers in Texas often get incomplete and inaccurate information about foster kids in their care because of the state child welfare agency’s archaic technology system.
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Several bills filed by Texas lawmakers call for staff at public, charter and private schools, as well as those at colleges and universities, to know how to reverse deadly opioid overdoses with Narcan and other overdose medications.
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JUST IN: State troopers will help Austin with police patrols as the city struggles with an officer shortage
But police reform advocates note past efforts by DPS to boost patrols in Texas cities haven’t gone so well texastribune.org/2023/03/27/tex #txlege
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Texas' top law enforcement agency will help Austin police handle violent crime and traffic incidents. Austin officials view the partnership as a stopgap measure as they try to fill the city's more than 200 police vacancies.
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Texas could spend billions in new state money on community colleges, mental health services, property tax cuts and raises for current and retired teachers under measures Texas Senate budget writers approved Monday.
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Journalists at the Texas Observer are urging their nonprofit board to reconsider closing the progressive magazine. They proposed an emergency $200,000 fundraising appeal to keep the 68-year-old publication open.
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President Joe Biden on Tuesday declared the Castner Range in El Paso to be a national monument after advocates pushed for more than 50 years to protect the land.
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During the pandemic, Texans received extra money on their Lone Star cards through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, also known as food stamps.
That extra money ends this month.
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Prominent Dallas civil rights attorney Lee Merritt was jailed in Collin County after being arrested at a protest Sunday in memory of Marvin Scott III, who died in Collin County Jail custody in 2021.
Via :
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Republican leaders have resisted calls for gun restrictions, like raising the age to purchase semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15.
Gov. Greg Abbott has suggested that such a law would be unconstitutional.
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1.8 million Texans are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender — the 2nd highest such population for a U.S. State. reporters, including , & , are covering how #txlege bills could impact LGBTQ people.
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The onslaught of bills come the same year that the #txlege has a record number of openly LGBTQ lawmakers. These legislators say they plan to fight back bills targeting their community. Via :
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The bills are among dozens #txlege lawmakers filed that could upend the lives of LGBTQ Texans. has the rundown of the legislation:
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TX Senate could also soon prohibit transgender college athletes from joining the sports teams that align with their gender identity. #txlege passed a similar ban for K-12 schools two years ago. Via & :
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TX Senate could take up SB 14, its gender-affirming care ban, this week. A House committee is debating its identical HB 1686 today. So what is translation-related health care, and how is it conducted when kids are involved? breaks it down:
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Several GOP #txlege lawmakers want to ban puberty blockers and hormone therapy for transgender children. They're clashing w/ doctors & medical groups who say that care helps lower trans kids’ elevated rates of depression and suicide. Via :
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Former president Donald Trump used his nearly 90-minute speech to frame himself as a victim of politicized legal investigations and to focus on his perceived political enemies.
“...For those who have been wronged and betrayed … I am your retribution."
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Former president Donald Trump used his nearly 90-minute speech on Saturday to frame himself as a victim of politicized legal investigations and to focus on his perceived political enemies.
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The House higher ed committee is hearing testimony now on a bill that would start a new endowment for non-PUF universities to boost research. #txlege
House budget would put $3.5 B one-time investment toward the newly named Texas University Fund(formerly a fund called NRUF)
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In TX pot news, a court hearing on whether a state dept can ban the legally murky delta-8 THC products was pushed from April to the fall term at the request of the parties.
They want to first see if #txlege bans/codifies the popular marijuana alternative.
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JUST IN: U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is joining the Houston mayoral race. via
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New: U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is running for Houston mayor.
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Jackson Lee has been in Congress since 1995 and established herself as a Democratic icon in Houston. She would not have to give up her congressional seat to run for mayor.
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In post-action interview footage obtained by the Tribune, officers who responded to the Uvalde shooting told investigators that they didn’t immediately stop the gunman because they were worried they wouldn’t stand a chance against his AR-15.
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The Texas Observer, the storied progressive publication known for its feisty, combative and often humorous investigative journalism, is shutting down and will lay off its 17-person staff, including 13 journalists, several members of its board said Sunday.
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El Pasoans will vote on whether to amend the city's charter in favor of renewable energy goals in a special election this spring.
The “climate charter” has provoked a bitter fight between business interests and climate activists.
More:
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As global efforts to combat climate change falter, climate activists have turned to local initiatives to rein in carbon emissions.
A May vote on a city charter amendment has thrust El Paso into the fray.
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For years, Jared Woodfill has led extreme anti-gay campaigns in Texas, comparing LGBTQ people to child molesters.
And for years, he's known of child sex abuse claims against his longtime law partner and Southern Baptist leader Paul Pressler.
texastribune.org/2023/03/27/houShow this thread
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While I was out, I published this story on how being neighbors with big cities can push resources out of rural communities, creating a "doughnut effect."
My latest for /
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In sworn testimony last month, former Harris County GOP chair Jared Woodfill said he knew since 2004 about allegations that Southern Baptist leader Paul Pressler had sexually abused a child.
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New court records also show that in 2004, leaders of Houston's massive First Baptist Church investigated claims that Pressler had undressed and groped a college student - but found nothing conclusive and feared damaging Pressler's reputation. #SBCtoo
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Woodfill's deposition also provides new details on his decades-long relationship with Pressler, a massively important Texas political powerbroker, longtime Southern Baptist leader, one-time White House nominee and high-ranking member of the anti-LGBTQ Council for National Policy.
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Under oath last month, Woodfill said he was told in 2004 that Pressler sexually abused a minor - claims that were made during mediation of an assault lawsuit against Pressler that Woodfill quietly settled for $450,000.
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🧵🧵For years, Jared Woodfill has led extreme anti-gay campaigns in Texas, comparing LGBTQ people to child molesters.
And for years, he's known of child sex abuse claims against his longtime law partner and Southern Baptist leader Paul Pressler.
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The , a storied liberal magazine, is shutting down and laying off its 17-person staff after a 68-year run marked by feisty, combative and often humorous investigative work from a stable of renowned journalists.
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Texas lawmakers could prohibit race-based hair discrimination at schools and workplaces.
At least 20 states have already passed similar legislation, according to a group that champions the laws.
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Texas companies have had 21,000 unexpected pollution releases that emitted 400,000 tons of air pollution over six years, according to a new report.
But only 1% of them prompted action by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the report found.
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