Abbott’s critics say he could have postponed the trip until the storm had passed, or at least cut it short once he saw the scale of the disaster.

Democrats, however, said their GOP colleagues “caved” to outside pressure in voting to acquit and return Ken Paxton to his job as attorney general.

Given the stiff headwinds to getting any expansion in gambling passed, sports betting and casino advocates may be competing against each other, rather than working in tandem.

There’s a new push in the state capitol for legal casinos and sports betting in Texas right before the legislative session gets underway on Jan. 10.

A Texas Democratic senator who spoke for more than 15 hours against GOP voting restrictions knew she was just delaying the inevitable.

Republican officials in Texas say law enforcement has now been enlisted to help bring Democrats back to the state Capitol and end a standoff over a GOP voting bill.

The Houston Democrat was on her feet speaking, not allowed to sit or lean against her desk, and unable to take bathroom breaks or drink water, since Wednesday evening. But ultimately the bill she opposed passed Thursday on an 18-11 vote.

Senate Democrats are pledging to move ahead with a vote on their sprawling elections and voting bill next week, even as it faces universal opposition from Republicans as well as from a key senator from their own party.

Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, spent years negotiating with industry groups to get new regulations placed on the chemical industry after the ITC fire in 2019. The bill has passed both chambers, but small changes need to be ironed out before it is sent to Gov. Greg Abbott.

Greg Abbott's office, after a rocky confirmation hearing Monday at the Texas Capitol. AdToward the end of the questioning, state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, asked Yancy if he had "any regrets with regard to your public discourse." He is not unknown in Texas politics — he ran for Texas Senate in 2010. AdNext up was Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, who asked Yancy about the anti-Reid tweet. Gutierrez asked Yancy if it was fair to say he "misspoke [or] overreached" with the tweet.

Lawmakers filed legislation Tuesday seeking to bring casino gambling to Texas. Credit: REUTERS/Steve MarcusTwo Texas lawmakers on Tuesday filed legislation backed by the gaming empire Las Vegas Sands that would legalize casino gambling in Texas. The proposals would create special casino licenses for four "destination resorts" in the state's four largest metropolitan areas: Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. At the same time, it would establish a Texas Gaming Commission to regulate the casinos, and it would separately legalize sports betting. The legislation would then create three "Class II" licenses for "limited casino gaming" at horse-race tracks in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio.