The Teacher Retirement System of Texas – the state's largest public retirement system – expects its health insurance program to become insolvent in the 2016 fiscal year. Lawmakers on the Senate's budget-writing committee promised to keep the fund afloat. Full Story
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Reeve, Terri, Emily and Evan dive into the ongoing scandals at the state's Health and Human Services Commission, including the purchase of $2,800 executive chairs and roughly 300 high-dollar badges. And they also discuss the politics of vaccines. Full Story
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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is refusing to cede the argument many of his likely Republican presidential rivals are making: that governors are better equipped than legislators to be commander in chief. Full Story
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Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation and Xerox surprised senators Wednesday by reporting that 30,000 drivers with valid TxTag accounts were erroneously mailed bills for using the state’s toll roads. Full Story
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Months after three people in Texas were diagnosed with Ebola, several key state lawmakers on Wednesday proposed ways to prepare the state for the next disease-related emergency. Full Story
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The multimillion-dollar influx of state police on the border is stemming the tide of illegal immigration, but parts of the operation are largely inefficient, the state’s top law enforcement officer told the House budget-writing committee. Full Story
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Education Commissioner Michael Williams said Wednesday that the state does not have the authority to satisfy federal officials’ desire for a more overarching system. Full Story
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A proposal from state lawmakers to sell off part or all of the Texas School for the Deaf, a 150-year-old facility in Austin located on prime real estate, has stirred anger and anxiety among alumni and supporters. Full Story
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Anger boiled over at a town hall meeting Tuesday night as Hays County residents decried a company's plan to pump and sell millions of gallons of groundwater. The heated dispute foreshadows more to come in a growing state that's running out of water. Full Story
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The U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking program — a component of the North American Free Trade Agreement — is moving forward. Proponents say it will add to Texas' prosperous trade relationship with Mexico. But union groups have some concerns. Full Story
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In this week's edition of the Trib+Water newsletter: Researchers test plants' resistance to drought, cities get creative when water is scarce and an interview with Todd Caldwell of the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
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The Tribune's Terri Langford has uncovered a new problem with the no-bid Medicaid fraud software contract awarded to 21CT by the Health and Human Services Commission. Full Story
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When the Texas Health and Human Services Commission asked the federal government for $18 million to foot most of the bill for new Medicaid fraud tracking software, it assured Washington counterparts the deal had been competitively bid. That was not true. Full Story
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State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, a leading advocate of ethics reform in the notoriously unrestrained Texas Legislature, filed legislation Tuesday designed to shed more light on lawmakers who make money off of government contracts. Full Story
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A federal audit found that former U.S. House Rep. Francisco "Quico" Canseco's 2010 campaign accepted $100,000 worth of “prohibited contributions from a foreign national corporation” during his 2010 campaign. Full Story
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One of the Tribune's original and most entrepreneurial reporters, Reeve Hamilton, is leaving us — and journalism. We'll miss him a lot (but will continue to harass him daily). Full Story
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Emblems of Jack Stick’s days as the state health agency's deputy inspector general remain: roughly 300 high-dollar badges he designed and ordered for his investigators at a cost to taxpayers of $36,000. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Tuesday that drug cartels are ramping up efforts as the Texas National Guard is preparing to leave the Rio Grande Valley next month. He's hoping to extend the Guard's presence in the region. Full Story
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Texas and the 33 other states that refused to set up their own insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act are especially vulnerable to an impending U.S. Supreme Court decision. Full Story
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A handful of former HHSC employees are suing for wrongful termination in the aftermath of revelations over the awarding of a no-bid Medicaid fraud contract. Full Story
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