Aaronson and Murphy visualize what happened to the nearly 5,800 bills introduced in the 82nd Lege, Aaronson, Hasson and Swicegood interactively recap the budget battle, Aguliar on the surge in illegal re-entry cases prosecuted by the Obama administration, Galbraith on a coal plant that wants a water deal from the LCRA, Grissom interviews a man wrongly imprisoned and nearly executed — twice, Hamilton on a controversial UT regent who wants a do-over in the debate over higher ed reform, Ramshaw on the continuing fight over pre-abortion sonograms, Root on Rick Perry’s newsmaking trip to NYC and M. Smith on whether cash-strapped school districts will raise taxes: The best of our best content from June 13 to 17, 2011.
June 2011
Posted inState Government
Perry, Bachmann Buttons Big Sellers in New Orleans
It’s about as unscientific as you can get, but the Rick Perry 2012 button is a hot item at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, where several major presidential contenders are trying to win the who-is-most-conservative contest.
Posted inState Government
Updated: Interactive: Visualizing the 82nd Legislative Session
Lawmakers filed a whopping 5,796 bills during the 82nd legislative session and approved nearly a quarter of them. Use our updated data visualizations to take a closer look at how bills performed in the upper and lower chambers, how each political party and committee fared, and how many bills Gov. Rick Perry vetoed.
Posted in
State Government
2011 Veto Watch: Perry Kills 24 Bills In One Day
The 82nd Legislature has ended its regular session, and that means it’s time time to keep an eye out for the bills Gov. Rick Perry dislikes enough to veto.
Posted in
State Government
Perry Issues Vetoes, Nixes Texting-and-Driving Ban
Gov. Rick Perry gave his seal of disapproval to 24 bills today, two days before the veto deadline for all legislation passed during the regular session. Measures that didn’t meet Perry’s approval include a ban on texting while driving and bills that would continue the operations of two state agencies.
Posted in
Demographics
Feds: Secure Communities Under Review
The controversial Secure Communities initiative, aimed at deporting criminal aliens but criticized for removing mostly minor offenders of lesser crimes, may undergo considerable changes, according to the director of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.
Posted in
Higher Education
On the Records: Higher Ed Quiz Results
Earlier this week, we published a quiz to see if readers could distinguish between comments made about higher education by Gov. Rick Perry, University of Texas President Bill Powers, and others. It turns out: They (sometimes) can’t!
Posted in
Energy
Midland and Odessa Grapple With Water Concerns
In parts of the Permian Basin, less than 0.2 inches of rain has fallen since September. As the drought grows increasingly dire, officials and residents are taking more drastic measures to reduce water use.
Posted in
State Government
Updated: On the Records: Vetoes — Then and Now
The veto deadline for the 82nd legislative session — June 19 — is quickly approaching, and Gov. Rick Perry is expected to announce a slew of vetoes any moment. Explore our latest data visualizations to find out which Texas governors vetoed the most bills during their tenure, and see the total number of vetoes from sessions past.
Posted inState Government
The Midday Brief: June 17, 2011
Your afternoon reading: Perry’s visit to The Wall Street Journal; Obama extends National Guard troop deployments along border; Texas Republicans decide against straw poll