The new law is a reminder that journalistic impact can take years, sometimes decades, to bear fruit. And also a reminder to support your daily newspaper!

The Austin American-Statesman investigation found state regulators hadn't levied fines despite failing inspections and that Texas spent far less than other states. While Michigan spent $1.1 million in 2015, Texas spent less than $2,500 on housing inspections.

The bill's analysis cites the Austin American-Statesman's 2016 investigation into farmworker housing, which found migrant agricultural workers "subjected to inhumane living conditions" like shipping containers and homes flooded with sewage.

In one of the more surprising moves of the just completed legislative session, Texas lawmakers significantly increased oversight and inspections of migrant farmworker housing, the culmination of nearly a decade of legislative attempts sparked by a 2016 Austin American-Statesman investigation.

Here are the lines in the "Teaching" textbook that came under scrutiny in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD:

For example, a teacher at a nearby religious school with no children in the district complained that a children’s biography of acclaimed Black poet @amandagorman.bsky.social , had “traces of CRT.” Administrators pulled the book from the purchase list.

Fantastic digging into the locations of the mostly secretive Texas state border wall. The resulting graphics are pretty amazing: apps.texastribune.org/features/202...