While coastal residents told lawmakers that increasing policy rates are harming the coastal economy, state lawmakers grilled windstorm insurance administrators over money spent on consultants at a legislative hearing Thursday.
Maurice Chammah
Posted in
State Government
Lawmakers Discuss Ways to Fight Prescription Drug Abuse
At a Senate panel hearing Tuesday on prescription drug abuse, doctors called upon the Legislature to provide “better education to physicians” about “how addictive these drugs are.”
Posted in
Public Education
Updated: Lawmakers Discuss School Discipline Methods
At a Tuesday hearing, lawmakers discussed giving more discretion to teachers, law enforcement and judges when it comes to dealing with disciplinary violations at schools.
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Criminal Justice
Supreme Court To Hear Texas Death Row Inmate’s Case
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear the case of Carlos Trevino, who contends that the high court’s decision last year’s to guarantee effective habeas representation should apply in Texas as it does elsewhere.
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State Government
New Parole Rules Sought in Cases That Involved Injury to a Child
Advocates in Houston are hoping to make parole more difficult for anyone convicted of injuring a child. They plan to pursue legislation to allow the Board of Pardons and Paroles to deny reviews of parole eligibility for up to five years in these cases.
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Criminal Justice
In Death Row Inmate’s Case, a Struggle Between Advocates and Lawyers
Preston Hughes III, who faces a Nov. 15 execution date, trusts several advocates without legal training more than his court-appointed attorney. The conflict between advocates and attorneys is not unusual in death penalty cases.
Posted inState Government
A Compilation of Texas Newspaper Endorsements in Key Races
As Election Day nears, editorial boards at newspapers across Texas have begun endorsing candidates. Here’s a list of official endorsements in particularly competitive or noteworthy races. We’ll update the list as endorsements come in.
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Criminal Justice
Willingham’s Family Seeks “Posthumous Pardon”
The surviving relatives of Cameron Todd Willingham have sent an application for pardon, hoping to clear his name eight years after his execution for a 1991 fire that killed his three young children.
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Criminal Justice
Report: More Funding Needed for Mental Health in Juvenile Facilities
A Texas Criminal Justice Coalition report says girls in the juvenile justice system don’t get adequate counseling for past trauma. The Texas Juvenile Justice Department, however, takes issue with some of the report’s conclusions.
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Criminal Justice
Texas High Court Rejects Challenge to Franchise Tax
The Supreme Court of Texas has dismissed a challenge by Nestle Inc. and two other businesses targeting the state’s franchise tax. The court said that the tax squares with the Texas and U.S. constitutions.
