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THE TEXAS DISPATCH

Under the Dome

Inside the Texas Legislature -- bills, votes, and committee action from the Texas House and Senate.

Latest in Under the Dome
Agencies

Texas Windstorm Insurer Sends Four Recommendations to the Legislature, Including a Plan to Move Coastal Policies to Private Carriers

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association's board voted Oct. 8 to ask the Legislature for four changes in state law when lawmakers return in January 2027: a repeal of a special-judge requirement for lawsuits against the association, public money for storm-resistant construction, repairs to the 2025 law that rebuilt how it pays for a catastrophe, and a redesign of the program meant to move coastal policies to private insurers.

By The Texas Dispatch · Oct 15 · 6 min read
Economy

Senate Economic Development to Probe Hotel Tax Reporting, Project Finance Zones and AI Jobs

The Texas Senate Committee on Economic Development will gavel in at 9 a.m. Sept. 22 in Capitol Extension room E1.016 to take testimony on how Texas cities collect and spend hotel occupancy tax revenue, on the zones that let a handful of big cities route state tax dollars into convention centers, and on what artificial intelligence is doing to the state's labor market.

By The Texas Dispatch · Sep 15 · 4 min read
Health Care

House Maternal Health Subcommittee to Weigh Prenatal Iron Access and Healthy Texas Women

The Texas House Subcommittee on Maternal Health, Menopause, and Access to Evidence-Based Medicine will gavel in at 10 a.m. Sept. 15 in Capitol Extension room E2.030 for its first hearing, taking invited testimony only on two interim charges: whether iron and other essential supplements should reach more pregnant Texans, and whether the Healthy Texas Women program is working.

By The Texas Dispatch · Sep 11 · 4 min read
Interim Hearings

House State Affairs to Weigh Disaster Response Overhaul and a Statewide Interoperability Council

The Texas House Committee on State Affairs will gavel in at 10 a.m. Sept. 14 in Room JHR 140 to take invited and public testimony on two interim charges that pick up where the Legislature stopped after the July 2025 Hill Country floods: how the state prepares for, responds to and recovers from disasters, and whether Texas should stand up a formal council to make first responders' radios work with one another.

By The Texas Dispatch · Sep 9 · 4 min read
Interim Hearings

Senate State Affairs to Examine Gaming Platforms, Family Courts and the Lottery Handover

The Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs will gavel in at 9 a.m. Sept. 14 in Capitol Extension room E1.012 to take public and invited testimony on three interim charges: whether online gaming platforms do enough to keep adult strangers and explicit content away from children, whether Texas family courts drag divorce and custody cases out longer than they should, and how the state lottery is faring a year after lawmakers abolished the agency that ran it.

By The Texas Dispatch · Sep 8 · 3 min read