Texas Legislature

The Texas Department of State Health Services issued a warning against leaving children unattended in parked cars. Our reporter Bishop Van Buren breaks down what to do in the case of an emergency. The Texas Legislature reconvened for a special session yesterday. One of the priority items is redrawing congressional districts after a request from the U.S. Justice Department.

The Legislature will look at proposals for emergency preparedness in a special session that was already planned over hemp laws. A bill to help build emergency systems failed in the spring.

Texas lawmakers start a 30-day special session July 21. They will tackle consumable THC, flood dangers, new congressional districts, abortion pills and other conservative priorities.

Gov. Greg Abbott has added congressional redistricting to the state legislature's upcoming special session at President Donald Trump's request to create new Republican seats. One expert said it's an unusual and risky move.

The Texas Newsroom compiled the numbers from the 89th legislative session and found out which lawmakers filed the most bills, and how many of those are going to become law. In essence, we've put together a brief overview of which Texas legislator was the most effective at passing bills.

A crisis communication expert says everyday notifications are weakening the impact of life-saving emergency alerts.

The Texas Legislature's special session begins on Monday and earlier this week, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick announced members of the Senate Select Committee on Disaster Preparedness and Flooding. Our Bishop Van Buren reports that Lubbock senator Charles Perry was appointed as chairman. Meanwhile, search and recovery efforts continue in Kerr County as crews work around flood watches and ongoing rain, which has caused Nimitz Lake on the Guadalupe River to overtop the dam.

Three people are confirmed dead from flash floods in Ruidoso, New Mexico on Tuesday afternoon. Our reporter Sean Ryan says the region is preparing for the potential of more flooding and thunderstorms this weekend. As part of the special legislative session, Texas' governor Greg Abbott has directed lawmakers to come up with a replacement to the STAAR test. Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider report it’s an open question how well that will address the problems critics have with the way standardized tests are used in Texas.

On Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott released his official proclamation announcing a special legislative session. Texas lawmakers will be back in Austin starting on July 21. The session, which originally looked like it would focus on regulating THC, now includes several emergency preparedness topics.

Lubbock Representative and House Speaker Dustin Burrows says lawmakers are already talking about emergency response ahead of the special session later this month. A bill to offer grants for emergency communications failed to pass during the regular session. To honor those who have died in the central Texas floods, Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered flags at state offices to be lowered to half-staff.