Daily Briefing: Sunday, November 8, 2026

Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa has pledged to end the state’s $1 billion school voucher program, which this year let roughly 110,000 Texas students attend private schools with state money, but eliminating it would take legislative action, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica reported Saturday. State Rep. Diego Bernal of San Antonio said the program “will be probably unrecognizable, if not extinct, by the time we’re done with it.” Comptroller-elect Sarah Eckhardt said she plans to audit how the program’s money is spent and release more of its data to the public.

The U.S. Justice Department filed Friday night to join the Texas lawsuit accusing Planned Parenthood of Medicaid fraud, a 2021 case brought by an anonymous plaintiff and joined by Attorney General Ken Paxton, Reuters reported. The suit seeks to recover money the group collected from the Texas and Louisiana Medicaid programs after both states cut off its funding, plus penalties. Planned Parenthood denies the claims and has said a loss would force it to shut down in Texas.

Republicans lost the Tarrant County Commissioners Court and the county judge’s seat on Tuesday and no longer run county government in any of the state’s five largest urban counties, The Texas Tribune reported. City and county officials are drawing up requests for the next Legislature, but the state laws limiting local authority stay on the books, and Republicans still hold a majority in the Texas Senate.

Returning members and members-elect of the 90th Legislature can begin filing bills Monday, November 9. Prefiling in Texas opens the first Monday after the general election in even-numbered years, according to the Texas Legislative Reference Library. The regular session convenes January 12, 2027.

Premier Danielle Smith defended the cost of the October 19 referendum on her call-in radio show Saturday, CityNews Calgary reported. Elections Alberta has put the cost of the vote at about $84 million, CityNews reported Friday.

The British government’s Cabinet Office has admitted in response to a Freedom of Information request that it has conducted polling on Scottish independence since Andy Burnham became prime minister, but has refused to release the results or the cost, The National reported Saturday. Members of the Scottish National Party (SNP) demanded the findings be published in full.

A Bexar County team from the Texas Nationalist Movement (TNM) holds the Alamo Memorial March at 6:30 PM Saturday, November 14, at the Alamo in San Antonio, according to the TNM calendar.