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News For January, 2011

  • Permitting Paralysis?

    By Kate Galbraith

    The politics and rhetoric of the Environmental Protection Agency's multi-front battle with Texas make for a grand spectacle. Behind the scenes, however, there are signs that big industrial plants are trying to move past the stalemate on their own, talking with federal regulators and, in some cases, preparing to meet the demands of the agency. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • Losing Dependence

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Federal health care reform’s biggest benefit for young adults — a mandate that insurance providers cover dependents until they reach age 26 — won’t apply to thousands of 25-year-old Texans for one simple reason: Their parents work for the state. The federal rule, which went into effect in late September, required all insurance providers to extend their cap to 26 at the start of their next “plan year.” For many private providers, that began Jan. 1. But the Texas Employees Retirement System plan year doesn't begin until next September, meaning 5,500 25-year-olds will miss out. Full Story 

    Kace Layton, 25, on the Texas State University campus in San Marcos. Layton was dropped from his grandmother's state insurance plan on his last birthday, even though federal health care reform expanded dependent coverage until age 26.
    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • The Weekly TribCast: Episode 62

    By Elise Hu

    In our session kickoff edition of the TribCast, Ross, Elise, Ben and Reeve discuss the state's budget morass, so-called "sanctuary city" legislation and their impressions of the newly sworn-in Texas Legislature. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Fake Pot Ban Could Go Statewide

    By Julián Aguilar

    State Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, announced Wednesday she had filed legislation to make the sale, manufacture and possession of fake marijuana, commonly referred to as K2, illegal. The bill, SB 331, would outlaw six synthetic compounds that mimic the effects of THC, or Tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana. Full Story 

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    Credit: prensa420 (Flickr)

  • Texplainer: What's an Emergency Item?

    By Ross Ramsey

    Ever hear something about Texas politics or policy and wonder what it is? Or read something that made you think, "I have no idea what that means"? We're here to help. From questions about why Rick Perry is within his legal right to shoot a coyote while jogging to what the heck "chubbing" is, Texplainer will answer your burning questions. Today: "What's a Legislative emergency item?" Full Story 

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  • Perry Pressed on "Sanctuary Cities"

    By Elise Hu

    Gov. Rick Perry wants an end to "sanctuary cities," but in a press conference Wednesday morning, he didn't name specific cities he wants Texas lawmakers to target. Nor did he address whether the Department of Public Safety's policy of state troopers not inquiring about the immigration status of people they pull over should be changed. Full Story 

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  • TribBlog: Youth Justice Merger?

    By Aziza Musa

    The Sunset Advisory Commission today unanimously recommended consolidating the Texas Youth Commission and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission into one single youth justice division. Full Story 

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    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • Branch: Higher Ed Cuts Unavoidable

    By Elise Hu

    As state leaders grapple with a budget shortfall that could be as high as $27 billion, state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, who chaired the House Higher Education Committee in 2009, offers up some possible cuts to higher education. Full Story 

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  • Slideshow: The First Day

    By Reeve Hamilton

    Opening day of the 82nd Legislative Session was heavy on pomp and circumstance and light on substance. But, amid the hand shaking and picture taking and protesting Tea Partiers, there was business to be done. Full Story 

    The Capital at dawn opening day of the 82nd legislative session on January 11, 2011.
    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • He Sells Sanctuary

    By Elise Hu

    Gov. Rick Perry has designated the elimination of "sanctuary city" policies as one of the 82nd legislative session's emergency items — but as the Tribune has noted repeatedly in the last year, the state's in no position to throw stones. Full Story 

    Perry Speaks on the First Day of Session 2011
    Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera

  • Dropping a Dime

    By Brandi Grissom

    Texas prisoners have made and received more than 4.7 million telephone calls and sent and received 1.8 million e-mails since 2009, when the state became the last in the nation to allow inmates phone and e-mail use. But all those calls and messages haven’t generated the amount of revenue the state expected. The issue is balancing greater access for prisoners and their friends and family and the need to ensure security. Full Story 

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    Credit: Todd Wiseman

  • Dream Deferred?

    By Erika Aguilar, KUT News

    College students who would have benefited from federal passage of the DREAM Act, which would have provided a pathway to citizenship for certain illegal immigrants, are turning their attention to the Texas Legislature. As Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, protesters rallied at the Capitol on Tuesday against a number of immigration bills lawmakers will consider. Full Story 

    Demonstrators march through the streets of downtown Dallas in 2010 to protest the passage of Arizona's controversial new immigration law.
    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller