2010: McCall won't seek reelection
Brian McCall, a key member of House Speaker Joe Straus' leadership team, won't seek reelection next year Full Story
The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
Brian McCall, a key member of House Speaker Joe Straus' leadership team, won't seek reelection next year Full Story
Should the Texas Forensic Science Commission meet in private? The new chairman, John Bradley, says there's a good argument for it. Full Story
"It’d be like someone standing at the Alamo going, ‘I’m not gonna survive this thing,’ and all of a sudden he jumps up and starts speaking Spanish!" says Rep. Mark Homer, D-Paris. Maybe so, but switching parties usually works out. Full Story
State schools chief Robert Scott recently failed to get the Legislature to increase the cap on charter schools — then found a legal way to do it anyway, much to the dismay of state Democrats and teachers unions. Full Story
Republican Brian Walker, who lost a close race to Democrat Chuck Hopson in 2008, endorsed Hopson's reelection bid next year — now that Hopson has switched to the GOP. Full Story
John Bradley, the Williamson County District Attorney and the newly-appointed chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, spent his morning answering a steady stream of questions from Texas lawmakers. At issue, if and when his panel will re-open the investigation into whether faulty science led to the arson conviction of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed by the state in 2004. Full Story
Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley expected some verbal jousting today at the Senate Criminal Justice Committee about his plans for the Texas Forensic Science Commission. He was right. Full Story
A California newspaper's speculation on who will be the country's first Hispanic president lists Texas' own Rep. Rafael Anchia and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro as fan favorites. Full Story
We've set up our first Twitter list, aggregating the feeds of 58 tweeting Texas elected officials Full Story
House Speaker Joe Straus' picks for the legislative committee that says whether the state should kill or keep state agencies: Reps. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, and Byron Cook, R-Corsicana. San Antonio attorney Lamont Jefferson, who's with the Haynes and Boone law firm, will serve as the House's public member. Full Story
Today in El Paso, County Attorney Jose Rodriguez announced he is running for the state Senate seat that Democrat Eliot Shapleigh is giving up. Full Story
El Paso County Attorney Jose Rodriguez is expected to announce tomorrow at an El Paso press conference that he will run for the Texas Senate seat that state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh is vacating. Full Story
Under new legislation, school districts for the first time can spend a portion of state “book” money on computer hardware and digital content. Some fear the explosion of choice will produce an erosion of quality content. Full Story
Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, is switching parties, saying that ""President Obama and the Democrats in Congress just don't reflect the values of this district." That's a severe blow to Democrats hoping to win a majority in the Texas House. Full Story
Albert Alvidrez, a former governor of the Tigua tribe in El Paso, is mulling a run for the Texas Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Sen. Eliot Shapleigh. But having Alvidrez in the Senate might not earn the tribe another vote for gambling rights. Full Story
As candidates stack up to challenge her, state Rep. Norma Chavez, D-El Paso, said she will make a decision about running for the Texas Senate by Thanksgiving. Full Story
The results of the first UT/Texas Tribune poll, which was in the field from October 20-27 and sampled 800 Texans who identified themselves as registered voters, shows Texas slowly turning their attention to the 2010 elections. Perhaps more to the point, they have become extremely skeptical about the direction of the federal government. Today we’ll focus on the election match ups and what they tell us about the state of play a little less than six months out from the March primaries. Full Story
The state’s permanent school fund, which spins off money for textbooks and the like each year, has recaptured billions of dollars after a frightening downward spiral this spring. Trouble is, the increase in the fund may produce no increase at all in education spending. The real beneficiaries of the fund often are the state legislature and its priorities outside education. Full Story
El Paso state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh's surprise announcement that he won't seek another term in the Texas Senate in 2010 set off speculation about his plans for higher office — and a vigorous fight to replace him. Full Story
Texas should create a committee to promote participation in the 2010 U.S. Census, state Rep. Mike Villarreal told Gov. Rick Perry in a letter Tuesday. Full Story