The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
For the seventh consecutive decade, Texas will gain seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the decennial apportionment process, which means extra clout after the 2012 elections. With Republicans in control of redrawing the state's congressional districts — and adding the four new seats — they stand to benefit the most. Full Story
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Cockfighting in Texas has been illegal for decades, but a lengthy Humane Society investigation uncovered more than a dozen active rings throughout the state. What's not illegal is raising fighting game cocks, attending a cockfight or possessing paraphernalia related to cock fights — such as gaffs, the razor blades owners strap to the birds' legs to make them even more lethal. Animal rights activists came close in the last legislative session to getting such activities criminalized, which they say is critical to putting an end to cockfighting. They plan to try again next year. Full Story
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The Tribune's cameras accompanied Dallas police officers as they broke up a cockfight in North Texas. Warning: This footage contains graphic images of abused animals. Full Story
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The Humane Society's hidden camera goes inside a Texas cockfight. Warning: This footage contains graphic images of animal abuse. Full Story
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Lawmakers will spend the next six months drawing political maps for Texas, doing their decennial readjustment to make sure each district has the same number of people. But when they’re done, some parts of the state will still get more political attention than others, and the voters have only themselves to blame. Full Story
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For our final TribCast taping of 2010, we offer Texas political predictions for 2011. Full Story
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Texas won big Tuesday with the release of 2010 census data. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune takes a look at the numbers, which will have legislators redrawing state maps to add four new congressional seats. Full Story
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After a recount affirming his loss to state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, former University of Texas lineman Dan Neil has asked that the Texas House settle the election’s outcome. What happens now? Full Story
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Texas won big Tuesday with the release of 2010 census data. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune takes a look at the numbers, which will have legislators redrawing state maps to add four congressional seats. Full Story
Add four East Texas state representatives to Rep. Ken Paxton's list, bringing the McKinney Republican closer to a dozen-and-a-half votes in his quest for 76. Paxton is challenging Speaker Joe Straus for the top job. Full Story
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The next speaker of the Texas House should be chosen by the Republican Caucus instead of the full House, says state Rep. Warren Chisum, and he has prepared a letter with 10 signatures that he says will force a caucus vote. Full Story
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The president of Texans for Lawsuit Reform on why the group spends spend so much money on state elections, what it still wants from the Legislature, what he thinks the trial lawyers on the other side are after and what's wrong with the Democrats these days. Full Story
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Republican Dan Neil will take his battle for a Travis County seat in the Legislature to the full House to decide. Full Story
For this week's installment of our nonscientific survey of political and policy insiders on issues of the moment, we asked whether more House members will change parties, how switchers should make the change and whether (and which) Republicans will peel off to vote with the Democratic minority during the coming legislative session. Full Story
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Now that state Reps. Allan Ritter of Nederland and Aaron Peña of Edinburg have ditched the Democrats, attention turns to how they'll hold on to their seats. The former is following a time-tested strategy that has worked for others. The latter is challenging political history. Full Story
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Three years after a crackdown that resulted in federal conspiracy charges against Laredo's former police chief, the city's electronic gaming parlors are back — most tucked in nondescript strip malls. Their resurgence owes to their popularity, says state Rep. Richard Peña Raymond, D-Laredo, who has offered a solution: Let the voters decide. Full Story
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Ramsey on what a GOP supermajority means, Ramshaw on a crime victim not eligible for crime victims' compensation, M. Smith on grave matters and state regulation, Hamilton on the college pipeline at San Antonio's Jefferson High, Hu on a senator's anticlimactic return, Grissom on the coming closure of juvenile lockups, Aguilar on the return of residents to their drug-war-torn Mexican town, Galbraith on next session's energy agenda, Philpott on the legal fight over federal health care reform and Stiles on the travel expenses of House members: The best of our best from Dec. 13 to 17, 2010. Full Story
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After the election last month, state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, promised to start a Tea Party Caucus in the Texas Legislature. Today, Patrick has the names of the founding members. Full Story
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State Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, wasn’t expected back at the Capitol this session after seeking two high-profile higher education jobs over the summer. But both opportunities fizzled, and now the 70-year-old says he’s “gunned up and ready to go” for his seventh term in the Senate — even if he'll return with clout resembling that of a freshman. He’s without the aides who knew him best and stripped of the Jurisprudence Committee he used to chair. Still, his insistence on putting his own political views ahead of his party's could make him a key player at a time when Senate Republicans are a few votes short of a two-thirds majority. Full Story
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With a panel of state legislators set to decide the future of a number of Texas agencies, the state's environmental agency seems likely to get the green light to operate for another 12 years, but with some changes. As Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, environmentalists are calling the situation a mild victory. Full Story
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