State lawmakers have talked a big game this year on transparency and ethics, but with less than a month to go in the 83rd legislative session, the bills they’ve filed haven’t made much progress. Use our interactive to see where they stand.
Emily Ramshaw
Emily Ramshaw was the editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune from 2016 to 2020. During her tenure, the Tribune — billed “one of the nonprofit news sector’s runaway success stories” — won a Peabody Award, several national Murrow Awards and top honors from the Online News Association.
Before joining the Tribune in 2010 as one of its founding reporters, Ramshaw spent six years at The Dallas Morning News, where she broke national stories about sexual abuse inside Texas’ youth lock-ups, reported from inside a West Texas polygamist compound and uncovered “fight clubs” inside state institutions for the disabled. The Texas APME named Ramshaw its 2008 star reporter of the year. In 2016, she was named to the board of the Pulitzer Prizes.
A native of Washington, D.C., and the product of two journalist parents, Ramshaw graduated from Northwestern University in 2003 with dual degrees in journalism and American history.
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Bidness As Usual
Disclosure Bills Get Little Love From Top Leaders
With just four weeks remaining in the legislative session, there has been little to no pressure from the top — including key committee chairs — to pass measures that would force greater transparency upon Texas’ elected officials.
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Energy
Straus: House Will Find Way to Fund Water
UPDATED: The morning after a major bill to authorize spending billions of dollars on state water projects faltered in the House, Speaker Joe Straus’ office released a statement saying he wouldn’t “let a technicality seal the debate.”
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Criminal Justice
Law Enforcement Officials Raise Concerns About Drone Bill
State Rep. Lance Gooden’s bill to prevent unmanned drones from capturing indiscriminate surveillance — a measure that has more than 80 co-authors in the House — is facing opposition from some law enforcement officials.
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Criminal Justice
AG: Domestic Partner Benefits Violate Texas Constitution
The Texas Constitution prohibits government entities from recognizing domestic partnerships and offering those couples insurance benefits, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott wrote in an opinion on Monday.
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State Government
Politics Could Determine Travis County DA’s Future
Democratic Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg’s decision not to resign over her drunken driving conviction may have its roots in party politics; Republican Gov. Rick Perry would get to appoint her replacement.
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Bidness As Usual
Exotic Trips, Luxury Gifts Are Perks of Office
Many lawmakers are quick to name the sacrifices they make to serve. But life in the Lege is not half bad. The perks associated with the job — from exotic trips to luxury gifts — can dramatically augment their lifestyles.
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Energy
Railroad Commission Chairman Apologizes for Retweeting Noose Image
UPDATED: Railroad Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman apologized on Friday for retweeting an image that showed a noose beside the names of Republican U.S. senators who had voted down a gun-control filibuster.
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Health care
For Budget Vote, House Had a Women’s Health Negotiator
One lawmaker is getting much of the credit for restoring family planning funding to the House budget without the usual floor fight: state Rep. Sarah Davis, R-West University Place.
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Economy
Zerwas: House Medicaid Reform Bill Will Incorporate Williams’ Plan
UPDATED: Rep. John Zerwas confirmed Wednesday that he will incorporate into his own Medicaid reform bill a proposal by Sen. Tommy Williams to use premium tax revenue to subsidize private health policies for the uninsured.
