Category: State News

A memo obtained by The Texas Tribune instructs DPS officers to cite and release suspects in misdemeanor marijuana cases “as appropriate.” Officials said the goal is to continue enforcement even though some prosecutors aren’t taking new pot cases.

Police have identified and apprehended the sick-licker, but will not name her because she turns out to be a minor. Before they realized she was a teenager, police warned they had planned to arrest her on a charge of second-degree felony tampering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail. But… “Because she is a juvenile offender, her identity is protected under section 58.104 of the Texas Family Code,” Lufkin Police Department spokesperson Jessie Pebsworth said.”The case will be turned over to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday signed a sweeping new law that aims to protect free speech on college campuses across the Lone Star state.

Starting in September, Texans under 18 years old will no longer be able to buy popular over-the-counter cough medicines like NyQuil and Robitussin under a bill Gov. Greg Abbott signed earlier this month.

The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners — responsible for licensing plumbers and enforcing plumbing law — was caught up in a legislative fiasco with lawmakers twice failing to pass the legislation that would have kept it going. It was also not saved via legislation known as a “sunset safety net bill” that lawmakers pass each legislative session to keep a long list of state agencies from shutting down. The plumbers board is now heading toward what’s known as a “wind down” period, which gives it until Sept. 1, 2020, to wrap up its operations. The plumbing code, which regulates everything from plumbers’ insurance to the standards they must follow, expires in September, (but individual municipalities can and will likely still regulate plumbers under local regulations).