A mailer, paid for by the Jeff Yass-bankrolled Club for Growth Action PAC, falsely depicted Phelan in a hug with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Agencies like the Texas Department of Transportation are using the technology to react to crashes and prepare invoices. More uses and regulations are coming.

Amid fears that AI could heighten bias or affect privacy, the state is forming an advisory committee to recommend how the technology is deployed. “We’re gonna have to set up some rules,” the committee’s founder says.

The leader of the state House also threw his support behind bills to crack down on how companies handle private data and to protect children from “addictive algorithms” by digital companies.

As public debate intensifies over how the state will divvy up billions in new money, community groups that treat children for mental illness fear they’re not a priority.

The law requires social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram to produce regular reports of removed content and disclose their content regulations procedures.

Called a “trigger” law, House Bill 1280 would take effect 30 days after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe decision or after a court ruling or constitutional amendment gave states the authority to prohibit abortions.

The Texas Legislature is considering bills that would ban homeless encampments statewide, almost two years after the city of Austin decided to lift a similar local ban — a move that critics say triggered the proliferation of tent cities throughout Austin.

Republican Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan shook up the chamber’s committee leadership Thursday, signaling who his top lieutenants will be during his first session overseeing the lower chamber. State Rep. Greg Bonnen, a Friendswood Republican, will now oversee the budget-planning House Appropriations Committee, replacing state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake. Dutton replaces state Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, the longtime chair who in 2019 helped pass massive reforms to the state’s school finance system. Hunter replaces state Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford. Meanwhile, state Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, replaces state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, as chair of the House Administration Committee; state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, replaces state Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo, as chair of the House Calendars Committee, and state Rep. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall, will serve as chair of the House State Affairs Committee, which Phelan oversaw during the 2019 session.