Updated: Advocates Say Change to Strip Club Fee is Dead
Advocates for a $5 "pole tax" on strip club patrons that raises money for state services say their effort to change which programs benefit from the fee is dead. Full Story
The latest courts news from The Texas Tribune.
Advocates for a $5 "pole tax" on strip club patrons that raises money for state services say their effort to change which programs benefit from the fee is dead. Full Story
In the wake of high-profile data breaches that left the personal information of millions of state workers exposed, state lawmakers are trying to strike a balance between promoting transparency and protecting records. Full Story
Prosecutors will be able to punish kids who send explicit photos to each other without resorting to putting them on the sex offender registry, under a bill Attorney General Greg Abbott lauded in a press release today. Full Story
The state of Texas incarcerated him for nearly two decades — and nearly executed him twice — for murders he didn't commit. Now, the state is balking at giving him the $1 million he's owed for all the years he spent wrongfully imprisoned. Despite it all, Anthony Graves remains positive. Full Story
The state of Texas incarcerated him for nearly two decades — and nearly executed him twice — for murders he didn't commit. Now, the state is balking at giving him the $1 million he's owed for all the years he spent wrongfully imprisoned. Despite it all, Anthony Graves remains positive. Full Story
Likely voters in Texas approve of President Barack Obama almost as much as they approve of Gov. Rick Perry, according to the third and final release of poll results from the Texas Lyceum, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group of civic leaders. Full Story
We have a special update to the Tribune's government employee salary database, adding recently acquired salary data from the last six agencies missing from the the University of Texas System, Texas Woman's University and the Sabine River Authority. Full Story
The Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services said today that the personal data of about 4,900 current and former state employees may have been exposed in a security breach. Full Story
A small church in an impoverished south side San Antonio neighborhood became a place of fear and shame for children who allege they were victims in the 1980s of sexual abuse by a prominent priest. One of those alleged victims is death row inmate Humberto Leal. Full Story
The family of Amy Lynn Cowling today filed a lawsuit against Gregg County, alleging the inaction of jail officials there led to the death of the 33-year-old mother of three just after Christmas last year. Full Story
Officials at the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and the Gregg County Sheriff's Office confirmed today that 30-year-old Micah Aaron Garner died at the Longview lockup on Monday night. Full Story
Data journalism guru Matt Stiles may have left the building but Ryan Murphy and Becca Aaronson will be keeping the tradition and spirit of @stiles alive by continuing to update the data blog On the Records and the @TribData Twitter account. Full Story
The system is meant to kill legislation: That’s the old line often heard around the Capitol. As the session's end slams the coffin door on a slew of bills, more than a few lawmakers are taking solace in the fact that their dead bills have lots of company. Full Story
The 82nd Texas Legislature’s regular session ends as it started, with lawmakers arguing about a shrunken state budget and redistricting. Full Story
We've added 27 new entities — including university systems, transit authorities, and appraisal and school districts — to the Tribune's government employee salaries database and updated 30 others, bringing the total number to 129, with salary data for 660,000 public employees. Full Story
The Senate unanimously passed a major tort reform bill today that would allow courts to grant attorneys' fees to prevailing parties under certain circumstances. Full Story
It’s been more than a month since state officials acknowledged they'd exposed millions of Texans' Social Security numbers and other information online. Matt Largey of KUT News reports what the state's been doing to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again. Full Story
Beginning next year, jails like the one in Gregg County where Amy Lynn Cowling died could be required to tell state officials how many staff members leave their jobs every month. Experts say there likely is a correlation between high staff turnover rates and increased deaths. Full Story
A bill that would clarify and expand the jurisdiction of the Forensic Science Commission appeared to have fizzled in the Texas House. But tonight lawmakers revived the bill and voted it out of committee. Full Story
State Sen. Jeff Wentworth charged today that his San Antonio colleague, House speaker Joe Straus, used undue influence last night to strip an amendment allowing concealed handguns on college campuses out of a fiscal matter's bill. Full Story