The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
Animal welfare activists are hoping for a renewed crackdown on illegal cockfighting now that laws passed last legislative session are in effect. Forcing the birds to fight was already illegal; now, it's also against the law to breed the birds or attend a fight. Full Story
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The attorney general is in the happy position of defending redistricting maps that benefit his allies and punish his foes — all in the name of official state business. Full Story
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When is a filing deadline not a filing deadline? When you don't have maps. Full Story
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If you can't hold congressional and legislative primaries on March 6 — because you don't have maps in time — what happens next? Full Story
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The state doesn't have maps for its congressional and legislative districts, throwing the date what was going to be a March 6 primary into question. It seemed like a good time to ask the insiders about this. Full Story
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When will the elections be held? Sometime next year. The dates for the congressional and legislative elections won't be certain until maps have been approved. But candidates are filing, and endorsements haven't stopped. Full Story
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The warning from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was polite but firm: The U.S. Department of Justice will not stand idly by if it feels Texas intends to halt or reverse gains for minority voting rights. Full Story
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The Texas primary elections are still set — precariously — for March 6 but a panel of three federal judges extended the filing deadlines for candidates to Monday. Full Story
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has turned down Texas’ request to run a family planning program that excludes some providers — namely Planned Parenthood. But it approved Texas' request for a waiver to expand Medicaid managed care. Full Story
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After 20 years, Scott Hochberg is bailing out of the Texas Legislature. He’ll get back his nights and weekends. But he also won't be at the Capitol to help sort out education policy and financing. Full Story
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Forget everything. The candidate announcements, the relocations, the decisions not to run again, the who vs. who and the campaign finance. With a Friday night order, the U.S. Supreme Court turned Texas election season into chaos. Full Story
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One question has dominated education conversations in Texas since even before the 2011 legislative session and budget slashing began: How will public schools be affected? The answers are many and varied. Full Story
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In a late Friday afternoon order, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the use of court-drawn maps for legislative and congressional districts in Texas, telling the lawyers involved to be ready for oral arguments next month. Full Story
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State Rep. Geanie Morrison, R-Victoria, won't seek re-election. The seven-term legislator told her hometown paper, the Victoria Advocate, that the court-drawn redistricting maps made another run difficult. Full Story
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Redistricting is right where we left it last week — in the U.S. Supreme Court. Full Story
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So far, 26 members of the Texas House have said they won't seek reelection — 27 if you count Rep. Fred Brown, R-Bryan, who resigned after the legislative session. The list could grow by next Thursday, the deadline for filing for the 2012 elections. And four more incumbents will lose their elections next year — to four incumbents. Full Story
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In this episode of Weekend Insider, Tribune reporter Julian Aguilar discusses immigration and politics, and executive editor Ross Ramsey discusses talks about candidates looking to voters for a second chance. Full Story
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Aaronson maps the growth of poverty in Texas, Aguilar on the suicide of an illegal immigrant, Galbraith on the prospect of more rolling blackouts, Grissom on a prosecutor's memory lapse, Hamilton on the prospect of public universities undergoing a sunset review, Murphy's latest awesome redistricting interactive, Ramsey on a stumbling start to the 2012 election season, Root on Rick Perry's latest populist tirade, M. Smith on the boom in for-profit teacher certification programs and Tan on the fight against cervical cancer in ... Africa: The best of our best content from November 28 to December 2, 2011. Full Story
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Redistricting. It's a long process all about drawing lines that determine elections and which political party is in power in Texas. Months after the Legislature established its maps, it's still not clear who Texans will be voting for in next year's congressional and state House and Senate races. The Trib's Thanh Tan and Ross Ramsey explain why. Full Story
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The Legislature's foremost expert on school finance and one of its top public education advocates, state Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, confirmed this afternoon that he won't seek re-election next year. Full Story