Op-Ed: Partisan and racial gerrymandering aren’t the only threats to fair maps in Texas
When you think of redistricting in Texas gerrymandering also inevitably comes to mind. This isn’t without cause. Since the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Texas has gained notoriety for its blatant gerrymandering when drawing district lines cycle after cycle...
Op-Ed: Texas is about to ban abortion. And Texas Republicans aren’t done yet.
Texas is about to ban abortion, and while they’re at it, they are emboldening rapists to sue their victim’s abortion providers and family members. SB 8, known as HB 1515 in the House, would ban abortion as early as 6-weeks gestation. Most abortions can’t even happen...
Texas legislators push for reform on no-knock warrants
A year after the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, Texas lawmakers are working to pass two new bills regulating law enforcement’s use and operation of no-knock warrants. If passed, HB 1272, authored by Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett and SB 1544, authored by Sen....
Endorsements continue in TX-06 special election as early voting gets underway
All eyes are on Texas with municipal elections happening across the state on May 1. However, another key election is occurring, in the sixth congressional district to replace former congressman Ron Wright, that has garnered national attention and investment. Latino...
Texas House passes preliminary $246.8 billion state budget
After 175 amendments and more than 10 hours of debate on Thursday, Texas House lawmakers unanimously passed a preliminary $246.8 billion state budget for the next biennium. The approved budget bill will now return to the Senate, and then to a conference committee...
Lubbock voters head to the polls on a ‘sanctuary city for the unborn’ ordinance
Early voting is underway in municipal elections all across the state of Texas. In Lubbock, voters who show up to the polls will be presented with an ordinance known as Proposition A that would officially establish the city as “sanctuary city for the unborn” and ban...
Texas could lead a geothermal energy boom
When people think of renewable energy they usually think of wind and solar power. In spite of its association with fossil fuels, Texas is already a leader in wind with more installed capacity than any other state by far. Yet there are several other forms of renewable...
Workers continue to battle University of Houston over wage theft claims
Construction workers Omar Zuniga and Bolivar Pineda Ortiz (right) protest wage theft at the University of Houston, Tuesday, April 20, 2021. Workers Defense Project. A year after more than a dozen construction workers accused a contractor employed by the University of...
Police officers and public officals caught donating on GiveSendGo
After a data breach on the crowdfunding site GiveSendGo last week, several U.S police officers and public officials emails were linked to donations supporting 17-year-old murder suspect Kyle Rittenhouse and Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey. Rittenhouse is being...
Guilty verdict reached in Derek Chauvin trial
Jurors found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all three charges in the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd on April 20. Chauvin was found guilty of third-degree murder, second-degree murder and manslaughter. He was charged after he...
Op-Ed: How four candidates are changing the narrative on education in the San Antonio ISD Trustees Election
Students should always be at the forefront of education policy. A group of candidates running on a shared platform for the San Antonio ISD Board of Trustees are putting action behind those words. Sarah Sorenson, Judit Vega, Luke Amphlett, and Yasmín Parra Codina all...
Musings: Greg Abbott is beatable
Governors in the United States generally enjoy warmer relationships with voters than their colleagues serving in Congress. There are a number of reasons for that phenomenon, not the least of which is that governors are forced to be doers in ways that senators and...
A new sense of urgency for Texas to expand Medicaid
Texas is one of just twelve states that has not expanded Medicaid. Now, the question of whether or not the state will expand Medicaid has gotten more urgent with the repeal of a Trump-era waiver. According to a document seen by the Washington Post, the Biden...
Texas businesses denounce anti-LGBTQ bills in Texas Legislature
A coalition of Texas companies is calling on the GOP-led Texas Legislature to scrap its anti-LGBTQ legislation. During a Monday morning press conference convened by Texas Competes, an LGBTQ advocacy group for the Texas business community that includes backers like...
How Texas taxes sustain inequality
On Thursday, policy experts with the left-leaning think tank Every Texan (formerly the Center for Public Policy Priorities) held a panel discussion over Texas, taxes, and social justice. The discussion was moderated by the Signal’s very own David Lee and joined by...