A federal judge has ruled — for the second time — that Texas lawmakers intentionally discriminated against Latino and black voters in passing a strict voter identification law in 2011.
Jim Malewitz
Jim Malewitz was a reporter at the Tribune from 2013 to 2017, covering energy and environment and then working on investigations. Previously, he covered those issues for Stateline, a nonprofit news service in Washington, D.C. The Michigan native majored in political science at Grinnell College in Iowa and holds a master’s from the University of Iowa. There, he helped launch the nonprofit Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism, where he currently serves on the board of directors. Jim also coaches the Texas Tribune Runoffs, which, sources say, is the scrappiest coed newsroom softball team west of the Mississippi.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Years after Rick Perry defunded the Public Integrity Unit, Texas may revive part of it
Texas lawmakers might revive a special prosecuting unit in Travis County — this one only investigating fraud, not corrupt state officials.
Posted in
Economy
Why Texas Ag Chief Sid Miller signed a deal with disputed Israeli settlements
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has opened trade relations with group of Israeli settlements in the West Bank that neither the United States nor the United Nations legally recognizes.
Posted in
Politics
Bills to plug public information “loopholes” breeze through Senate
The legislation pushes back against two 2015 Texas Supreme Court rulings that have enabled private companies involved with government contracts to keep parts of those contracts secret.
Posted in
Politics
Texas Senate tentatively approves voter ID fix
The Texas Senate tentatively approved legislation that would revamp the state’s voter identification rules, a response to court rulings that the current law discriminates against minority voters.
Posted in
Politics
State’s legal foes seek new Texas congressional map for 2018
Groups suing Texas over its political maps have asked a federal court to ensure new congressional districts are drawn ahead of the November 2018 elections.
Posted in
Politics
Rural “school choice” letter campaign sparks confusion, accusations inside Texas Capitol
An advocacy group says thousands of letters sent to rural lawmakers suggests widespread support for legislation that would create education savings accounts. But lawmakers — and some constituents — say the letters are dubious.
Posted in
Economy
Texas Senate passes bill to cut franchise tax paid by businesses — later
The Texas Senate approved legislation Tuesday that aims to eventually slice — and possibly eliminate — the state’s franchise tax, a levy on businesses earnings that’s widely unpopular among the state’s Republican leadership.
Posted in
Energy
By wading into energy policy, did Texas GOP chair break ethics law?
Texas GOP chairman Tom Mechler, an Amarillo oilman, insists that he wasn’t lobbying when he asked the state to intervene in his clients’ dispute with a pipeline giant.
Posted in
Economy
Texas sues feds — including Rick Perry — for failing to license nuclear waste facility
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accuses U.S. agencies of violating federal law by failing to license a nuclear waste repository in Nevada.