@MorrisReports

@HoustonChron Deputy Texas Editor • Former @dallasnews @ConMonitorNews.

 Austin, TX
Joined April 2011
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Allie Morris retweeted
Lawrence Mower
@lmower316h
After my story last week about TX Comptroller @DonHuffines withholding data on the school voucher program, he announced a new "transparency tool." It will release more data than previously, but apparently won't include school-by-school or vendor-by-vendor spending info.
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Texas has earmarked $1B to its private school voucher program, but is refusing to say where the money is going and making it impossible to know which schools and vendors are profiting from the state funds, @lmower3 reports. #txlege houstonchronicle.com/politic…

Texas won’t name the private schools and vendors profiting from state vouchers

Families have spent more than $270 million of the state voucher funds. The Texas Comptroller won't disclose where the money has gone. 

houstonchronicle.com
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It wasn’t just Cody Campbell. Several Texas Tech donors gave big to @KenPaxtonTX’s campaign as the Republican defended ex-QB Brendan Sorsby, @caseyrmurray reports #txlege houstonchronicle.com/politic…

Texas Tech donors gave big to Ken Paxton as he defended ex-QB Brendan Sorsby

Paxton intervened in the betting scandal surrounding quarterback Brendan Sorsby after Texas Tech Chairman Cody Campbell made a hefty donation to his campaign.

houstonchronicle.com
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Gov. Greg Abbott plans to appoint Robert Howden, his senior adviser, to succeed Jane Nelson as Texas’ next Secretary of State, @haajrahgilani & @benwermund report #txlege expressnews.com/politics/art…

Greg Abbott appoints longtime adviser Robert Howden as secretary of state

Howden, a close ally of the governor's, will take over for Jane Nelson just months ahead of this year’s high-stakes midterm election.

expressnews.com
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Allie Morris retweeted
Isaac Yu@isaacyu_Jun 26
NEW: I compiled the final required reading list approved by @TXSBOE by a 9-5 vote. Check it out here: #txed houstonchronicle.com/project…

See the Bible verses and books Texas students will now be required to read

The State Board of Education on Friday approved a first-of-its-kind reading list, which lays out dozens of books, Bible verses and stories that every public school student in Texas will have to read.

houstonchronicle.com
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Allie Morris retweeted
Neena Satija@neenareportsJun 15
A stunning update to this story today: @KUT general manager @dhiott has been fired by @UTAustin following a dispute over the station's inaugural spring festival. Here's our story, which will be updated: kut.org/education/2026-06-15… Context here: kut.org/education/2026-04-30…

UT Austin leadership fires KUT General Manager Debbie Hiott

The decision was effective immediately, according to Anita L. Vangelisti, the interim dean of the Moody College of Communication at UT. An interim general manager would be named as soon as Tuesday,...

kut.org
Neena Satija@neenareportsApr 30
NEW: This evening, @UTAustin general counsel sent a harsh letter to @KUT general manager @dhiott about the last-minute changes the university ordered the station to make to its inaugural festival. Here’s a copy of the letter, which the university shared with me. 1/4
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Allie Morris retweeted
Bayliss Wagner
@baylisswagnerMay 12
NEW: Texas AG Ken Paxton sued Dem fundraising giant ActBlue last month while complaints about the platform he personally uses, WinRed, piled up in his own office, per records we obtained. Some donors say they lost thousands to recurring charges they never meant to authorize.🧵
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On the Texas Take, Jeremy Wallace interviews RNC chair Joe Gruters about the GOP’s midterm strategy. Gruters says Republicans must defy history to hold control of Congress. He points to Texas as a key battleground in that effort. 🔗bit.ly/4c6Xmm8
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Allie Morris retweeted
Bayliss Wagner
@baylisswagnerApr 6
Tony Gonzales asked a staffer for nude photos more than 12 times in 3 days during his 2020 congressional campaign, persisting each time she demurred. "I know what I want and I won't stop until I get it," the future Congressman said at one point. expressnews.com/politics/art…

Tony Gonzales asked campaign aide for nude photos, sex in 2020, new texts show

Text messages show the married San Antonio congressman asked a subordinate for sex and nude photos years before his 2024 affair with Regina Santos-Aviles.

expressnews.com
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Just when you thought you’d heard it all in Texas politics… This Democrat won a Texas House primary race he thought he dropped out of. Now the party wants him off the ballot. Sound simple? Think again. houstonchronicle.com/news/po…

This Texas Democrat won a race he thought he dropped out of. Now what?

The bizarre outcome has thrown what would have been a low-profile race into chaos. It's unclear who will face state Rep. Ellen Troxclair in November.

houstonchronicle.com
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Allie Morris retweeted
Bayliss Wagner
@baylisswagnerMar 5
Months after he said rumors that he was sleeping with his staffer were false, and 2 weeks after we first reported evidence that it happened, Rep. Tony Gonzales admits to the affair. He does not, however, own up to lying about it: youtube.com/watch?v=tP9nYoGF…

Tony Gonzales Gives First Public Answer on Aide Affair Allegations

Congressman Tony Gonzales speaks publicly for the first time about ...

youtube.com
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Allie Morris retweeted
Ben Wermund@benwermundFeb 23
New: A state trooper, who is the son of Texas DPS director Freeman Martin, was suspended for 15 days without pay after he blew through a red light and seriously injured a bystander during a high-speed chase in Austin last year. houstonchronicle.com/politic…

Exclusive: DPS director’s son suspended for 15 days following Austin crash

State trooper Freeman Hunter Martin was put on leave in October after a June crash, in which agency reports show he blew through a red light and hit a bystander's car.

houstonchronicle.com
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Allie Morris retweeted
Bayliss Wagner
@baylisswagnerFeb 19
BREAKING: Adrian Aviles broke months of silence on his wife's affair w/ Rep. @TonyGonzales4TX, R-San Antonio, today after we reported on a text message acknowledging the affair. In an exclusive interview w/ @nancypjohnson, he said his wife showed him graphic texts w/ the rep 🧵
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NEW: An Austin jury has found the Texas Department of Public Safety liable for racial harassment of two of its officers and awarded them nearly $1.7 million in damages. houstonchronicle.com/politic…

Texas DPS found liable for racial discrimination against two troopers

The officers sued the Texas Department of Public Safety in 2020, claiming it had failed to investigate their complaints.

houstonchronicle.com
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Allie Morris retweeted
Bayliss Wagner
@baylisswagnerFeb 5
NEW: Spending has blown way past $3 million in the GOP primary battle between state Rep. @LaHood4Texas & his TLR-backed challenger @DavidMcArthurTX, per my analysis of new campaign finance filings. Some revelations from my story on the brutal #txlege showdown…🧵
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ICYMI: @isaacyu_ found not a single Islamic school has been allowed into Texas’ voucher program. @KHancock4TX has sought to keep out schools with ties to CAIR. But Isaac and @eliz_sander talked to 3 schools that said they had no ties and no info about why they’re blocked.
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Read their reporting here: houstonchronicle.com/politic… And keep following them for more reporting on the state voucher rollout. Student applications opened Wednesday. #txlege

Texas voucher applications are open. These schools are still left out.

None of the roughly 25 accredited Islamic-oriented private schools in Texas are included in the program. 

houstonchronicle.com
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Allie Morris retweeted
Isaac Yu@isaacyu_Feb 4
That means per our analysis none of the roughly 25 accredited Muslim-serving priv schools in TX are now in the program. Some say it's religious discrimination. houstonchronicle.com/politic…

Texas voucher applications are open. These schools are still left out.

None of the roughly 25 accredited Islamic-oriented private schools in Texas are included in the program. 

houstonchronicle.com
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Allie Morris retweeted
Isaac Yu@isaacyu_Feb 4
Two stories from me and @eliz_sander for @HoustonChron on how Texas' voucher/ESA rollout day 1 went, quick #txed🧵:
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NEW: Bible passages could become required reading for all Texas public students under a proposal from TEA Reporting from @isaacyu_ houstonchronicle.com/politic… #txlege

Texas could become first state to require Bible readings in all public schools

The proposal, which is set to receive a preliminary vote as early as next week, is part of a novel push to mandate texts at every grade level.

houstonchronicle.com
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