Also, salaries for heads of largest state agencies are lagging and a Texan is poised to become first Latina to lead nation's immigration enforcement agency.
Full StoryCharles Perry gets big bucks from Empower Texans in bid to succeed Robert Duncan while opponent Jodey Arrington collects some checks from some ET enemies.
Full StoryThis week in the Newsreel: it's official — two gubernatorial debates this fall, a federal judge knocks down some of Texas' abortion restrictions and Rick Perry said he does not condone a tweet tweaking Rosemary Lehmberg.
Full StoryFor this week’s nonscientific survey of insiders in Texas government and politics, we asked about a recent ruling that the state’s public school finance system is unconstitutional.
Full Story
Key meetings and events for the coming week.
Full StoryDebates have been scheduled in the gubernatorial contest between Greg Abbott and Wendy Davis — Sept. 30 in Dallas — and in the lieutenant governor contest between Dan Patrick and Leticia Van de Putte — Sept. 29 in Austin. Alas, there's no signs of a debate happening in the race between Ken Paxton and Sam Houston for attorney general.
The legal challenge to the Texas voter ID law kicked off Tuesday in federal court in Corpus Christi. Attorneys for the plaintiffs opened with arguments that the law was aimed at supressing the minority vote. The state's attorneys countered the law was intended to combat voter fraud. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
UT System Regent Wallace Hall said Thursday that he was "comfortable" with his actions being investigated by the Travis County district attorney's office, which has confirmed that it will put the case before a grand jury soon.
A tweet posted by Texas Gov. Rick Perry's Twitter account on Sunday night taunted Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg over her drunken driving arrest. The tweet was quickly taken down and Perry wrote that he did not condone it.
Empower Texans President Michael Quinn Sullivan has asked a district judge in Denton County to take a fresh look at the complaints brought to the Texas Ethics Commission against him two years ago. Yes, he lives in Denton County now.
After a drawn-out competition, Texas has lost out on Tesla Motors' $5 billion lithium-ion battery plant. Texas was one of four states in the running for the plant, which will be built in Nevada.
Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Texas Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.
Larry Miles of Amarillo was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice for a term to expire Feb.1, 2017.
Cindy Ermatinger of Midlothian was named by Perry as judge of the 443rd Judicial District Court in Ellis County effective Sept. 2, 2014, for a term to expire at the next general election.
Carlos Amaral of Plano was named by Perry to the Texas Judicial Council for a term to expire June 30, 2017.
David Russell of Dripping Springs was named by Perry to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct for a term to expire Nov. 19, 2019.
Michael Arambula of San Antonio was named by Perry to be chairman of the Texas Medical Board for a term to expire at the pleasure of the governor. John Guerra of Mission also received an appointment to the board for a term to expire April 13, 2017.
Randy Sweeten of McAllen was named by Perry as presiding officer of the Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2016.
Chris Kirby has hired on as chief of staff for state Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin. He was previously the legislative director for state Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton.
Donnis Baggett, the executive vice president of the Texas Press Association, is the 2014 recipient of the James Madison Award, presented by the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. Baggett focuses on open records and meetings as part of his job leading the TPA's governmental affairs program.
