Ahead of the 2015 legislative session, momentum seems to be building for more chances to earn four-year degrees at community colleges in Texas.
Rodney Ellis
Posted in
Higher Education
Cigarroa, Board to Confer About Powers’ Future
University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa will confer with the system’s board of regents on Thursday about how to handle University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers’ refusal to resign this year.
Posted in
Politics
The Brief: Jan. 8, 2014
The Tribune’s Morgan Smith has a must-read piece on what’s next for the education reform group funded by tort reform champions that left a big imprint on policy debates during last year’s legislative session.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Liveblog: Criminal Justice at The Texas Tribune Festival
We’re liveblogging this weekend from The Texas Tribune Festival’s Criminal Justice track, which includes panels on guilt and innocence, juvenile justice, guns, and a one-on-one conversation with Attorney General Greg Abbott.
Posted in
Bidness As Usual
For John Carona, Conflicts and Interests
The constitutional provision of a part-time Legislature whose members have full-time jobs back home blurs the line between public responsibilities and personal ambition — as the story of a certain powerful state senator illustrates.
Posted inState Government
Slideshow: Sen. John Carona Through the Years
Take a photographic trip through Sen. John Carona’s career in the Texas Legislature, from his swearing in as a freshman House member in 1991 to his chairmanship of the powerful Senate Committee on Business & Commerce.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Senator Says Innocence Commission Bill is in Trouble
Two days after an advocate for a bill establishing a commission to review wrongful convictions lashed out at a state senator who voiced opposition to the bill, the measure’s Senate sponsor says he doesn’t have the votes to move the legislation forward.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Hearing on Innocence Commission Bill Draws Heated Testimony
A Senate committee hearing turned explosive on Tuesday when the brother of a wrongfully convicted man who died in prison railed against a senator who opposes the creation of an innocence commission.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Bill Would Curb Access to Photos of Murder Victims
UPDATED: The legislation authored by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, that would require court approval for most requests to view or copy crime scene photos that show murder victims passed the Senate Monday without debate.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
House Shows Support for Innocence Commission Bill
UPDATED: The House on Tuesday endorsed a bill that would create a state panel to investigate wrongful convictions. Similar legislation has been defeated in the past, but this time it has drawn supporters many consider unlikely.
