Tag Archives: Greg Abbott

Via press release from the NAACP: Today, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), Reed Smith LLP, and The Arc filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the Houston Area Urban League, Houston Justice, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and The Arc of Texas challenging S.B. 1, a new Texas law targeting voting rights. S.B. 1 includes a …

Houston’s NBC News affiliate reports: Texas Governor Greg Abbott weighed in on a burning question related to the state’s recently passed bill banning abortions after six weeks: what about victims of rape? During a Tuesday press conference, Abbott said the law gives rape victims up to six weeks to get abortion and thusly “does not do that [force victims to …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday signed into law Senate Bill 1, sweeping legislation that further tightens state election laws and constrains local control of elections by limiting counties’ ability to expand voting options. The governor’s signature ends months of legislative clashes and standoffs during which Democrats — propelled by concerns that the legislation raises new barriers …

Austin’s NBC News affiliate reports: New polling from the Texas Politics Project asked voters whether they thought the state was headed in the right direction. Just 35% of those polls said yes, 52% said they thought Texas was on the wrong track. “This is really an eye-opener for us,” said Jim Henson, executive director of the Texas Politics Project at …

The Hill reports: Voting rights advocates on Friday sued to block a restrictive new GOP-crafted Texas voting bill that the challengers say will make it disproportionately harder for people of color to vote. The 74-page complaint, filed in a San Antonio-based federal court, takes aim at Senate Bill 1 (S.B. 1), a sweeping measure passed this week that would tighten …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to raise private funds to build a wall along the Texas-Mexico border surged in August, from around $1 million at the beginning of the month to more than $54 million by its end. In June, Abbott announced a fundraising website where people could donate to help pay for the barrier. Two months …

CNN reports: A Texas state law that bans abortion after as early as six weeks into the pregnancy could provide the playbook for red states to pass extreme abortion restrictions — without having to wait for the Supreme Court to revisit Roe v. Wade. The measure — signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May — prohibits abortion …

Via press release from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott: Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) will be deploying an additional 2,500 medical staff to support health care facilities in Texas, including hospitals and nursing homes. This will bring the total number of medical personnel deployed across the state to 8,100. In addition, DSHS …

The Texas Tribune reports: After months of drama and political resistance, the curtain lowered Thursday night on Democratic attempts to stave off a far-reaching rewrite of the state’s voting laws coveted by Republicans seeking to retain their hold on power in a changing Texas. One week after finally regaining enough members to conduct business, the Texas House slogged through a …

The Texas Tribune reports: Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday announced an executive order banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates regardless of a vaccine’s approval status with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He also said he was adding the issue to the agenda for the current special session of the Texas Legislature. The order comes two days after the FDA granted full …

The Texas Tribune reports: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he has now tested negative for COVID-19, four days after testing positive for the virus. “I am told that my infection was brief and mild because of the vaccination I received,” Abbott said in a video he posted on Twitter Saturday afternoon. “So, I encourage others who have not yet received …

Politico reports: Enforcement in the state’s public school systems of Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates has been dropped, for now, the Texas Education Agency said late Thursday. In a public health guidance letter, the TEA said enforcement was being dropped because of ongoing court challenges to the ban. The letter said the new guidance is effective immediately and …

The Texas Tribune reports: The all-Republican court sided with Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan — and ordered a Travis County district judge to revoke his temporary restraining order blocking the civil arrest of Democratic lawmakers whose absences have denied the chamber the number of present members needed to move any legislation. “The legal question before this Court …

Via press release from Abbott spokesman Mark Miner: Governor Greg Abbott today tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. The Governor has been testing daily, and today was the first positive test result. Governor Abbott is in constant communication with his staff, agency heads, and government officials to ensure that state government continues to operate smoothly and efficiently. The Governor will …

The Washington Post reports: Texas health officials have requested five mortuary trailers from the federal government in anticipation of a possible spike in deaths brought about by surging coronavirus numbers in the state. The Texas Department of State Health Services made a request through the Texas Division of Emergency Management to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for five mortuary trailers, …

The Austin Statesman reports: The Texas Supreme Court stepped in Sunday evening to block lower-court orders that had allowed Dallas and San Antonio to impose mask mandates in defiance of an executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott. The action voided temporary restraining orders, issued by separate District Court judges and upheld Friday by two intermediate appellate courts, that halted enforcement …

From the Dallas Morning News editorial board: Babies hooked to ventilators. Overflow tents pitched outside of hospitals. Parents fretting that sending their kids to school might become an intolerable risk. A plateau in vaccination rates and the more contagious delta variant were just the recipe to send cases skyrocketing again. The Dallas-Fort Worth region has swung from a low of …

The Texas Tribune reports: Dozens of Texas hospitals have run out of intensive care unit beds as COVID-19 surges faster than any other time during the pandemic, propelled by the new delta variant. The state is divided into 22 trauma service areas, and half of them reported 10 or fewer available ICU beds on Sunday. As more than 9,400 COVID-19 …

The Texas Tribune reports: House Democrats who refuse to show up for the Legislature could soon be detained by law enforcement and brought back to the state Capitol, after the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday voided a state district judge’s temporary restraining order barring their arrest. The all-Republican high court’s order came at the request of Gov. Greg Abbott and …

The Associated Press reports: Gov. Greg Abbott appealed for out-of-state help to fight the third wave of COVID-19 in Texas while two more of the state’s largest school districts announced mask mandates in defiance of the governor. Abbott’s request Monday came as a county-owned hospital in Houston raised tents to accommodate their COVID-19 overflow. The Republican governor has directed the …