"People trusted Jim because they liked him and saw in him a person of character, integrity, and goodness," Straus wrote on social media. "He was strong but never mean. Jim brought real joy to public service and to the lives of all who came in contact with him, and we will always remember him as a source of light in the Legislature and in our lives."  U.S. Rep. Jake Ellzey, a Republican whose congressional district includes Ellis County, also praised Pitts. view article

WASHINGTON — Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat who was one of the longest serving members of Texas’ congressional delegation and a longtime advocate for progressive causes, died on Friday amid her battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 74. Jackson Lee began her congressional career as an underdog, defeating four-term U.S. Rep. Craig Washington in the 1994 Democratic primary, before establishing herself as a fixture in Congress and Houston with ties to the highest reaches of the Democratic Party. “No matter the issue – from delivering racial justice to building an economy for working people – she was unrelenting in her leadership,” President Joe Biden said in a statement released Saturday. “Always fearless, she spoke truth to power and represented the power of the people of her district in Houston with dignity andWASHINGTON — Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat who was one of the longest serving members of Texas’ congressional delegation and a longtime advocate for progressive causes, died on Friday amid her battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 74. Jackson Lee began her congressional career as an underdog, defeating four-term U.S. Rep. Craig Washington in the 1994 Democratic primary, before establishing herself as a fixture in Congress and Houston with ties to the highest reaches of the Democratic Party. “No matter the issue – from delivering racial justice to building an economy for working people – she was unrelenting in her leadership,” President Joe Biden said in a statement released Saturday. “Always fearless, she spoke truth to power and represented the power of the people of her district in Houston with dignity and view article

Two state representatives are calling on the Texas House’s Democrat Criminal Jurisprudence Chair to hold interim hearings on urgent matters that they believe are putting Texas in imminent danger.  State Reps. Brian Harrison (R-Midlothian) and Nate Schatzline (R-Fort Worth) wrote a formal letter urging Criminal Jurisprudence Chair Joe Moody (D-El Paso) to hold hearings on border security, potential child abuse and fraud at Texas Children’s Hospital, and President Joe Biden’s lawfare against whistleblowers.   But despite calls from a growing group of Republican lawmakers over the past several weeks to add an investigation of the allegations to the House’s interim committee charges, Phelan has thus far ignored them. During Tuesday’s meeting, both Harrison and Schatzline—who serve on the committee—asked Moody if there was any possibility of discussing future legislation regarding the heinous crimes that have taken place. However, Moody explained he would have to review the committee rules to determine if the requested charges could be added.  view article

Lorena ISD parents are meeting with lawmakers to try and change laws when it comes to school administrators being immune from lawsuits in child abuse cases. 25 News spoke with one parent who told me he’s meeting with Senator Birdwell’s office soon. view article

The chairman of the Texas Democrat Party, Gilberto Hinojosa, says election fraud is taking place in South Texas. This claim is based on a lawsuit filed in Hidalgo County contesting the election for Justice of the Peace Precinct 3, Place 1. The certified vote showed Sonia Trevino winning the Democrat primary runoff last month with 4,233 votes, while Ramon Segovia finished second with 4,202 votes. Segovia is currently challenging the election results, with Hinojosa representing him as his lawyer. The lawsuit makes numerous allegations of voter fraud, including: – Numerous votes were allegedly cast illegally by individuals registered at an address that was not their residence or was not a residence at all. – Many voters who cast ballots during early voting and on election day were allegedly assisted in reading or completing the ballot, despite not being eligible for such assistance under the Texas Elections Code. view article

The May 28 primary runoff elections in Houston were especially competitive this cycle, with Democrats vying for open seats in the Texas House and Senate. Elsewhere, Republican primaries in the region and across Texas were also up for grabs. Gov. Greg Abbott was looking to oust the GOP lawmakers who oppose school vouchers, and House Speaker Dade Phelan faced a spirited challenge from Republican David Covey, who was backed by former President Donald Trump. Below, keep track of vote tallies as they come in with our live results tracker. view article

House Speaker Dade Phelan survived an unusually tough and bitter GOP primary challenge Tuesday, positioning himself for a sixth term in the Legislature’s lower chamber and besting far-right activists who led a multimillion-dollar effort to oust him. Phelan narrowly beat right-wing challenger David Covey, an oil and gas consultant, with about 51% of the vote in the Beaumont-area district Tuesday night, according to unofficial returns. Covey had 49%. The difference was fewer than 400 votes. view article

The proposed law is called “Jocelyn’s Law” in memory of slain 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray.  Following the brutal murder of a 12-year-old girl in Houston, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick promises action—stating that he will ensure the Texas Senate passes new bail reform legislation.  “I just left the funeral of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray. Her alleged killers, both here illegally, with one actually wearing an ankle monitor given to him by the federal government, are charged with brutally murdering her last week,” Patrick posted on X. “Jocelyn’s family was shocked any bail was given in this case.”  Patrick stated he’ll address this in the next session. The proposed law he’s put forward has been named “Jocelyn’s Law” in memory of Jocelyn Nungaray—who was allegedly murdered by two illegal aliens from Venezuela. Following the brutal murder of a 12-year-old girl in Houston, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick promises action—stating that he will ensure the Texas Senate passes new bail reform legislation.  “I just left the funeral of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray. Her alleged killers, both here illegally, with one actually wearing an ankle monitor given to him by the federal government, are charged with brutally murdering her last week,” Patrick posted on X. “Jocelyn’s family was shocked any bail was given in this case.”  Patrick stated he’ll address this in the next session. The proposed law he’s put forward has been named “Jocelyn’s Law” in memory of Jocelyn Nungaray—who was allegedly murdered by two illegal aliens from Venezuela.   If passed, “Jocelyn’s Law” would empower Texans to amend the constitution to automatically deny bail for those facing capital murder charges. This would apply even if subjects are not eligible for the death penalty. Patrick has also said that the Senate will revamp “Lauren’s Law,” which would make murderers of any child under 15 eligible for the death penalty. As of now, only killers of children aged under 10 years old can be eligible for execution.   If passed, “Jocelyn’s Law” would empower Texans to amend the constitution to automatically deny bail for those facing capital murder charges. This would apply even if subjects are not eligible for the death penalty. Patrick has also said that the Senate will revamp “Lauren’s Law,” which would make murderers of any child under 15 eligible for the death penalty. As of now, only killers of children aged under 10 years old can be eligible for execution.  view article

The letter requests the creation of an independent state-level authority to prosecute election crimes and a thorough examination of the voter rolls to verify U.S. citizenship before November’s presidential election. view article

In the latest move exposing tension between leadership in the House and the Senate, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has publicly condemned Speaker Dade Phelan for effectively killing legislation aimed at mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.  The measure passed the Texas Senate but was stalled in the House last year, sparking outrage among its proponents. Now Louisiana has beaten Texas by becoming the first state to pass the measure into law.“Texas WOULD HAVE been and SHOULD HAVE been the first state in the nation to put the Ten Commandments back in our schools,” Patrick declared in a social media post.  The proposed measure was authored by State Sen. Phil King and passed by the Senate. However, when the legislation reached the House, Phelan allowed it to languish in committee, ensuring it never reached a floor vote by placing it on the calendar far too late. view article

Gov. Greg Abbott succeeded in his campaign against Republicans who defied him on school vouchers. Now he may finally get the votes he needs to pass a bill.  As proponents of private school vouchers racked up win after win across the country in recent years, the largest Republican-led state in the nation remained stubbornly outside their grasp — until now. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott succeeded in persuading primary voters to remove from office members of his party who had defied him by voting against legislation that would allow the use of state money to pay for private school tuition.  Abbott’s success campaigning against fellow Republicans during the primary election sent a clear message that disloyalty would not be tolerated even for those who supported other priorities he outlined. If the pro-voucher candidates who Abbott supported in their primaries win in the November general election, as many are expected to, the governor argues he has the votes to finally pass legislation.                                    view article

A group of House Republicans are attempting to steer the conversation away from ending Democrat chairmanships by instead signing onto a series of priorities that conspicuously omits a ban on the practice. This comes after 46 current and incoming members recently signed a pledge to only vote for a Speaker of the House that does not put Democrats in leadership positions. 21 of those members, thus far, have also signed onto the “Contract With Texas”, a series of 12 proposed House reforms to end powersharing with Democrats and emphasize Republican legislative priorities. view article

The resolution asserts that enforcing a new border security law would strain police resources and negatively impact relationships with the community.  Dallas City Council members have approved a resolution condemning Texas’ landmark border security law, with only three council members voting against the measure. The resolution is in response to Senate Bill 4, which was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in December of last year and simultaneously criminalizes illegal entry into the state of Texas and empowers law enforcement to arrest illegal aliens.  The legislation has been caught up in a lawsuit by the Biden administration, which asserts that the law is “clearly unconstitutional.” view article

When Texans vote, they expect transparent elections will not extend to violating the secrecy of their ballots. However, recent developments have brought this into question. During a Texas House Elections Committee hearing this week, lawmakers probed the Secretary of State’s office following reports suggesting that ballot secrecy might be compromised. Christina Adkins, Elections Director at the Secretary of State’s office, explained that some individuals claim to unmask votes using an undisclosed algorithm. But it’s unclear if an algorithm is to blame for ballots being linked to voters or just a complex process of elimination. The “algorithm” has not been reviewed by the Secretary of State or Attorney General’s office, but it was a focal point of this week’s hearing. During the hearing, State Reps. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) and Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) expressed strong concerns and a desire to address this issue urgently. view article

Rep. Jared Patterson of Frisco wants to designate the watered-down “Commitment” as the GOP caucus’ 2025 priorities.  Numerous sources in the Texas House GOP caucus report that a move is underway to cast aside the legislative priorities adopted by delegates to the Republican Party’s biennial convention last month in favor of a watered-down version that ignores several key reforms. Leading that charge is Frisco Republican Jared Patterson, who chairs the GOP caucus’ policy committee.  These sources say, Patterson—a key ally of embattled Speaker Dade Phelan—is trying to convene a meeting of the caucus policy committee as soon as Tuesday. The only item on the proposed agenda would be naming the “Texas Conservative Commitment” as the official statement of 2025 priorities for the House GOP caucus instead of the priorities established by the Republican Party. view article

The “Texas Conservative Commitment” is being derided as an attempt to cover for members who want Democrats in leadership positions. A group of House Republicans are attempting to steer the conversation away from ending Democrat chairmanships by instead signing onto a series of priorities that conspicuously omits a ban on the practice. This comes after 46 current and incoming members recently signed a pledge to only vote for a Speaker of the House that does not put Democrats in leadership positions. 21 of those members, thus far, have also signed onto the “Contract With Texas”, a series of 12 proposed House reforms to end powersharing with Democrats and emphasize Republican legislative priorities. view article

A majority of Texas House Republicans say they do not want Democrats placed in leadership positions next session, a strong rebuke of a policy that has been embraced by current House Speaker Dade Phelan. The letter, signed by 46 current and incoming Republican members, states: In a collective effort to respond to Republican voters and reform the Texas House, we will only vote for a candidate for speaker pursuant to the Platform and the Caucus By-Laws who will only appoint Republicans as committee chairs. Phelan, meanwhile, has repeatedly defended the practice of placing Democrats as chairs of committees, despite the fact that ending the practice has been a priority of the Republican Party of Texas. In a recent interview, he said he would “not waver” from placing Democrats in charge, despite the Republican majority in the chamber. view article

The censured members said they had been punished for campaigning against “liberal incumbents” alongside statewide elected officials like Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton. view article

Texas Democrats are zeroing in on education issues in their bid to flip several state House districts this fall, as they look to blame GOP lawmakers for teacher shortages and school closures and mobilize their base around defeating Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature school voucher policy.  That approach came into focus last week at the Texas Democratic Convention in El Paso, where party leaders and House candidates repeatedly bashed Abbott’s push to provide taxpayer funds for private school tuition. They also acknowledged the governor’s recent success ousting members of his own party who oppose school vouchers, invoking it as a reason to focus on battleground House races this fall. view article

AUSTIN, Texas – June 11, 2024 – The Texas Education Agency (TEA) today announced over $290 million in Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) funds has been awarded for nearly 25,000 designated Texas teachers during the 2023-24 school year. These educators make up some of Texas’ best, and they work to improve student growth and success in their classrooms.    view article

Houston ISD officials have submitted a request for federal aid relief funding to support recovery efforts from the deadly derecho storm in May. According to an email sent to Chron, state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles emailed state lawmakers on Monday to confirm he submitted an official request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). view article

Here are the 19 Republican seats that pro-public school advocates should be aiming at:  ..................Out of those 19 seats, Democrats would need to flip 12 to win back the Texas house, and at least 10 to shut down vouchers and many other far-right policies. view article

State Representative Steve Allison called on Governor Greg Abbott to convene a special session to address the pressing funding issues facing the state’s public schools as more school districts announce massive layoffs. In a recent op-ed for the San Antonio Express-News, Allison emphasized that the future of more than 5.4 million public school students, thousands of public school employees and Texas communities are at stake. Allison’s urgency comes as some of the largest school districts in Texas are facing huge deficits and have announced massive layoffs to address the problem. Some lawmakers have urged Abbott to call a special session to address school funding, but Abbott has refused. Last year, the state had a record $32 billion surplus, but the government failed to increase funding for public schools. Allison noted that the state hasn’t increased the base per-pupil allocation since 2019, and that “this failure has contributed to our state’s low national ranking in per-student funding and teacher compensation.” Abbott, on the other hand, has blamed schools for his financial woes. view article

State Rep. Steve Toth has called the lack of oversight over the Texas Medical Board a “failure of the legislature.”  It appears that most measures aimed at limiting the spread of the lab leaked collaborative coronavirus created by Fauci and the CCP weren’t based on science and did not work. Social distancing was made up, cloth masks were worse than useless, and the shots developed and marketed as able to stop the spread did no such thing.  These findings starkly contrast the outcomes achieved by Houston-based Doctor Mary Talley Bowden, who is fighting to keep her medical license intact after successfully treating thousands of patients drring the outbreak with cheap and effective drugs. Last week, Dr. Bowden’s attorney sent an open letter to Attorney General Ken Paxton outlining abuses of power by the Texas Medical Board and the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) in their costly pursuit of Bowden.As we’ve seen in other professions, the TMB has focused its ire on Dr. Bowden “for her political and medical opinions with a litany of charges that have nothing to do with patient care.” According to the letter, “the attack on Dr. Bowden is unprecedented.”  Among other grievances, Bowden lays out how the TMB attempted to compel her to violate the Medical Practices Act as a litigation tactic. According to Bowden, TMB, as a means to gain an advantage in their prosecution, tried to compel her expert witness to sit for a deposition on three days’ notice, a schedule that would have forced the cancellation of surgeries. view article

Financiers plan to launch a Texas-based stock exchange  The Texas Stock Exchange, unveiled last week with $120 million in funding from BlackRock, Citadel Securities, and others, wants to challenge the NYSE and the Nasdaq by giving companies and investors a more business-friendly exchange. Why it matters: Texas has long fashioned itself as pro-business. TXSE is the latest piece of an emerging network of financial and legal infrastructure meant to provide alternatives to New York and Delaware. Zoom in: TXSE's pitch to investors leaned heavily on criticizing the Nasdaq's board diversity rule, according to the WSJ. (A TXSE spokesperson denied this to the WSJ.) view article

2024 end-of-course assessments reveal academic performance has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels across all subjects.  “The 2024 STAAR End-of-Course results highlight both the progress Texas students and educators have made and the challenges that remain to help students improve outcomes,” Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said in a statement announcing the results.  Morath said such improvements “can only come from a robust assessment and accountability system.”  The commissioner highlighted increases in grade-level proficiency of Emergent Bilingual (EB) students, whose primary language is not English.  This improvement is particularly significant as it represents a substantial population of students, with 24% of Texas’ 5.5 million public school students classified as Emergent Bilingual,” said Morath. “Texas public schools continue to serve one of the largest populations of EB students in the country.”  Parents and families can view their child’s individual STAAR EOC results by visiting their school district’s family portal or TexasAssessment.gov. view article

Texas’ attorney general and secretary of state confirm personally identifiable information on voters’ ballots and other election records must be redacted.  A new ruling issued by the Texas Attorney General’s office reaffirms that government entities have a legal duty to redact personally identifying information on voters’ ballots and other election records when a Public Information Act request is made.  “In Texas, voters have an absolute constitutional right to ballot secrecy,” Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote in a statement accompanying the ruling. “It is the duty of the counties to redact the pertinent information to maintain ballot secrecy as they have been repeatedly guided to do.”  Paxton noted that his office has “repeatedly advised governmental entities that any disclosure of election records that contain personally identifying information must be done in such a way as to preserve the privacy of a voter’s choices.”  He referred to past legal opinions on the subject issued in 2022 and 224, as well as legislation enacted in 2023 that requires “redaction of any personally identifiable information of the voter contained on a ballot before making the voted ballot available for public inspection.”  Wednesday’s ruling was issued in response to an inquiry from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office. view article

For the second time in a row, the Texas Democrat Convention ended not with a bang with a whimper, out as attendees fled the convention before business was complete. The lightly attended gathering, which was held in El Paso from Thursday through Saturday, was supposed to be an opportunity for Democrats from across the state to band together and craft their platform ahead of the November election. However, on Saturday afternoon as the number of delegates dwindled, Democrat Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa ruled that there was no longer a quorum to conduct business. Delegates moved to appeal the ruling of the chair (that there was no longer a quorum). And while that vote overwhelmingly passed, it did so without a quorum. view article

With the input of thousands of delegates at their recent biennial convention now tallied, the Republican Party of Texas has announced its legislative priorities heading into the legislative session next year. During the convention, the legislative priorities committee narrowed down the priorities presented to 15. Delegates then voted to determine the top eight. These eight legislative priorities are meant to serve as directives for lawmakers on what party members would like to see accomplished during the 140-day legislative session beginning in January. Today, the Texas GOP announced the top eight priorities for the upcoming legislative session: view article

Phelan credited his reversal of fortune — he trailed Covey by 3% in the first round of voting in March — to vigorously campaigning during the lengthy period before the runoff. “(It was) 70 days to go to my voters and tell them the lies and the deceit and the ridiculous mailers and TV from Pennsylvania guys and West Texas against me,” Phelan said Tuesday evening at his victory party, referencing support for Covey by billionaires Jeff Yass and Tim Dunn. “70 days of that actually turned the tide.” Phelan’s survival was unique among incumbents on the ballot Tuesday. Six of the eight Republican House members in runoffs lost. Gary VanDeaver, R-New Boston, was the only other incumbent who hung on. Phelan had several advantages his colleagues did not. His family is one of the most prominent in Beaumont, with a long history of philanthropy that flowed from a fortune gained in the Texas Oil Boom. And since he occupies one of the most powerful posts in state government, Phelan’s political donors include some of the wealthiest business executives in Texas who collectively contribute millions of dollars to his campaigns. view article

After four special legislative sessions pushing a failed school voucher plan, Gov. Greg Abbott is ignoring Texas students. Across the state, school districts, including Austin ISD, are in financial distress. But this month, when 39 House Democrats requested a special session to help, Abbott refused. In doing so, the governor denies Texas students their constitutional right to quality public education. The Democrats’ ask was reasonable: 30 days to hash out more state funding per student and for school safety needs. Numerous districts are reeling from inflation, campus safety costs and a basic per-student funding level that’s been stagnant since 2019. Austin ISD, struggling with an $89 million deficit, announced plans to shrink it to $59 million with cutbacks such as 42 layoffs in the central office, and trimming overtime, contracts and other costs. view article

A new plan from President Joe Biden to temporarily stop granting asylum to migrants if illegal crossings pass a certain threshold was met Tuesday with condemnation in Texas from elected officials of both parties, while concern spread among groups that advocate for migrant's rights about the immediate danger it will present to an already vulnerable population. The proclamation signed Tuesday by Biden will largely suspend entry of noncitizens into the country beginning 12:01 a.m. Eastern Wednesday, according to the order. Exceptions include permanent U.S. residents and unaccompanied children.  The limitations are to be discontinued two weeks after there has been an average of less than 1,500 migrant encounters between official ports of entry for seven consecutive days. The restrictions would resume when there has been an average of 2,500 encounters or more for seven consecutive days. view article

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Texas’ efforts to make elections more transparent allows the public — in limited instances — to pierce the anonymity of the ballot and find out how people voted, undermining the secrecy essential to free elections. The choices voters make in the private voting booth can later be identified in some cases using public, legally available records, a review by Votebeat and The Texas Tribune found. Since 2020, requests for such records have skyrocketed, fueled by unsubstantiated concerns about widespread voter fraud, and Texas lawmakers have supported changes to make election records easier to access soon after elections. view article

Six years after Beto O’Rourke nearly toppled Ted Cruz, Democrats outside Texas are expressing confidence in Colin Allred’s 2024 challenge.  With more than four months left before Election Day 2018, Democrat Beto O’Rourke had campaigned in all of Texas’ 254 counties in his bid to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. It was a novel strategy central to breaking through in a Republican-controlled state that national Democrats had largely written off. view article