Matthew Watkins

Republican Party of Texas sets stage to censure members who stepped out of line in likely bid to block them from primary ballot Republicans who are censured by their county party leaders may be blocked from the primary ballot under a new party rule passed last year, that is expected to be tested by the courts.

Another important, but lower-profile fight over representation happening in Texas right now: The state GOP is working through a process to ban Republican incumbents from the primary ballot if censured by a committee dominated by the activist wing of the party. www.texastribune.org/2025/08/11/t...

Former Sid Miller allies told police the ag commissioner feared the DEA, told a friend to get rid of marijuana Miller denies wrongdoing after allegations surfaced during an investigation into one of his aides, who pled guilty to bribery. The agriculture commissioner has not been charged with a crime.

"If the DEA comes, I can't get caught with this stuff."

@texastribune.org got a recording in which a friend of Ag Commissioner Sid Miller tells a DPS officer that Miller asked him to dispose of three bags of marijuana. Miller oversees Texas' hemp licenses.

www.texastribune.org/2025/07/31/s...

Austin and other big Texas cities lost tech jobs in 2024. www.wsj.com/articles/aus...

Is it law yet? See how far some of the most consequential bills have made it in the 2025 Texas Legislature We’re tracking the status of major bills through the final stretch of the session.

Published today: The last couple weeks of the legislative session will be chaotic. Track the status of the highest-profile bills here. www.texastribune.org/2025/05/20/t...

Texas lawmakers are poised to ban minors from social media The Texas Legislature has already passed a bill requiring age verification to download apps and is seriously considering another to ban children from social media.

Texas lawmakers are poised to ban minors from social media www.texastribune.org/2025/05/19/t...

A bill that has passed the Texas Senate would allow people to sue abortion pill providers for $100,000, would ban state judges from assessing its constitutionality and would allow any state judge who rules it unconstitutional to be personally sued for $100,000. www.texastribune.org/2025/05/12/t...

A must-read: Alex Fairly was on a path to be Texas’ next Tim Dunn — a sharp-elbowed megadonor poised to spend big to push the state further right.

Then he learned more about about Dunn’s tactics and had a change of heart. www.texastribune.org/2025/05/08/a...

School board races across Texas deal losses for many conservatives Issues about control of book purchases and how curriculums teach race and gender have led to change on many boards, including Keller, Katy and Mansfield ISDs.

Conservative school board candidates backed by Republicans in Texas had a bad showing in last weekend's elections, suffering defeats around the state. www.texastribune.org/2025/05/05/t...

Will Texas abolish its lottery? It seems like a real possibility.

The agency generates $2 billion for education and $26 million for education each year, but has been wracked with scandal. www.texastribune.org/2025/05/06/t...

Texas Republican lawmakers may “financially handcuff” cities that don’t play by their rules One proposal would allow the attorney general to sue cities and freeze sales tax revenues for up to 90 days.

New this morning: Texas GOP lawmakers may enact stiff financial penalties for cities & counties that adopt progressive policies

The proposal's among a slate of bills aimed at stopping local officials from pursuing those policies www.texastribune.org/2025/05/05/t... @texastribune.org #txlege

Weary from COVID deaths, Hispanic Texans embraced vaccines. It saved their lives. In the deadly summer of 2020, Hispanics in Texas were half of all COVID-19 deaths, spurring many to vaccinate. Today, in a startling flip, Hispanics make up less than a quarter of deaths from the dise...

Five years into COVID, the disproportionate impact of the virus has flipped.

In 2020, about half of deaths were among Hispanics and 38% were among whites.

Last year, 23% were Hispanic and 63% were white.

Experts blame differing attitudes about vaccination. www.texastribune.org/2025/05/01/t...

With the border quiet, Texas ponders spending another $6.5 billion on border security Some are questioning whether lawmakers should commit billions more to border security with illegal crossings dwindling and a Trump immigration crackdown.

Texas leaders appear intent in allocating another $6.5 billion on border security in the 26-27 budget, even as the Trump administration claims "operation control" of the border and arrests there have slowed to a trickle. www.texastribune.org/2025/04/21/t...

Texas has a housing affordability crisis. Here’s how state lawmakers may tackle it in 2025. A likely fight over how much power to take away from local governments may dominate the debate.

A handy @joshuafechter.bsky.social breakdown of how Texas lawmakers might address housing affordability this year. www.texastribune.org/2025/01/06/t...

Amid a $7 million deficit to Texas’ suicide hotline, thousands of calls are abandoned monthly The state’s 988 suicide had the nation’s fifth highest rate of abandoned calls in August, the latest data available, amid a multi-million funding deficit that could worsen as federal dollars expire th...

Texas' 988 suicide hotline is running a $7 million deficit and has thousands of people on hold dropping off mid-call each month as they wait to reach a human.

"Somebody’s got to decide to increase the resources," its director tells the Tribune. www.texastribune.org/2025/01/06/t...

How Texans helped plot, foment and carry out the Jan. 6 insurrection From those who planted the seeds of Trump’s strategy to try to challenge the election, to others who sowed doubt and anger by spreading baseless election-fraud conspiracy theories, Texans played major...

The Jan. 6 insurrection would not have been possible without Texans. They played crucial roles at every stage, helping plot, foment and carry out violence four years ago.

What they found? Dozens of fragmented sections across six counties, some no wider than a city block and others more than 70 miles apart. Each mile of costs between $17 million and $41 million per mile, depending on terrain. Most are built in sparsely traveled rural areas.

NEW: Texas has never publicly reported where it has built border wall. So @texastribune.org requested records, interviewed landowners and traveled the Rio Grande to compile a first-of-its-kind look of the $3.1 billion in construction. apps.texastribune.org/features/202...

OK I'll give this Bluesky thing a try.