Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has expanded the agenda for the second special session, adding two new items he says will improve public safety and election security.
Law Enforcement: Legislation authorizing contracts with sheriffs and constables for law enforcement services, and a bill relating to the appropriation or transfer of funds for law enforcement agencies.
Voter Registration: Legislation that would ban same-day voter registration in Texas.
Texas House Republicans voted on Monday to increase the financial penalties for members who break quorum and to strip them of any committee leadership roles. However, a proposal to formally censure Democrats who left the state this month did not receive enough support.
During the summer Democratic National Convention meeting on Monday, Texas State Democratic Rep. Gene Wu spoke about the detention of Rep. Nicole Collier last week and the redistricting of Texas.
Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett said he would retire if the new congressional maps stand.
“Troopers consulted with local prosecutors, who determined criminal charges were not warranted.” — Billy Ray III, a Department of Public Safety spokesman
No criminal charges will be filed against the driver of a Leander school bus that rolled over with 46 students on it, an official said Monday.
The crash, however, raised safety concerns.
Nearly two months after the devastating July floods, the Big Sandy Creek Bridge in northwest Travis County remains closed. said progress has been slow and are pushing officials to make its repair a priority.
LINK for more information. (Central Texas Community Foundation)
The Round Rock school board is set to appoint a new president on September 18, following the resignation of President Tiffanie Harrison last week. Harrison, who cited personal reasons for her decision, became the district’s first Black school board president in November 2024. She has served on the board since 2020. (Austin American-Statesman)
Hays and Liberty Hill school districts are asking for a tax rate elections this year, following a wave of similar elections across the state in 2023 and 2024 to fill funding gaps. Officials at the time cited ballooning inflation and a limited pool of funds to pay for student need and staff raises. (Austin American-Statesman)
Today, Travis County commissioners are set to approve the first contracts funded by a tax rate increase that voters passed in November to improve access to child care.
Three school districts—Austin, Del Valle, and Manor—will receive $4.85 million annually to fund 2,000 child care slots during and after school. The commissioners are also expected to approve a letter of intent to the nonprofit Workforce Solutions Capital Area, earmarking $24.4 million for contracts with child care providers next year. (Austin American-Statesman)
The Leander Independent School District invited parents to give feedback Monday night ahead of a proposal its Board of Trustees will hear to consolidate several schools next month…and tensions ran high. (CBS Austin)
Hays Consolidated Independent School District says one of its buses dropped into a sink hole Monday but there were no injuries. (FOX 7 Austin)
A BOIL WATER NOTICE has been issued in some Hays County neighborhoods.
A crash involving multiple vehicles yesterday in Round Rock.
Austin police have released information on a fatal crash last week on North Lamar.
A house under construction caught on fire in Pflugerville on Monday.
Capital Area Crime Stoppers announced the arrest of a wanted fugitive from justice.
Charges has been dismissed against the suspect who was accused of organizing the street takeover in South Austin two years ago.
Manor authorities are looking for a missing teen who may be suffering mental health issues and could be a danger to himself.
New concrete barriers are up along 6th Street from Neches to San Jacinto replacing the water-filled barriers that were up for about four months and are now the third type of temporary infrastructure the city has used since the street opened up to car traffic full time in January. (KXAN-TV)
WEATHER
MONDAY’S HIGH/LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
Current lake levels via LCRA:
Texas House of Representatives Democratic Gina Hinojosa is gearing up for a battle on the Texas House floor as HB-8, a bill proposing to replace the STAAR test with three separate exams throughout the school year, nears a vote. (CBS Austin)
A Texas House panel on Monday approved a legislative proposal limiting transgender peoples’ use of bathrooms in government buildings, the first time in over eight years the lower chamber has advanced a “bathroom bill.” (Texas Tribune)
Despite a federal judge’s court order halting display of the Ten Commandments in eleven districts, the rest of the state is still required to follow the new law. (Texas Scorecard)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on lawmakers Monday to prohibit same-day voter registration, in an apparent attempt to reverse a measure passed earlier this year that relaxed rules for voters who made last-minute updates to their addresses. (Texas Tribune)
A bill that would tighten how youth camps are penalized for safety deficiencies and that would diminish the industry’s influence on a state advisory committee has gained traction in the Legislature.
President Trump got the redistricting maps he wanted from Texas, but it may come with a big political price tag. The Democratic Party, so fractured after the 2024 campaigns, suddenly found a rallying issue that washed away many of its own internal divisions – at least temporarily.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called out Gov. Greg Abbott again for his stance against banning all THC products in Texas, further muddying what the Legislature will do in the closing days of the special session of the Legislature. And finally, Texas House Democratic Leader Gene Wu on how his recent national media attention has helped illustrate how he’s had to navigate racism and generational norms in the Asian-American community.
(Episode from August 22, 2025)
U.S. Rep. Greg Casar launched his bid for a newly drawn congressional seat Monday.
Kerr County is implementing a multi-phase flood warning system along the Guadalupe River to provide life-saving alerts to residents in flood-prone areas, approved seven weeks after over 100 people were killed in devastating floods.
As measles surged in Texas early this year, the Trump administration’s actions sowed fear and confusion among CDC scientists that kept them from performing the agency’s most critical function — emergency response — when it mattered most. The outbreak soon became the worst the United States has endured in over three decades. (Texas Tribune)
A frustrated Uvalde school board voted Monday night to release thousands more emails and documents related to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting after the firm representing the district admitted to mistakenly releasing only a sample of records earlier this month.
Visitors to Big Bend National Park will have another winter and spring to enjoy the Chisos Basin before it shuts down for a major construction project beginning May 1, 2026, according to the National Park Service. (Chron)
An employee at the Memorial Hermann Medical Center in The Woodlands was recently fired after hospital officials said a recording device was found in a staff bathroom.
SPORTS
Texas Longhorns-Ohio State Preview + Press Conference Reaction | 8/26/25
Colin Cowherd explains why he’s not worried about Arch Manning meeting the moment this season and why he thinks the Texas-Ohio State Top-3 matchup is the biggest regular season college football game in a decade.
MLB: The Houston Astros were off last night while the Texas Rangers had…an off night.
Zach Neto homered on the game’s first pitch and the Los Angeles Angels, with manager Ron Washington present for the first time in more than two months, beat the Texas Rangers and All-Star pitcher Jacob deGrom 4-0 on Monday night. (Yahoo! Sports)
ON THE SCHEDULE
AL WEST STANDINGS
Roanoke, Texas was settled in 1847 by Charles and Matilda Medlin with their ten children, and later named after Roanoke County, Virginia when the Texas and Pacific Railway arrived in 1881, establishing the town’s layout and plots.
