Skip to main content
Organizations

Texas Legislature

The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.

  • Getting Away With Murder

    By Brandi Grissom

    Tow truck driver Steven Hardin was shot and killed in April 1998 by Houston firefighter Barry Crawford during a dispute over a parking space. At the end of a high-profile trial, a jury found Crawford guilty of first-degree murder but sentenced him only to probation. A judge required the convicted killer to comply with various terms, including the payment of child support to the victim's family, but he failed to do all he was ordered. Nonetheless, a few months ago, he was released from his probation, leaving Hardin's mother with no recourse but to lobby for a change in state law. Full Story 

    Steven Hardin's parents, photographed near his burial plot.
    Credit: Callie Richmond

  • The Weekly TribCast: Episode 45

    By Elise Hu

    In this week's TribCast, the regular podcast gang is back to talk about the start of campaign season, the latest polls in the race for governor, and the political effect of that $18 billion budget hole. Full Story 

    Article thumbnail

  • And They're Off!

    By Ross Ramsey

    The start of the 2010 election sprint finds Texas Republicans feverish: Even the sober ones think they could snatch up to 10 more state House seats. Democrats maintain they can still wrest majority control away from the GOP. Full Story 

    Article thumbnail

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Ross Ramsey

    I hit the campaign trail with Rick Perry, E. Smith starts off the fall TribLive series by interviewing Attorney General Greg Abbott, Stiles on the most congested roads in Texas, Ramshaw's interview with former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, Grissom on the perils of talking too much if you're the head of the state's jail standards board, M. Smith on Congressman Chet Edwards' fight for political survival in a Republican year, Philpott on counties worried the state's budget woes will trickle down, Hamilton on whether Texas should be in the movie-vetting business, Aguilar on a Mexican journalist seeking asylum from his country's drug violence, Galbraith on green energy and Texas college football, and excerpts from former Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby's new book, How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics: The best of our best from August 30 to September 3, 2010. Full Story 

    Article thumbnail

  • Man, Oh, Mandates

    By Ben Philpott, KUT News

    State lawmakers facing an estimated $18 billion budget shortfall will soon wield their knives, but who or what will sustain deep cuts? As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, county officials are among those waiting to see how the legislative slice-and-dice could affect things back home — and they're particularly nervous about unfunded mandates. Full Story 

    Article thumbnail

  • How I Became Lieutenant Governor

    By Bill Hobby and Saralee Tiede

    "I always wanted to run for office," Bill Hobby writes. "And I grew up in a family that had been part of state government for a couple of generations." An excerpt from the forthcoming How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics. Full Story 

    Article thumbnail

  • Reopening the Gaps

    By Reeve Hamilton

    Nothing has helped Texas "close the gaps" of higher education achievement more than financial aid for low-income students. But with coming budget cuts, tens of thousands of students could lose out on the state's largest and most generous financial aid program. Full Story 

    Article thumbnail
    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • No Pass, No Play: The Back Story

    By Bill Hobby and Saralee Tiede

    As chairman of the Select Committee of Public Education in the '80s, Ross Perot took on high school athletics hammer and tongs: “If the people of Texas want Friday night entertainment instead of education," he said, "let’s find out about it." An excerpt from the forthcoming How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics. Full Story 

    Article thumbnail

  • The Sting of the Killer Bees

    By Bill Hobby and Saralee Tiede

    The rules of the Texas Senate are designed to create an orderly process that respects the rights of individual members. They have lasted this long because they do the job well and consider the need for compromise in the legislative operation. Trampling the rights of the minority is never a good idea — and yet it has happened over and over again. An excerpt from the forthcoming How Things Really Work: Lessons from a Life in Politics. Full Story 

    Article thumbnail

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    Hu compares and contrasts the official schedules of four big-state governors (including Rick Perry) and picks the 21 Texas House races to watch, Ramshaw on a 19-year-old with an IQ of 47 sentenced to 100 years in prison, Stiles on Perry's regent-donors, Galbraith on a plan to curb the independence of the state's electricity grid, Thevenot on the turf war over mental health, Grissom on whether the Texas Youth Commission should be abolished, Aguilar on a crucial immigration-related case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, Ramsey's interview with GOP provocateur Debra Medina and M. Smith on how changes to campaign finance law will affect judicial elections in Texas: The best of our best from August 23 to 27, 2010. Full Story 

    Article thumbnail
    Credit: Graphic by Ben Hasson

  • 21 House Races to Watch

    By Elise Hu

    Only 10 days out from Labor Day — the unofficial start of the campaign season — we bring you a scouting report on the 21 Texas House races to watch. We based our picks on dozens of interviews with politicos and our own analysis of district voting patterns, campaign coffers, the relative strength of the candidates and issues that could turn each contest. Most of the vulnerable incumbents are Democrats, which is no surprise in a Republican year. But a few veteran R's are at risk, thanks to alleged ethical lapses that could swing voters against the national mood. Full Story 

    Article thumbnail
    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • You Be the Judge

    By Morgan Smith

    Do two recent U.S. Supreme Court opinions have the far-reaching effects on Texas judicial elections that some in our legal community fear? Or do the state's current campaign finance laws adequately address the issues presented by both cases? Full Story 

    A joint meeting between the House Elections and Judiciary committees on Aug. 26, 2010
    Credit: Marjorie Cotera

  • The Politics of Ethics

    By Elise Hu

    Texas lawmakers were accused this summer of driving a car paid for by a state contractor and double-billing taxpayers for expenses incurred on the job. Does that mean they'll be defeated in November? Not necessarily. Full Story 

    Article thumbnail

  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Ross Ramsey

    Galbraith on grass, federal money and efforts to prevent another dust bowl, Ergenbright on school suspensions and who gets punished; Aguilar's interview with Alan Bersin, whose job is to keep the U.S./Mexico border secure, M. Smith on why it would be harder than you think to ditch the 14th Amendment, Adler and me on whether controversy is politically contagious, Ramshaw on the flap over funding for the state's institutions for the disabled (it's not about the money), my meditation on the state's fiscal woes (including a $1.3 billion deficit in the current budget), Philpott on proposed cuts to the state's food stamp program, Grissom on the push by Hidalgo County officials for a special election that might not be legal; Hamilton on the seven Texas universities that are making a play for Tier One status and Stiles on the mid-year cash-on-hand numbers reported by campaigns and political action committees: The best of our best from August 16 to 23, 2010. Full Story 

    Article thumbnail
    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman

  • 2010: Birdwell Will Stay on Ballot

    By Ross Ramsey

    Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, can remain on the November ballot, the state's 5th Court of Appeals ruled this afternoon. Texas Democrats had sued to remove him, saying his vote in the Virginia elections in 2006 made him ineligible to serve in the Texas Senate. Full Story 

    Article thumbnail
    Credit: Birdwell campaign

  • Taint by Association

    By Ross Ramsey and Sarah Adler

    The mud-throwing season is underway, with candidates on both sides working overtime to tie their opponents to controversial people, acts and money, hoping the negative mojo rubs off. Democrats are pushing anchor-baby videos of state Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, and U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler. Republicans slam their Democratic foes for taking contributions from ethically suspect U.S. Reps. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y., and Maxine Waters, D-Calif. "Both sides have folks who do what they do," says a rueful Texas Republican who doesn't want his name next to those of his party's outspoken officeholders. Full Story 

    The political mud season is underway
    Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman