The governor told a press gaggle today that the Senate budget vote is a “step in right direction” — and that big-city police chiefs who oppose sanctuary city legislation must not have been listening last Election Day.
May 2011
Posted inState Government
The Midday Brief: May 5, 2011
Your afternoon reading: Obama to stop in El Paso before Austin visit next week; conservative think tank launches budget ads; Down syndrome group wants abortion sonogram change
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Senate Approves Rape Kit Testing Bill
Some of the thousands of untested rape kits lining evidence storage room shelves statewide would finally get testing under a bill the Texas Senate approved today.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Juvenile Justice Merger Heads to Governor
A bill to merge Texas’ two state juvenile justice agencies is headed to the governor for a signature.
Posted in
State Government
Video: David Barton on The Daily Show
On last night’s episode of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart interviewed the former Texas GOP vice chairman and State Board of Education curriculum expert.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: May 5, 2011
Democrats — stripped of power on Wednesday after Republicans skirted a Senate procedural tradition — may now be shut out of the budget debate entirely.
Posted in
Economy
Procedural Move Allows GOP to Pass Senate Budget
The $176 billion budget was approved along party lines, with all 19 Republicans voting for it and all 12 Democrats voting against.
Posted in
Health care
Bills Targeting Teen Pregnancy Making Little Headway
According to researchers, Texas taxpayers would save about $57 million per year if the state cut its teen birth rate. But as Gretch Sanders of KUT News reports, proposed legislation to curb the state’s teen pregnancy problem — and save taxpayer dollars — hasn’t gotten much traction.
Posted in
Demographics
Will E-Verify Legislation Still Pass This Session?
Despite a bevy of bills filed this session that would require Texas employers to use the federal electronic verification system known as E-Verify, the legislation has, so far, failed to advance out of committee — and the clock is winding down.
Posted inState Government
Video: 2011 Membership Drive — Our Impact
Ever wonder how many stories, videos and blog posts we’ve published and how many people have come to the site and the number of pages they’ve viewed since the Trib launched 18 months ago? The short answer: a lot.