Below are highlights from an interview The Texas Signal did with state Senator Carol Alvarado, a Democrat from Houston, on Friday. Detention centers Alvarado said the humanitarian crisis at the border “has given [Texas] a black eye not just around the...
Texas Legislature
back to archiveTexas Monthly gives Jonathan Stickland first-ever ‘Cockroach Award’
This week, Texas Monthly released its highly anticipated series “The Best and Worst Legislators.” Included in the list was a new award for Dallas-area state Rep. Jonathan Stickland: the Cockroach Award. “This year, we’re giving Jonathan Stickland our first-ever...
Marijuana remains illegal in Texas. Boo. CBD products were just legalized, though.
Gov. Abbott signed into law a bill Tuesday that allows hemp products with less than .3 percent of THC to be legally purchased, which includes oils. Farmers can also grow hemp as an industrial crop in the state of Texas. “The legislature got at least one thing right...
With new PAC, Texas animal rights group is still deciding what to do with Jonathan Stickland
On Monday, dozens of dog owners gathered outside the office of Rep. Jonathan Stickland to protest what could easily be one of the scummiest moves in Texas Legislative history. A week before the end of the session, the Fort Worth area lawmaker killed the year’s biggest...
In an overlooked win, Texas art funding soars for 2020-2021
This year’s legislative session was rife with disappointing laws, but one of the few silver linings arrived with the new state budget approved by lawmakers last week. Texas legislators awarded a $25 million two-year budget for the Texas Commission on the Arts. The...
Victory for voting rights: Secretary of State David Whitley forced to resign
The controversial Texas official responsible for attempting to purge thousands of eligible voters in Texas from the state’s voter rolls is out of a job. Texas Secretary of State David Whitley, a former aide to Gov. Greg Abbott, resigned on Monday as the Texas...
In a win for Texas workers, Republicans fail to roll back paid sick leave
Multiple bills that would have undone sick leave ordinances in cities like Austin and San Antonio are dead in the water. Republicans missed the deadline for the laws to be considered for a vote in the House, effectively killing the bills days before the end of the...
Is the Texas GOP catching up with the times? Hardly. But this is good news.
The Texas Senate unanimously voted on Wednesday to expand the list of medical conditions doctors can legally prescribe marijuana to treat. Using the state’s medical marijuana program, healthcare providers would be able to prescribe low-THC cannabis for conditions like...
Abortion, voting rights, anti-LGBT: Republicans revert back to their natural position as culture warriors
With the final day of the 86th Texas Legislature less than a week away, the Republican-controlled Legislature has been hard at work advancing a dizzying number of culture- warrior bills. Here’s a recap of where things stand: Abortion. Republicans rammed through a bill...