Straus condemns "bathroom bill," talks local control
House Speaker Joe Straus said the controversial bathroom bill felt "manufactured and unnecessary." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/10/17/_J3A6320.JPG)
-
![Texas House Speaker Joe Straus was interviewed by Texas Tribune CEO and Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith at The Texas Tribune Festival on Oct. 17, 2015.]()
Credit: Casey Chapman Ross -
Abbott joins Trump in announcement of new McAllen call center
Gov. Greg Abbott joined President Donald Trump in Washington for the announcement of a new "fully bilingual" call center in McAllen. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/01/10/Abbott_speaks_TXLEGE_85_Day_1_TT.jpg)
![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks on the first day of the 85th Legislature on Jan. 10, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Budget priorities, local control and school choice (podcast)
On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Patrick and Aman about Gov. Greg Abbott's budget priorities, his comments on local control, the school choice drama in the Legislature and AG Ken Paxton's concerns about Muslim prayer in a public school. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/11/22/TTE-tribcast_leadart.png)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Emily Albracht / Todd Wiseman -
Analysis: Can Abbott assemble an army for this session’s pre-K fight?
Gov. Greg Abbott has hit tough sledding with his call for more spending on early education in Texas. Lawmakers aren't warm to the idea, to say the least, and the governor hasn't assembled an army of supporters to back up his position. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/03/21/AbbottArmy-1.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Robin Jerstad -
Abbott wants "broad-based law" that pre-empts local regulations
As local control battles rage at the Texas Capitol, Gov. Greg Abbott is voicing support for a much more sweeping approach to the issues that have captured headlines. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/01/31/SOSspeech12TT_BD.jpg)
![Gov. Abbott delivers the State of the State address at the Capitol on Jan. 31, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott's top health appointee draws bipartisan fire at hearing
Both Republican and Democratic members of a key legislative oversight committee unloaded on Gov. Greg Abbott’s top health appointee Thursday, putting him and others on the hot seat for hours about alleged contracting abuses. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/08/15/StateAffairs0379TT_.JPG)
![Charles Smith, executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, testified Aug. 15, 2016, before the House State Affairs Committee on contracting procedures.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Key chairman says House will take its time on "sanctuary" legislation
A day after hearing from peace officers largely opposed to the state's current proposal to outlaw "sanctuary cities," the chairman of the House committee that controls the proposal's future said he'd like to see some significant changes. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/03/15/__BDP4933_Cook_Byron.jpg)
![State Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, listens to the first round of testimony of hundreds signed up against SB 4 the sanctuary cities bill on March 15, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
House committee makes changes to anti-"sanctuary" bill
More than 600 people signed up on Wednesday to testify before the House State Affairs Committee on the lower chamber's version of the controversial proposal to outlaw "sanctuary" jurisdictions. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/03/15/Charlie_Geren_BD_TT.jpg)
![State Affairs Committee member Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, at the hearing on Senate Bill 4, the "sanctuary cities" bill, on March 15, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Lawmaker blasts Abbott appointee, health agency over contracting; agency fires back
State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione is demanding to know why dozens of large Texas Health and Human Services Commission contracts don't appear in the state's budget watchdog's database. The agency says it isn't responsible for the problem. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Analysis: The party in power in Texas acts more like two parties at war
The leadership battles in the Texas Legislature are often attributed to personalities — or to traditional House-Senate rivalries. But there's another factor: The Republicans in power are from different factions of their party. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/03/09/Straus_and_Patrick_Dec_2016.jpg)
![House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick at a Texas Legislative Budget Board meeting on December 1, 2016.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for the Texas Tribune -
It cost $9 million to attract a top engineer to A&M. Was that worth it?
The state spent big to recruit professor Thomas Overbye to Texas A&M University. But lawmakers are questioning whether it should devote millions to make similar hires in the future. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/03/07/Abbott_Research_Initiative_TT.jpg)
![Gov. Greg Abbott discusses the Governor's University Research Initiative grant program at the Governor's Mansion during a reception on March 6, 2017. Renowned electrical engineering professor Tom Overbye (third from the right), who recently joined Texas A&M University, is shown standing behind Abbott.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott's professor recruitment program could lose funding
Draft budgets by both the Texas House and Senate have zeroed out funding for the Governor's University Research Initiative, a project started by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2015. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/19/EduWorkForce031TT.jpg)
![Gov. Greg Abbott speaks to a large crowd of state leaders at the Texas Education & Workforce Summit Sept. 19, 2016 at the AT&T Center.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Analysis: In bathroom bill, politics disguised as policy
As policy, the proposed regulations for transgender Texan's restroom choices have some gaping holes. The politics, however, are easy to understand. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/04/28/bathroomvoters.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Emily Albracht -
UT/TT Poll: A popular governor, an unpopular Congress
The performance and favorability ratings in the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll hold good news for Gov. Greg Abbott among individuals and for the military and the police among institutions. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/02/22/TT-UT_polls.001.jpeg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Graphic by Emily Albracht -
Texas counties see price tags on both sides of "sanctuary" debate
Texas counties are facing financial pressures on both sides of a highly politicized debate over their role in enforcing federal immigration laws. Just look at Dallas County. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/02/16/ICE_TT.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement -
Convention of states resolution is on its way to full Texas Senate
The Senate State Affairs Committee addressed one of Gov. Greg Abbott's four emergency items Thursday: passing a resolution showing the state backs an Article V convention. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/01/31/Abbott_SoTS_BD.jpg)
![Gov. Greg Abbott prepares to deliver his State of the State address, flanked by (l.-r.) Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, state Sens. Donna Campbell, R-San Antonio, and Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and House Speaker Joe Straus.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas couldn’t help this sex-trafficked teen, so authorities sent her to jail
No one wanted Lena behind bars. She was not a prostitute; she was a child who had been sexually exploited. But teenage sex-trafficking victims in Texas end up in jail for one simple reason: There's nowhere else for them to go. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/02/08/Lena-LEAD-CCR_8463.JPG)
![17-year-old Lena waits to be released from the Harris County Jail, with a small bag of her possessions. Her mentor gave her a blue jumpsuit to wear over her skimpy clothes.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Abbott blasts NFL for wading into "bathroom bill" debate
"The NFL needs to concentrate on playing football and get the heck out of politics," Gov. Greg Abbott told conservative radio host Glenn Beck. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/02/14/Abbott_NFL_2.jpg)
![Gov. Greg Abbott and the official NFL logo.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune/The National Football League -
When foster care couldn't help this 16-year-old, she ran to a pimp
After her father raped her, Jean became one of the roughly 12,000 Texas kids in long-term foster care, a system that often leaves children more damaged than when they arrive. For Jean, selling sex seemed like a safer bet. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/02/08/Jean-LEAD-CCR_0609.JPG)
![Jean, pictured in her mother’s home in East Texas, was one of the roughly 12,000 Texas kids in long-term foster care when she ran away and was taken in by a Dallas pimp.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
Texas parents: Help us understand your school choices
As we examine school choice proposals before the Legislature, The Texas Tribune wants to hear directly from families who would be affected by changing state and national policies. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/VOUCHERS1152.jpg)
![Students enter a classroom at one of the 11 Houston-area campuses of Yes Prep, a public charter school system serving 7,000 low-income students.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d5113915df216293c19ff8879d0f5638/BD%20INC%20Giovanni%20Capriglione%20TT%20NYT%202013)