The Texas Tribune

The proposal recommends spending billions on programs including property tax cuts, teacher pay raises, mental health services and border security. It leaves out requests for pay raises for retired state employees and funding for rent relief and childcare programs.

In this conversation moderated by Texas Tribune editor in chief Sewell Chan, panelists discussed lessons that must be learned after 19 children and two adults were fatally shot at Robb Elementary School. Full Story

House Bill 1942, written by Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, would permit regulated sports betting that is already legal in 29 states. House Bill 2843, by Rep. John Kuempel, R-Seguin, would permit casino gambling in Texas. Full Story

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Patrick Oehler/Times Herald-Record via REUTERS

Texas lawmakers could prohibit race-based hair discrimination at schools and workplaces. At least 20 states have already passed similar legislation, according to a group that champions the laws. Full Story

Anti-abortion advocates are trying to revive the long-dormant 1873 Comstock Act, which banned mailing of anything related to abortion or contraception, in a lawsuit about mifepristone, an abortion-inducing drug. Full Story

In previously unreleased interviews, police who responded to the Robb Elementary shooting told investigators they were cowed by the shooter’s military-style rifle. This drove their decision to wait for a Border Patrol SWAT team to engage him, which took more than an hour. Full Story

In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a right to a lawyer applies to criminal defendants. Together with the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, The Texas Tribune hosted a series of conversations Friday on public defense in Texas. Full Story