Senate Passes Prosecutor Accountability Bill
The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that attempts to bring more accountability to prosecutors who are accused of withholding evidence in cases that result in a wrongful conviction. Full Story
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Legislators Take Up Windstorm Insurance Reform Bills
Legislators, coastal residents and insurance leaders agree it will take a dynamic approach to reform the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. The Senate Business and Commerce Committee discussed four TWIA bills Tuesday. Full Story
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Feds Approve New Vaccine Facility in Bryan-College Station
The federal government has approved a $91 million influenza-vaccine manufacturing facility based in the Bryan-College Station area to be run by the Texas A&M University System and pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. Full Story
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Bickering Erupts at Railroad Commission Meeting
A day before a major legislative hearing about the future of the Railroad Commission, interpersonal tensions between the three commissioners boiled over at an open meeting. The commissioners also voted to approve new rules to make recycling oilfield wastewater easier. Full Story
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![The Texas Railroad Commission, comprised of Chairman Barry T. Smitherman (center), and commissioners David Porter (left) and Christi Craddick (right) hold an open meeting in Austin, Texas on Jan. 15, 2013.]()
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Inside Intelligence: About Those Term Limits...
For this week's nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about term limits for statewide officials, for legislators and members of Congress, and whether officeholders should receive lifetime pensions for 10-12 years of service. Full Story
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Guest Column: Texas Leads in Testing, but Not in Education
Texas outspends every state in the nation on testing and leads in the number of tests it requires students to pass to graduate from high school. But that has not translated to a lead in students' education performance. Full Story
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Guest Column: Education in Wonderland
Getting rid of standardized tests in public education would make it impossible to find out whether students have mastered the basics or acquired the skills necessary for success. Tests are the best way to measure results for students. Full Story
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Moody to Present One-Way Discovery Measure
State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, on Tuesday plans to present a revised version of his criminal discovery bill that would require only prosecutors to disclose information in criminal trials. Full Story
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The Polling Center: Texans' View of Gay Marriage Shifts
While the country has been jogging toward its new position on gay marriage, polling numbers show Texans appear to have been moseying along in the same direction. Full Story
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![Brian Stephens, left, and Andy Miller with their son, Clark, on Jan. 21, 2013, in Austin.]()
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Hot Seat: A Conversation with Fraser and King
At last Friday's Hot Seat conversation at Abilene Christian University, state Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, and state Rep. Susan King, R-Abilene, talked about public education, health care, water, the state budget and other issues in play in the 83rd session. Full Story
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Judicial Donations Raise Questions of Partiality
Texas Supreme Court justices are elected by voters, and the campaign contributions they receive from law firms with an interest in their decisions have caused some to worry that justice is for sale. Full Story
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Battle Lines Forming as Texas House Tackles Education Testing Bill
As House lawmakers prepare for their first major education policy debate, they have pre-filed 165 amendments. Supporters of reform say the current system is too restrictive, but opponents worry proposed changes could reverse advancements. Full Story
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Transparency Bills Draw Strange Bedfellows
This session’s effort to make state government more transparent and ethical — spearheaded by some of the Legislature’s most conservative members and its most liberal ones — has attracted the strangest of bedfellows. Full Story
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Lawmaker Hopes to Boost Hispanic Civic Engagement
In an attempt to increase civic participation among the state's growing Hispanic population, state Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, has filed a bill to make legislative information from the state House available on the internet in Spanish. Full Story
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The Brief: March 26, 2013
One of the biggest Supreme Court cases in years has cast a cloud of uncertainty over the fate of gay marriage bans still in place throughout most of the country, including Texas. Full Story
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Board Tables Proposal to Put TWIA Into Receivership
The board of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association voted on Monday to table a proposal by Texas Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman that would essentially declare the agency bankrupt. Full Story
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The Evening Brief: March 25, 2013
Your evening reading: women's coalition wins federal family planning money; House adopts rule restricting budget amendments; Senate OKs Medicaid overhaul Full Story
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Legislator: Regent Behavior "Inconsistent" With Statute
The Texas Education Code lays out the state's expectations for regents of public university systems, and state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, is now questioning whether the University of Texas System board is living up to them. Full Story
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![Sen. Judith Zaffirini D-Laredo, peeks over stack of binders at her desk during discussion of budget bill SB1 on March 20th, 2013]()
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Women's Coalition Gets Federal Money State Vied For
The federal government has awarded family planning dollars that used to go into state coffers to a coalition of Texas women's health providers instead. Full Story
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Agenda Texas: Water Bill Hits the House Floor
On today's Agenda Texas from KUT News: Bills are flying out of committee and onto the House and Senate floor. This week the House will take up legislation that would fund the state's water plan with $2 billion from the Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Ed Schipul
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