Despite appearances, the House and Senate aren’t too far apart on border security funding, says the lone border lawmaker on the budget conference committee. One sticking point is funding for state trooper pay.
Criminal Justice
Get the latest Texas Tribune coverage on criminal justice, including crime, courts, law enforcement, and reforms shaping the state’s justice system.
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Criminal Justice
Gay Marriage Cases Give Republicans the Jitters
With the U.S. Supreme Court set to hear oral arguments in four same-sex marriage cases on Tuesday, Texas Republicans are already looking for loopholes in hopes of getting around a possible decision that effectively legalizes gay marriage.
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Criminal Justice
Inmate Set for Execution Seeks Supreme Court Stay
Lawyers for a Texas inmate convicted of capital murder in the 1999 stabbing death of a prison guard have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his Tuesday execution.
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Criminal Justice
Inside Texas Politics: Breakfast Blowup
On this week’s edition of WFAA-TV’s Inside Texas Politics, host Jason Whitely, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey talk about last week’s “breakfast blowup.”
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Criminal Justice
Guardianship Reform Could Offer New Freedoms
Dawn Carlton is intellectually disabled, but she says she manages fine on her own. The 38-year-old woman is pushing for a series of bills this legislative session to change the way court-appointed guardians are used in Texas.
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Criminal Justice
Senate Approves Body Camera Legislation
Local law enforcement agencies could apply for grants to equip their officers with body cameras and could also come up with guidelines for the equipment under legislation that the Senate approved Thursday.
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Criminal Justice
Bonnen: Patrick “Playing Games” With Border Security
A key member of the Texas House’s Republican leadership blasted Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick as a Washington-style politician a day after the Texas Senate passed its version of a sweeping border security bill.
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Criminal Justice
Senate Sends Border Security Measure to House
The Texas Senate on Monday passed its own sweeping border security bill, choosing to send its own version to the House rather than taking up the House’s measure, which the lower chamber passed last month.
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Criminal Justice
Politicians Pick New Way to Get Prosecuted
State politicians, high court judges and top bureaucrats would get public corruption cases against them moved to their home counties under a controversial bill that cleared the Texas House on Monday.
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Criminal Justice
After Dog Shootings, House Approves Canine Training for Cops
Three years after a police officer shot and killed their 5-year-old border collie, Mark and Cindy Boling watched Friday as the Texas House voted for a police canine training program they have been calling for since the day the dog died.
