Texas Legislature

In the Soup?

By Emily Ramshaw Sept. 29, 2010

Double-billing taxpayers for travel expenses, driving a luxury car owned by a state transportation contractor and repeatedly failing to pay taxes won’t put a lawmaker in good standing with the ethics police, as state Reps. Charles “Doc” Anderson, R-Waco; Joe Driver, R-Garland; and Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving, are finding. The three hope the headlines dogging their re-election bids won’t follow them to the polls, while their Democratic opponents are reveling in their misery at every campaign stop. Yet whether a scandal forces an incumbent from office depends on the scenario. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
A Schoolyard Brawl

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Sept. 28, 2010

Tension between Texas and the federal government has been a major focus of Rick Perry's re-election campaign. But on Monday, two top Democratic leaders in the Texas House ganged up on Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott and, by proxy, the governor over the recent federal education funds fight. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story
Wind Storm

By Elise Hu Sept. 27, 2010

In a courtroom Monday, a Galveston County judge will decide whether to release details of millions of dollars in fees earned by attorneys in the largest class-action settlement paid out by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. Full Story
Justice on the Cheap

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Sept. 27, 2010

As part of an occasional series looking into how shortfall-inspired budget cuts could affect different state agencies heading into the 2011 legislative session, Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on the likely impact on the state's criminal justice system. Full Story

Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Evan Smith Sept. 25, 2010

Aguilar on Mexican journalists in grave danger, Galbraith on the continuing saga of Texas vs. the EPA, Ramshaw on whether a broken hospital bed constitutes medical malpractice, M. Smith on the latest delay in the Cameron Todd Willingham case, Hamilton interviews a Sarah Palin-approved GOP candidate for Congress, Stiles goes all interactive in chronicling the massive increase in legislative filings in the last 20 years, Grissom talks about the criminalization of mental illness with an author who knows the subject first-hand, Philpott on closing the budget gap without federal stimulus money, Ramsey on everyone ignoring down-ballot candidates, Hu on the mysterious lack of Rick Perry yard signs and yours truly sits down with the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor: The best of our best from September 20 to 24, 2010. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
2010: Losing His Grip?

By Ross Ramsey Sept. 24, 2010

Film crews tweet the darndest things... Full Story

Credit: Bob Daemmrich
A Conversation With Linda Chavez-Thompson

By Evan Smith Sept. 24, 2010

For the 13th event in our TribLive series, I interviewed the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor on running for office for the first time in a tough year, how she'd deal with the budget shortfall, whether she'd mess with the Senate's two-thirds rule and what's wrong with the Texas Enterprise Fund. Full Story
Full Audio: Linda Chavez-Thompson at TribLive

By Elise Hu Sept. 24, 2010

Raw, unedited audio from Linda Chavez-Thompson's Wednesday morning appearance at our TribLive breakfast series. Features questions from Evan Smith and the audience. Full Story

Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller
Chavez-Thompson: "Not Shying Away" From Obama

By Evan Smith Sept. 22, 2010

Linda Chavez-Thompson, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, told a TribLive audience this morning that she's not afraid of being associated with President Barack Obama; quite the opposite. Full Story
On the Records: Lege Council's Take on Bill Trends

By Matt Stiles Sept. 21, 2010

A representative for the Texas Legislative Council, which helps lawmakers research and draft bills, won't speculate on why proposed and passed legislation has risen sharply in the last two decades. But it's one reason the agency has expanded its legal division over the years, she says. Full Story
TribBlog: Wind Claims

By Elise Hu Sept. 21, 2010

If the Larry Taylor-Steve Mostyn battle over windstorm insurance payouts wasn't a proxy war for the tort reformists and the trial lawyers before, it certainly is now. Full Story
Interactive: Government Unlimited

By Matt Stiles Sept. 21, 2010

Legislative filings increased in the Texas House and Senate by 70 percent from 1991 to 2009, records show, and the number of bills and resolutions passed by both chambers climbed at a higher rate. Resolutions alone numbered about 4,000 last session, or more than half of all legislation. Explore our interactive graphics. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman/Kiet Callies
Much Less Stimulated

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Sept. 21, 2010

The Legislative Budget Board says the state used about $14 billion in federal stimulus money to balance to budget in the current biennium. Lawmakers warned state agencies that those dollars were to be used for one-time expenditures only, but not all agencies followed that advice. With the next biennium's shortfall projected to be as much as $21 billion and no new fed-stim money available, what to do? Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Cutting School

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Sept. 20, 2010

The Texas Education Agency has submitted a proposal to slash 10 percent of its budget to help close the state's coming shortfall, which could be as much as $21 billion. Among the items on the chopping block: outside-the-classroom expenditures that, Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, could have a dramatic affect on student outcomes. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman
A Conversation With Debbie Riddle

By Evan Smith Sept. 17, 2010

For the 12th event in our TribLive series, I interviewed the GOP state representative from Tomball about what she really said on CNN, whether "tourism" babies are a threat to national security, why an Arizona-style immigration law would be right for Texas and whether she'll back Joe Straus for speaker. Full Story
Full Audio: Debbie Riddle at TribLive

By Elise Hu Sept. 17, 2010

Full audio recording (including Q & A) of state Rep. Debbie Riddle's appearance at our TribLive breakfast conversation series. Full Story

Credit: Marjorie Cotera
2010: King of Tort Reform

By Morgan Smith Sept. 16, 2010

In a rare campaign trail policy announcement on Wednesday, Gov. Rick Perry threw his support behind an effort to pass more extensive tort reform legislation. Full Story

Credit: Ross Ramsey
Power Over Privacy

By Elise Hu Sept. 16, 2010

In the closing days of his last term in the Texas House, former state Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington, used his legislative authority to obtain confidential records from the Texas Medical Board, The Texas Tribune has learned. His reason? To defend doctors who he believes were wrongly the subjects of misconduct investigations by the board, which licenses the state's physicians. Full Story

Credit: AP/Harry Cabluck
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 46

By Elise Hu Sept. 15, 2010

In our first TribCast recorded in front of a live studio audience, Evan, Ross, Elise and Ben discuss the results of the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll, Gov. Rick Perry's new TV ad and the state's looming budget deficit — is it even bigger than we thought? Full Story
Get Out the Knives

By Ross Ramsey Sept. 15, 2010

Given a choice between spending cuts and revenue increases to balance the state budget, Texans lean solidly toward cuts, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Seven in 10 oppose any new taxes to address what could be a $21 billion shortfall. Full Story