Government

The U.S. Department of Education recognized National Blue Ribbon Schools for the year 2024, including several schools from the area. State lawmakers got an update on last year's new school safety legislation, where committee members expressed concerns over the strain it may have on district budgets. And Lubbock County Commissioners yesterday passed a reduced budget but will likely be forced to adopt a no-new-revenue tax rate.

The Department of Public Safety and the Department of State Health Services are no longer following court orders to update someone's sex on driver's licenses and birth certificates. Transgender Texans and advocates say this could put their community at greater risk of being denied certain services and threaten their safety.

Texans who have secured a court order to update the sex listed on their birth certificates can no longer do so at this time, according to a new state policy that blocks transgender Texans from making these changes.

Bills have been filed and some have been passed. We’re several months into the biennial Texas legislative session and a lot has happened. Let’s catch up.

Texans pay some of the highest property taxes in the country, and listeners have a lot of thoughts about how that could be addressed. One unconventional idea we’ve heard: offsetting homeowners’ tax bills with revenue from legal weed. So, could that actually work?

Lubbockites voted against a different road bond package just last year.

Just in case you’ve waited until now to cast a ballot, we offer up this reminder of what you’ll need when you head to the polls.

About 3 million people live in rural parts of the state, and this year they’ve gotten more visits from Democratic candidates.

About a third of Texas’ 254 counties are moving away from that and to the vote center model, which was piloted in Lubbock County.

Lubbock County voters will be some of the first in the state to use a new paper-based ballot system.