Texas Legislature

This legislative session, creating Education Savings Accounts — which would let parents use public funds towards private education costs — is a top priority for many Texas Republicans. But the voucher plan has also caused contentious clashes between some rural voters and the lawmakers who represent them.

A power outage at Texas Tech University yesterday delayed the return to classes for some students coming back after Spring Break. Our Samantha Larned reports the university says the outage is separate from those across campus earlier this month. Water is a top priority for Texas legislators this session and Lubbock's Senator Charles Perry is spearheading infrastructure efforts with his proposed bill, Senate Bill 7.

Gov. Greg Abbott has made water a priority for this legislative session. Lawmakers will debate whether to invest more into new water supplies or repairing old, leaking pipes around Texas.

Fire dangers continued this week on the South Plains and in the Panhandle, with wildfires, evacuations, and low humidity across the region. KERA's Toluwani Osibamowo reports on proposed changes to the state's bail system being discussed by Texas lawmakers. The public is invited to attend Coffee with the Mayor tomorrow morning, hosted by Lubbock Mayor Mark McBrayer and District 5 council member Jennifer Wilson. The event begins at 7 A.M. at United Supermarket located at 11310 Slide Rd.

Texas is once again looking at legalizing sports gambling during this years’ legislative session, and supporters are being backed by some of the most influential people in Texas sports.

The Texas Senate has passed a bill that would create a designated time to pray and read the Bible or other religious text during the school day. Texas and New Mexico have a combined measles case count of 317 since late January, surpassing the C.D.C.’s total measles cases for the United States in all of 2024. Our Samantha Larned reports on a change in Texas' classification of certain cases. Meanwhile, here in Lubbock, Texas Tech has announced two potential measles exposure sites: the Carpenter/Wells Complex and the Student Health Services clinic from March 4 through 12.

The Texas legislature takes up a bill today that would give parents more freedom to ignore doctors' recommendations around prescribing psychotropic medications to treat mental health conditions. Texas Public Radio's Paul Flahive reports some advocates say the bill could put kids at risk. And yesterday, state lawmakers heard testimony on a bill that would require sheriffs in Texas to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce immigration law.

The state House and Senate have similar proposals to solve the state's water crisis, but there are stark differences on how to invest billions of dollars to resolve.

Petroleum theft is a persistent problem in the state.

If passed, the legislation would create a program where parents could use state tax dollars toward sending their kids to private schools. While it’s a priority for many Republicans, those opposed to the idea aren’t staying quiet.