Spurred by a groundswell of far-right support, the Texas Senate has passed all of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s priority LGBTQ bills — and then some. What the House does next will impact queer Texans’ lives and could determine Speaker Phelan’s future.

Two bills that advanced in House and Senate committees on Wednesday both exempt any lawmaker who has already taken advantage of the benefit.

In the 2023 legislative session that convened Tuesday, 70% of lawmakers are men. More than half of the Senate and House members are white, and nearly half are white men.

Texas Republicans have again authorized using law enforcement Democrats who are still refusing to come back to the state Capitol in a bid to stop new voting restrictions.

A monthlong standoff by Texas Democrats who left the state to block a GOP voting bill is inching closer to ending.

Texas Democrats are still refusing to return to the state Capitol.

Three Texas House Democrats testified before a congressional committee on their efforts to thwart voting restrictions — and were met with heat from their Republican counterparts.

A UTSA political science professor broke down why Texas Democrats can't be arrested for their walkout and answered other lingering questions.

Texas Democrats are starting a second week of holing up in Washington to block new voting laws back home.

All they could get was a temporary win. But the lawmakers said taking the extraordinary measure of breaking quorum was justified by the harm they felt their mostly Black and Hispanic constituents would face under the GOP's voting bill.

Police officials lamented that House Bill 88 could remove that protection, called qualified immunity. Police officials were the main opponents of removing qualified immunity, a court-established protection intended to prevent government employees from frivolous litigation. Until the recently renewed nationwide criticism of American policing and its disproportionate harm against Black people, qualified immunity garnered little public attention. AdLast month, a conservative federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit against two Texas police officers, citing qualified immunity. The hurdles have been labeled by qualified immunity critics as a Catch-22 and nearly impossible to overcome.

FILE - In this Monday, June 8, 2020, file photo, local residents and alumni of Jack Yates High School take part in a candlelight vigil to honor George Floyd, in Houston. The George Floyd Act was scheduled to get its first hearing in the Texas Capitol on Thursday, March 25, 2021. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)AUSTIN, Texas – Outside of George Floyd's public memorial last summer in Texas, Republican Gov. Earlier this month in Congress, House Democrats passed the most ambitious effort in decades to overhaul policing nationwide under the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Ad___Find AP’s full coverage of the death of George Floyd: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd

Evan Smith, CEO of The Texas Tribune. (Audio unavailable. Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith talks to state Rep. Senfronia Thompson—affectionately known as "Mrs. T" to colleagues and other Capitol goers—about COVID-19, race, public ed and that young whippersnapper Dade Phelan. Rep. Thompson has served in the chamber since 1973, making her the longest-tenured woman and Black person in the House. This episode of Point of Order, a podcast about the Texas legislature, was recorded on Jan.15, 2021.

The Texas Legislature convened Tuesday for the first day of its 87th regular session. George Floyd ActTexas’ longest-serving woman and Black person in the history of the Texas Legislature, Rep. Senfronia Thompson, has a compilation of bills she’s introducing during the legislative session that deals with police reform called the George Floyd Act. Gutierrez previously said legalization would result in an estimated $3.2 billion in state revenue and 30,000 high-paying jobs, boosting employment in agriculture, manufacture, retail and distributing. One bill filed by a San Antonio lawmaker would change that. As Las Vegas Sands prepares to send lobbyists to sway lawmakers to expand gambling, one bill filed a Democratic Representative from Beaumont makes that possible.

SAN ANTONIO – Doing something to change the current status quo on law enforcement actions across the state is personal for Representative Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston). “I truly believe there’s an appetite for change,” Gervin-Hawkins said. She’s working with lawmakers, law enforcement and community leaders to come up with bills that will help bring the changes demanded by San Antonio voters. “Right now, 53% of police officers do not live in the City of San Antonio. So we’ve got to rebuild that trust and those interactions.”RELATED: Understand: How arbitration plays out for disciplined San Antonio police officers

State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, listens to public testimony in 2019. Credit: Emree Weaver/The Texas TribuneState Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, filed Tuesday for Texas House speaker, becoming the eighth candidate in what’s quickly become a crowded race. In a statement, Moody said he was running to change the "impenetrable and transactional" nature of the House. Moody joins fellow Democratic state Reps. Oscar Longoria of Mission, Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio and Senfronia Thompson of Houston in the race. Candidates are running to replace GOP House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, who will retire at the end of his term after a political scandal last year. Morrison has picked up support from state Rep. John Cyrier — a Lockhart Republican who filed for speaker Thursday but withdrew from the race the next day — and state Rep. Phil King, a Weatherford Republican who chairs the powerful House Redistricting Committee.

State Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, and state Rep. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall. Credit: Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneTwo Republicans declared their candidacies for speaker of the Texas House on Thursday, becoming the first from their party to enter the race. State Reps. Trent Ashby of Lufkin and Chris Paddie of Marshall join two Democrats in seeking the gavel: Senfronia Thompson of Houston and Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio. Candidates are vying to replace Republican House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, who will retire after serving one term thanks to a political scandal last year. Thompson, the longest-serving woman and Black person in the history of the Texas Legislature, filed Friday to run for the gavel.

State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, is the second Democrat to announce a bid for speaker of the Texas House. Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas TribuneState Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer on Monday announced he is running for Texas House speaker, becoming the second Democrat in the lower chamber to launch a bid for the gavel. Martinez Fischer, from San Antonio, joins state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, the longest-serving woman and Black person in the history of the Texas Legislature, in the race. In a statement, Martinez Fischer said the “number one job of the Speaker is to protect the House and its members.”“Members know that I have been a defender of the House rules and wielded them to protect the institution and the people we serve,” Martinez Fischer said. “My vision for the Texas House is an independent body that will work respectfully in a bi-partisan manner with the best minds at the table.

State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, speaks on the opening day of the 86th session of the Texas Legislature. Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas TribuneState Rep. Senfronia Thompson, the longest-serving woman and Black person in the history of the Texas Legislature, filed Friday to run for speaker of the Texas House, making her the first to enter what’s been a quiet race so far to replace retiring Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton. Thompson, a Houston Democrat, has filed ahead of a November general election in which Democrats are confident they will regain control of the House for the first time in nearly two decades. If elected, she would be the first woman to serve as speaker. Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

That’s quite the departure from the last speaker’s race two years ago, when seven candidates were already in the running by the first week of September. The speaker’s race is a numbers game, a contest to see which member can put together 76 votes in support of their candidacy. Of course, members could break ranks and file their candidacy for speaker with the Texas Ethics Commission before November. Howard has also suggested that she hopes Thompson is the first Black woman speaker of the Texas House. Democrats are expected to meet in Austin the day after Election Day to discuss the speaker’s race and other session-related issues.