STATE CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS
State immigration law again on hold
State immigration law again on hold
DOJ report on response to Uvalde shooting scathing
The U.S. Justice Department issued a scathing report late last week on the May 4, 2022, mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference in Uvalde that officials’ response that day and afterward “was a failure that should not have happened.”
Spate of new laws effective Jan. 1
After the Texas Legislature spent much of 2023 in session, a bevy of new laws go into effect on New Year’s Day, though some have been delayed by lawsuits challenging their constitutionality.
Texas Supreme Court hears abortion ban challenge
The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in a case that could decide whether medical exceptions to the state’s abortion ban are written clearly enough to protect pregnant women who face serious health risks, the Austin American-Statesman reported.