On this week’s TribCast, Ross talks to Emma, Aliyya and Edgar about Sen. Angela Paxton's controversial bill that could impact her husband, efforts to get property tax legislation passed, a status check on the promised school finance bill and bidding out the state's data storage to private companies. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a730116c669ffbe766c5c2aad64897b9/TribCast_2_14_19_LS_TT.jpg)
The Environmental Defense Fund concluded that oil producers burned off more natural gas than they reported to the state. But Texas officials expressed skepticism of those findings during a state Senate hearing Wednesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6862d6804cdfb3a038e00efab581f3dc/gas_flare_night_w_equipment_JF_TT.jpg)
The chairs of two House committees signed on as joint authors of a bill that would set the method of determining if a capital murder defendant is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for execution. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/83ab40d4b03ab90c4e6a7f70a3740b08/US_Supreme_Court_Sunset)
Sometimes, the way around the established traditions of the Texas Senate is to be found in the least obvious place: the Senate's own rulebook. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/35a407f7d05a5e64faad232d84ed4796/01_Texas_Senate_Floor_MG.jpg)
Several government entities — from appraisal districts to city councils — play independent roles that collectively determine how much money Texas landowners owe local governments each year. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4cb5621a1321941aca5f8d0b30d6a83b/share-art.png)
The former congressman and U.S. Senate nominee is still hoping to make up his mind about the presidential race by the end of the month — which is nine days away. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/dd0604142ddf2b0bb82e01dd0abf44c1/04_Beto_El_Paso_Feb_19_JS.jpg)
An assistant attorney general said counties should have reviewed their lists of flagged voters to determine whether they had reason to believe the voters were ineligible before requiring them to prove their citizenship. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/572864b99c717442e27462f6a5ced00a/Early_Voting_San_Marcos_MC_TT.jpg)
Weeks after state leaders trumpeted a consensus property tax reform proposal, few seem married to the bill's pitch to cut the rollback rate to 2.5 percent. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2ecb09a0f7ec0c13e845f652d170ba92/01_Abbott_Bonnen_Patrick_Property_Tax_Presser_MG.jpg)
A recent in-custody death report said an inmate died from hyperthermia in July, but Texas prison officials said he was in an air-conditioned cell. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8e097f8701df854bfbaae3bf73638feb/01_Brazoria_County_Prison_JM.jpg)
Property taxes are one of three main sources of revenue for community colleges. If growth in those taxes is limited, the colleges say they may have to look elsewhere for revenue. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/157dbd5e021780130f55b3ad421776bb/02_ACC_Riverside_Community_College_MG.jpg)
This time, the majority of the justices said Moore has shown he is intellectually disabled. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/72135637681bc1a801980c2e4196b39d/DONT%20USE%20Bobby%20Moore%20SCOTUS%20BW.jpg)
In hopes of saving money on data storage, legislators are considering downsizing the state's data centers and relying more on private tech companies. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/1de3918d0b79a4780153250c717bdf04/iStock_Server_room_TT.jpg)
The 45-year-old undocumented immigrant is the third person to die in the agency's custody since December. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/12/27/Border_Wall_7_CR_TT.jpg)
A makeshift immigrant shelter on the Texas-Mexico border will close this week after hundreds of Central Americans housed there believed they could ask for asylum in the U.S. Now it's unclear if they'll get that chance. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7de0fa9b3a034af2c7a6096f7cfe3623/11_Piedras_Negras_Shelter_Second_Visit_MG.jpg)
Texas legislators are filing more property tax bills — several of which would require approval from voters. Among other things, that could shift any blame for new taxes away from lawmakers. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/02/24/PropertyTax-DollarSigns.jpg)
Billed as a consumer-protection effort, the proposal would allow approved individuals to serve as investment advisers without registering with the state board — a felony under Texas law that Ken Paxton was charged with in 2015. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2ef684d9076a7e75c517ccc6f4583f80/Angela_Paxton_LS_TT.jpg)
In far South Texas, federal contractors are preparing to break ground on 33 miles of new fencing that Congress authorized last year. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/31ae0da26068f095d86ae8ef24a6a9aa/01_Naida_Alvarez_MKC_TT.jpg)
As the president declares a national emergency to get more money for a border barrier, it's worth taking a look at what happened last time the government took private land along the Rio Grande. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/12/13/Construction_Border_Fence_BD_TT.jpg)
Democrats have called the declaration "unlawful." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4d067a966181e975e35568c302d41197/Trump_emergency_declaration_REUTERS.JPG)
Average Texans and lawmakers alike are going back to the basics on school finance, as the state Legislature prepares to tackle a longstanding challenge. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/92fb6fa53510c8963f0919d780552707/CCR_9833_CR_TT.jpg)