The latest Greg Abbott news from The Texas Tribune.
Texans grew accustomed to the swagger and bombast of Rick Perry, a governor who didn’t shy from confrontation with the Legislature and upended the notion that his office was inherently weak. Newly elected Gov. Greg Abbott, ever cautious and lawyerly, is cutting a different path. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/04/15/DSC_8648gesture.jpg)
Health and Human Services chief Kyle Janek finds himself in the spotlight again over a contract awarded to a single bidder. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/01/14/Sunset084.jpg)
Three years ago, a company called Geo Care Inc. gave HHSC chief Kyle Janek a blueprint for privatizing state hospitals. The only contract awarded — privatizing Terrell State Hospital — ended up going to that same company. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/04/16/Terrel_State_Hospital_ContractHigh_xx2pKSf.jpg)
Proposed ethics reform legislation underwent a significant overhaul Thursday in a Senate committee. Gone is the plan to take state pensions from lawbreaking lawmakers. Also out: a proposal to stop legislators from cashing in on a piece of the public debt business. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/03/06/Abbott-Taylor-Geren.jpg)
Two months after a Brownsville-based federal judge halted President Obama's immigration program, attorneys for Texas will try to convince a three-judge panel at the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to keep it on hold. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/07/10/_S3R1632.jpg)
For all the talk about undocumented immigrants qualifying for in-state tuition at Texas colleges and universities, it turns out that these students make up a very small portion of the college-going population. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/04/06/7C2A6058.jpg)
If the names of the compounding pharmacies providing execution drugs to Texas officials are made public, it could end the death penalty, state Rep. John Smithee told a house committee on Wednesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/06/04/TCJD-Execution.jpg)
The Texas Senate on Wednesday tentatively approved a measure to partially consolidate the state’s massive health and human services system. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/SunsetEthics_1.jpg)
As the House and Senate continue their "robust discussion" over whether to cut sales or property taxes, Gov. Greg Abbott touted his own preference, along with a way to avoid the fight: business tax cuts, along with whatever legislators decide. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/04/15/DSC_8643WoodCMS.jpg)
Gov. Greg Abbott refused to pick sides Wednesday in a growing squabble over how best to cut state taxes, and moved away from an earlier promise to “insist” that Texas lawmakers cut property taxes before the session ends on June 1. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/04/15/_BDB8428wideCMS.jpg)
Two bills aimed at disclosure of lobbyist wining and dining are on the verge of being snuffed out in a Senate committee, according to the sponsor of the measures. That's despite Greg Abbott’s vow to “dedicate this session to ethics reform." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/03/18/UP9A4917.jpg)
Discussion in a House committee Tuesday on a proposed change to the name of a state holiday honoring soldiers who fought for the Confederacy took on an extra dose of notoriety because of the identity of the main proponent of the change. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/04/14/_BDB8408seated.jpg)
Chances are good for passage of legislation up for debate in the House today that would allow for open carry of handguns by those already with concealed carry licenses. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/12/18/BestOf-2014-002.jpg)
On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics with host Jim Douglas, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey, the show opens with a discussion of the Dream Act. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/04/12/Ross_Inside_April_12.jpg)
It’s less than a year until the first presidential primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, and the 2016 race is already well underway, so we start off this week's playlist off the news with a campaign-themed set. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/04/11/Playlist_April_11TTcrop.jpg)
Gov. Greg Abbott wants ethics reform, but the legislation working its way through the Senate faces major revisions as early as Monday. The debate demonstrates how difficult it is for legislators to change the rules that govern their own behavior. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/12/11/TTEventsSenators079.jpg)
The question of whether Attorney General Ken Paxton will be charged in connection with his failure to register with the State Securities Board while soliciting clients for investment firms could now rest in the hands of the Texas Rangers. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/02/18/_BDB5795CMSPaxton.jpg)
State politicians have made beating up on federal intrusion a cottage industry, but haven't hesitated to tell local governments what to do. On Thursday, local government representatives pushed back. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/04/09/Matt_Shaheen.jpg)
The Texas House on Thursday passed legislation that would codify the current policies and duties of the state’s Border Prosecution Unit. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e00d40a882af9e01f94bb9c004057f5d/DONT%20USE%20DPS%20Gunboat)
Republicans leery of granting more eminent domain authority acted to fast-track to nowhere a proposed high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/HighSpeed-Train.jpg)