The Brief: April 9, 2015
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
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Analysis: Moving Integrity Unit Won't Curb Conflicts
Legislators frustrated and angry with public corruption prosecutions in Travis County want to move them somewhere else. But the problems are likely to tag along: It's always hard to prosecute the people who pay for the prosecutors. Full Story
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The Brief: March 31, 2015
A busy day is on tap as the state's two-year budget comes up for debate on the floor of the Texas House and a special election takes place to fill the last vacancy in that chamber. Full Story
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![Rep. John Otto R-Dayton, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, during Tribune Conversation event on February 12th, 2015]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
The Brief: March 27, 2015
Agents with the FBI have spoken with Health and Human Services Commission about the troubled no-bid software contract with technology firm 21CT. Full Story
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![Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek whispers to an aide at a hearing of the Sunset Advisory Commission on Jan. 14, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Paxton: Court Blocks Rule Change Giving Benefits to Same-Sex Couples
A federal court has temporarily blocked a federal rule change that would give medical leave benefits to certain same-sex couples, according to an announcement Thursday from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Republican Leaders Vow to Continue Fight Against Gay Marriage
With the future of Texas’ constitutional ban on same-sex marriage uncertain, Republican leaders on Monday pledged to continue the state’s fight against allowing gay couples to wed. Full Story
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![Advocates gathered outside the Texas Capitol on March 23 to rally in support of the state's ban on same-sex marriage.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Brief: March 19, 2015
Lawmakers late Wednesday afternoon signaled that they will tap the brakes on plans to consolidate the state's health and human services agencies. Full Story
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![State Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo and Sen Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, at the final Sunset Advisory Commission meeting on Jan. 14, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Texas Sues Feds Over Benefits for Same-Sex Couples
The state of Texas is suing the Obama administration for giving medical leave benefits to certain same-sex couples, according to an announcement Wednesday from Attorney General Ken Paxton. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
The Brief: March 2, 2015
The Tribune's Jay Root and Neena Satija filed a story over the weekend on the problem of deferred maintenance at state government buildings in multiple agencies. It makes for some grim reading. Full Story
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![The Texas School for the Deaf in Austin.]()
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Paxton Asks Court to Void Marriage License of Gay Couple
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday asked the state Supreme Court to void a marriage license issued to two Austin women who became the first same-sex couple to legally wed in the state. Full Story
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![Sarah Goodfriend, second from left, and Suzanne Bryant, center, with their daughters (far left and far right) and Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir, second from right. DeBeauvoir issued Goodfriend and Bryant a marriage license on Feb. 19, 2015.]()
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The Brief: Feb. 20, 2015
An Austin lesbian couple obtained a marriage license Thursday morning, but the status of what would be the state's first gay marriage was in flux by the afternoon after the Texas Supreme Court issued a stay. Full Story
![Sarah Goodfriend, second from left, and Suzanne Bryant, center, with their daughters (far left and far right) and Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir, second from right. DeBeauvoir issued Goodfriend and Bryant a marriage license on Feb. 19, 2015.]()
Credit: Joe Deshotel -
The Brief: Feb. 19, 2015
Senate budget writers on Wednesday lit into Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek, a former senator himself, in a hearing that concluded with another call for him to resign. Full Story
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![Health and Human Services Commission head Kyle Janek (l.) and state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, who called for his resignation on Jan. 15, 2015.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Paxton Moves to Squelch Gay Marriage Ruling
Saying it will unleash "legal chaos," Attorney General Ken Paxton on Wednesday asked the Texas Supreme Court to block a Travis County probate judge's ruling that the state’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional. Full Story
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Video: State Leaders Address Immigration Ruling
Here's a video of Wednesday's news conference with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Gov. Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who discussed a judge's decision to halt President Obama's immigration order. Full Story
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Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
The Brief: Feb. 17, 2015
A Brownsville federal judge dropped a late-night legal bombshell Monday night, halting President Obama's executive action on immigration. Full Story
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![Attorney General Greg Abbott indicates his willingness to sue President Obama on immigration during a press conference Nov. 24, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Inside Texas Politics: Rand Paul's Recent Moves
On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics with host Jason Whitely, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey talk about U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, who's showing all the signs that he's gearing up for a presidential run. Full Story
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![Tribune executive Editor Ross Ramsey on WFAA's "Inside Texas Politics" on Feb. 1, 2015.]()
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Public Integrity Unit Will Not Prosecute AG Paxton
New Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was found in 2014 to have violated the Texas Securities Act, will not be prosecuted by the state's office that investigates public corruption, officials said Thursday. Full Story
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![Senator Ken Paxton speaks to supporters in Plano on Thursday, August 1, 2013, to announcement his campaign for Attorney General.]()
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The Brief: Jan. 6, 2015
Another day and another threshold is crossed in oil's steady downward march in value. This time it was the price of U.S. oil dipping below $50 during the day on Monday. Full Story
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![Trucks carry cement that will be mixed to fill the space between multiple layers of casing in preparation for the hydraulic fracturing process at a Chesapeake Energy drill site in Dimmit, Texas in the Eagle Ford Shale.]()
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Top Texas Officials on Hand as Paxton is Sworn In
Joined by many of Texas’ Republican elite as he was sworn in as the state’s attorney general on Monday, Ken Paxton said the state would have to guard against complacency. Full Story
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![Attorney General Ken Paxton gets a kiss from his wife, Angela, after he was sworn in on Jan. 5, 2015, in the Texas Senate chamber.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Brief: Nov. 19, 2014
Despite his challenger's vow to take a speaker vote to the floor on the first day of session, backers of House Speaker Joe Straus spent Tuesday trying to demonstrate the race is already a foregone conclusion. Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus is shown on Sept. 20, 2014, during an interview at The Texas Tribune Festival.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich