Hoping to avoid an undercount of thousands of Hispanic and black Texans, Dallas, Harris and Hidalgo counties believe getting children engaged can bring families to participate in the 2020 census.
In hopes to provide quicker service, over 90 of DPS' 229 offices — including every mega center and "severely crowded" office — will become fully staffed, while another 100 will receive smaller personnel boosts.
More than 600,000 Texans will immediately be eligible to have their driver's licenses reinstated after the program's Sept. 1 repeal. The system was widely criticized for adding additional annual fees on top of the price of tickets, but all pending surcharges will soon be waived.
The council joins more than 15 Democratic state representatives who have requested a special session after the shooting in an El Paso Walmart that left 22 shoppers dead earlier this month.
After May's 40 homicides, Gov. Greg Abbott deployed state troopers to Dallas. Despite some drops in violent crimes, city officials say they've done more harm than good. Meanwhile, there's still no consensus on what's driving the increase as victims' families are left to grapple with grief.
The task force will analyze current and emerging state threats and form stronger prevention strategies. Abbott took similar action — which led to sweeping legislation — after last year's school shooting in Santa Fe.
The law will make the electronic transmission of unwanted sexually explicit material a class C misdemeanor. But legal experts worry it could be written too broadly under the First Amendment to be effective.
Many officials, including O'Rourke, have cited President Donald Trump's racist and divisive rhetoric for inspiring Saturday's shooting that left 22 dead and more wounded. U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, also said Trump should stay out of El Paso.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is targeting over 2,000 undocumented immigrants with the goal of deporting them. The operation will hit several major U.S. cities, including Houston, where thousands of migrants have been issued deportation orders this year.
Starting Sept. 1, Texans who take items from mailboxes and porches face tougher penalties for their crimes. But some say punishments are too extreme since they're not based on the value of what's taken.
The bill would have made it a crime to repeatedly use social media to harass or torment someone. It was aimed at protecting children from some indirect forms of cyberbullying.