Texas
Supreme Court upholds Texas online age verification law
Justices said a state law requiring adult entertainment sites to verify users’ ages is constitutional.
Gov. Greg Abbott signs law creating Texas Cyber Command
The Texas governor had declared creating a cyber command an emergency item earlier this year. State officials said it will be the largest state-based cyber department in the U.S.
Texas lawmakers pull funding for child identification kits again after newsrooms report they don’t work
For the second legislative session, lawmakers have withdrawn funding for a company selling kits that promise to help find missing kids after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reported there’s no evidence to support that claim.
Texas Legislature gives new city of Starbase authority to shut down local beach for SpaceX launches
Local organizations strongly opposed the measure, hosting phone banking events to urge lawmakers to vote against the bill.
Bill that would have banned Texas minors from social media misses key deadline
House Bill 186, approved by the lower chamber in May, never received a vote in the Senate.
Texas Cyber Command will mean ‘expanding’ cybersecurity help, state official says
A bill to create the command is being pushed by Gov. Greg Abbott, and a Texas tech leader said it will help the state better achieve its cyber goals.
Texas lawmakers are poised to ban minors from social media
The Texas Legislature has already passed a bill requiring age verification to download apps and is seriously considering another to ban children from social media.
Ken Paxton says Google will pay Texas $1.4B to settle privacy suit
The state attorney general sued Google in 2022, alleging it unlawfully tracked and collected users’ private data.
Texas lawmakers want to spend millions on Child ID kits. Experts say there’s no evidence they work.
Texas legislators slipped millions for child ID kits into a 1,000-page budget proposal. The move comes two years after they quietly cut funding for such kits following a ProPublica and Texas Tribune report that showed there’s no evidence they work.
SpaceX workers in South Texas vote yes to create City of Starbase
Critics of Elon Musk and SpaceX say that a new city will give more power to a company they believe is harming the environment.
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With AI on the rise, Texas House passes bill requiring more transparency in political ads
The bill faced fierce opposition from hardline conservatives who say it is policing speech and could allow the state to jail people over silly political memes.
GOP-backed bill would help verify the results of hand-counted ballots in Texas
The proposal would require counties who choose to hand-count to use ballots that can be scanned and tabulated by a voting machine.
Texas school district sees efficiency gains with e-procurement
At a time when shrinking budgets are impacting school closures in the state, the Arlington Independent School District has turned to tech to better manage spending.
Legislation creating statewide emergency communication system advances in Texas House
The legislation was written after the state’s largest wildfire scorched more than 1 million acres in the Panhandle last year.
Telehealth for pets? It’s the cat’s meow, a Texas lawmaker says.
Animal health care experts raised concern that telehealth would lead to misdiagnosis and erode what little care already exists in rural Texas.
Houston-area cities and counties want you to go to their websites. How useful are they?
While full of information, some local government websites fall short on best web practices including readability, security and page design.
Texas mulls establishing new Cyber Command
Legislation would create the command and mandate that it set up a cybersecurity strategy. Gov. Greg Abbott said it is vital to protect the Lone Star State from bad actors.
A new Texas bill is coming after online abortion pills
The 43-page measure, introduced Friday, may be the most meaningful attempt this year to block the ordering and mailing of medication abortion.
Two Texans in Congress defend CHIPS Act in the face of Trump’s criticism
Although the president has said he wants to “get rid of” the act, Rep. Michael McCaul and Sen. John Cornyn say it supports jobs and national security.
Texas wants to be a nuclear power
The state is aggressively pushing to deploy the next generation of atomic energy that would power big industrial operations.
