Curbing the practice of barratry — “ambulance chasing,” in the vernacular — has prompted an uneasy alliance between tort reformers and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association: They agree on reform … just not on the form it should take.
Texas Legislature
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State Government
Mark Jones: The TT Interview
The chairman of the political science department at Rice University recently ranked Texas House members’ partisanship based on their 2009 legislative votes. Our interactive chart highlights what he describes as Texas’ increasingly polarized political environment.
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Health care
TribBlog: Not That Kind of Shot
What do college students and preschoolers have in common?
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State Government
The Brief: July 9, 2010
Gov. Rick Perry and Bill White, together at last, faced a tough crowd Thursday.
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State Government
Faking the Grade
Last school year, the Texas Education Agency implemented a new “growth measure” purported to reward schools for improving student performance — even if they still fail state tests. The effect on state accountability ratings was immediate and dramatic: The number of campuses considered “exemplary” by the state doubled, to 2,158. But a new analysis shows the projections of future student success may be wrong as much as half the time.
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Economy
TribBlog: Another Roll of the Dice
It was more like a bidding auction today than a meeting of the Texas House Committee on Licensing and Regulation. Gambling advocates packed into three Capitol hearing rooms, and threw out number after number as they asked legislators — yet again — to consider the benefits of more gaming in Texas.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Getting Drunks Off the Road
The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice met today to talk about ways to stop Texans from getting behind the wheel after imbibing. Judges, police and even a third-time DWI offender told lawmakers some Texas drunken driving laws could use some stiffening, while other measures take punishment too far.
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State Government
Ante Up
The starting gun for the debate over gambling fires this morning: Gaming interests inside and outside Texas are asking lawmakers to expand legal wagering to include either resort casinos, slot machines at race tracks, or some combination.
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Health care
TribBlog: Broke and Broken
Rural health advocates asked state lawmakers Wednesday to help pay for improvements to rural hospitals in up to 42 Texas counties. Without state help, they said, the rural hospitals have no hope of doing necessary renovations to catch up to federal and state hospital codes.
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State Government
After Sunset
Sunset Advisory Commissioners unanimously approved a series of changes to the troubled Division of Workers’ Compensation at the Texas Department of Insurance on Tuesday, but not before aggressively rewriting the Sunset staff’s original recommendations to improve the division’s medical quality review process.
