Female lawmakers make up about 20 percent of both Texas legislative chambers. In a state where women and men make up an almost equal portion of the population, the lack of female voices in the Capitol raises questions.
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Also, Sylvester Turner airs first TV ad of Houston mayoral election, the field of potential CD-19 candidate winnows and presidential hopefuls keep flocking to Texas.
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Also, a petition is delivered demanding action in the Sandra Bland case and a car crashes through a gate on the Capitol grounds.
Full StoryFor this week’s nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about the GOP debates, the politics of immigration and Sylvester Turner.
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Key meetings and events for the coming week.
Full StoryRay Sullivan, a former top staffer to former Gov. Rick Perry, announced Thursday he was joining the presidential campaign of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Steve Patterson's troubled tenure as athletics director at the University of Texas at Austin officially ended Thursday after the UT System's board of regents approved his separation agreement at a special meeting.
State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, on Tuesday focused on jail deaths at a meeting of his Senate Committee on Criminal Justice. In all, the panel heard four hours of testimony from policy analysts, law enforcement leaders and state corrections officials about making jails safer and diverting people with mental health problems from the criminal justice system.
Weighing in on a case before the FCC, Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter signed a letter authored by a pipeline company. Critics say the move illustrates a coziness with the industries he regulates.
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt blasted the funding deal that allows a giant insurance company to pay for criminal prosecutions of its fraud cases, but said Tuesday that the commissioners court in Travis County is powerless to stop it.
New evidence presented in court on Monday painted a clearer picture of discussions taking place inside the state’s main health agency as it sought to make deep cuts ordered by state lawmakers to a therapy program for poor and disabled children.
Texas' largest health agency says it has not studied how budget cuts will affect children’s access to medically necessary therapy treatments — and appeared this week to place the blame for that on Texas A&M University. The university is denying the state's account.
Halliburton, the Houston-based oilfield service giant, has agreed to pay nearly $18.3 million in back overtime wages to more than 1,000 U.S. employees, following a federal investigation.
A Travis County jury on Monday convicted former Texas Health and Human Services Commission chief counsel Jack Stick of drunken driving, the latest chapter in a year of problems for the former prosecutor and state lawmaker.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker dropped out of the presidential race this week. He had a substantive presence in Texas and rival presidential organizations were courting Walker donors even before his exit from the race.
The head of the nation's largest Hispanic business organization said Monday that U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has damaged himself in the Latino community by refusing to condemn bombastic billionaire Donald Trump.
More than 18 percent of female undergraduates at the University of Texas at Austin and about 15 percent at Texas A&M say they have been sexually assaulted since arriving on campus, according to comprehensive surveys released Monday.
Following a directive from the Legislature, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission announced Wednesday that it would combine two of the state's main women’s health programs to create the “Healthy Texas Women” program on July 1.
The Texas Supreme Court scrutinized the legality of court costs imposed on indigent plaintiffs — in this case, fees the Tarrant County clerk’s office charged six poor plaintiffs pursuing divorces — during oral arguments on Wednesday.
Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University are corporate sponsors of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.
Gov. Greg Abbott announced three appointments to the University of Houston System Board of Regents on Monday, headlined by the reappointment of Houston billionaire and current board chairman Tilman Fertitta. Houston businesswoman Beth Madison, the board's current secretary, also was reappointed. Retired Exxon Mobil executive Gerald McElvy of Southlake, was appointed to the board.
Abbott named Gilbert “Gil” Burciaga of Austin to the School Land Board, for a term to expire on Aug. 29, 2017.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick appointed senators to three different committees late last week. They are:
The Ted Cruz presidential campaign announced Tuesday that it has brought aboard two former Scott Walker grassroots co-chairs in the Peach State — Julianne Thompson and Rachel Little — who will now help with organizing efforts in support of Cruz. They join Louie Hunter, another Walker grassroots organizer who had previously announced support for Cruz. Walker announced the dissolution of his presidential campaign this week.
Odessa businessman Joshua Crawford announced Wednesday he is entering the race for the West Texas-based House District 81 seat, challenging freshman state Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa, for the Republican nomination.
A second Democrat has signaled that he intends to enter the race for the House District 144 seat — Pasadena city councilman Cody Wheeler. The district swung into Republican hands last election.
State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, who has represented House District 48 since 2006, announced Thursday that he's running for re-election.
State Rep. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, announced that he plans to seek re-election to the Texas House in 2016. Parker, the House GOP Caucus chairman, is in his fifth term in the Legislature, having initially won election to represent the Denton County-based House District 63 in 2006.
Anti-abortion advocacy group Texas Right to Life announced its endorsement of Thomas McNutt in the House District 8 race on Tuesday. McNutt is running against longtime state Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, who has held the seat since 2002.
The Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC announced its endorsement of state Rep. John Raney, R-College Station, in the HD-14 race. Raney, who has held the seat since a 2011 special election, is running against Republican Jess Fields, a former city councilman in College Station.
SD-24 candidate Dawn Buckingham announced on Wednesday that she has the support of retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Richard Drury, who has to his credit 150 combat missions in the Korean and Vietnamese conflicts.
The Texas League of Conservation Voters announced its new executive director, Elizabeth Doyel, on Tuesday. Doyel previously worked as development director at Annie’s List. She succeeds former director David Weinberg.
Disclosure: The University of Houston is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.
