Budget Deal Remains in Flux After Hearings Canceled
UPDATED: The cancellation of two key committee hearings Thursday put into clear focus that budget negotiations, believed to be nearly done just two days earlier, remained ongoing. Full Story
UPDATED: The cancellation of two key committee hearings Thursday put into clear focus that budget negotiations, believed to be nearly done just two days earlier, remained ongoing. Full Story
A bill that would require Texas legislators to submit to drug tests and pass the results to the State Ethics Commission was voted out of the Senate Committee on State Affairs on Thursday. Full Story
UPDATED: A measure targeting a Turkish charter school network was added to major legislation from Senate Education Chairman Dan Patrick that would increase the number of publicly funded, privately operated schools as it passed the Texas House on Thursday, 105-34. Full Story
At Thursday's TribLive conversation, former Assistant Travis County District Attorney Mindy Montford talked about ethics investigations and the deterrent effect of prosecution. Full Story
The cause of the West fertilizer plant explosion that killed 15 people on April 17 has been ruled “undetermined,” officials announced at a press conference in the town's high school parking lot on Thursday. Full Story
On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: Several twists and turns marked Thursday's budget negotiations, and major sticking points remain. Full Story
Medicaid providers would have clearer due process rights during fraud investigations under a measure the House gave tentative approval to on Wednesday. Full Story
Your evening reading: budget negotiations back in limbo; Perry signs Michael Morton Act; senator says Kitzman unlikely to win confirmation Full Story
With exoneree Michael Morton by his side, Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday signed a measure that aims to avoid wrongful convictions by preventing prosecutors from suppressing evidence. Full Story
Two days after an advocate for a bill establishing a commission to review wrongful convictions lashed out at a state senator who voiced opposition to the bill, the measure's Senate sponsor says he doesn't have the votes to move the legislation forward. Full Story
The Texas Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a controversial committee substitute to House Bill 1000, which creates a new university and medical school in the Rio Grande Valley. Full Story
At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, and ethics and campaign finance lawyer Randall "Buck" Wood talked to the Tribune's Ross Ramsey about transparency in political giving. Full Story
Texas provides a looking-glass view of the national picture on the issue of guns — though with its own Texas flavor, of course. Full Story
UPDATED: House lawmakers on Wednesday put their stamp of approval on a measure that would keep the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in business for another 12 years. But they tacked on a few more amendments. Full Story
House Bill 500, the Legislature's most sweeping attempt at reforming the franchise tax this session, was drastically rewritten Thursday morning by its Senate sponsor, state Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy. Full Story
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin professor and expert on Texas oil history on the current fracking boom and how it compares to the great booms of the past, as well as the strange way in which the Railroad Commission came to regulate oil and gas drilling. Full Story
Advocacy groups and business owners urged lawmakers to crack down on companies that misclassify their employees for tax and immigration purposes. But in the final days of the session, the measures have run out of steam. Full Story
In this session's ethics battles, watchdogs say there’s more contradiction than conviction. Full Story
A dispute over permitting in the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation District may foreshadow fights the rest of the state could soon face as crippling drought conditions persist. Full Story
A day after a budget breakthrough appeared imminent, negotiations were thrown back into limbo. Full Story