The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
The temporary closure of businesses and high levels of unemployment due to the pandemic have caused sales tax revenues — which make up a significant portion of cities' budgets — to plummet. Full Story
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A monthslong investigation revealed that Oportun Inc. routinely uses lawsuits to intimidate a vulnerable population into keeping up with high-interest loan payments — even amid COVID-19. Full Story
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Justice of the peace courts, where a majority of debt claims are filed in Texas, aren’t required to report case-level information. Here’s how ProPublica and Texas Tribune reporters got around it to reveal one company’s aggressive tactics. Full Story
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Voters who still haven't decided which candidates to support in November might be uncertain for a good reason: The issues that would help them decide — pandemic, recession and all the rest — are shifting rapidly. Full Story
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An August budget document shows funding for the anti-abortion program would be maintained, but reduced for doctors and clinics that provide reduced-cost contraception and health screenings. Full Story
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Springer, a state representative, and Luther, a Dallas salon owner who was jailed over her refusal to close her business due to the coronavirus pandemic, had previously announced their campaigns. Full Story
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Once the program ends, customers could be on the hook for partial back payments. Full Story
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The state has disaster response down to a routine, ready to roll out whenever hurricanes and other bad weather strikes. But that coordination between state and local governments hasn't been the model for pandemic response. Full Story
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The state disclosed a backlog of more than 850,000 tests this month, which were delayed in part because of coding or formatting errors and a lengthy onboarding process needed to receive reports from laboratories. Full Story
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There are 347,700 Texans losing federal supplements to unemployment insurance. And 716,000 students getting laptops and tablets for virtual school. And 11,395 COVID-19 deaths. Each statistic has a human face. Full Story
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Texas Republicans who were looking for fertile political ground in the runup to the November elections got a gift from a most unlikely source: the Austin City Council. Full Story
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Paxton's team had asked that the judge, Jason Luong, be recused from the case because the Texas attorney general's office is representing him — along with about 20 other Houston-area judges — in an unrelated lawsuit. Full Story
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Desperate to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Cameron County has ordered all schools to keep classrooms closed until late September. But state officials say local health orders don't apply to private religious schools. Full Story
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The hospital where he had previously ministered to terminally ill patients was full when Adolfo Alvarado Jr. neared death in his Mission home. He was finally admitted, and his daughter watched on her laptop as he died. Full Story
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Freezing local taxes in Texas cities that cut police funding sounds better than it works. But the political angle taken by the state's top leaders gives them something other than pandemic and recession to talk about this election season. Full Story
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If the decadeslong Republican hold on Texas politics loosens, it might not be at the top of the ticket. Watch the federal and state legislative races, and where the money's going in those. Full Story
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New Jersey, New York and California have also exceeded 10,000 known COVID-19 fatalities. Experts say official death tolls are all but certain to be undercounts. Full Story
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Senate Democrats want the symbols taken down, but Patrick said that the party is not committed to a “sincere” or “serious conversation” about the future of the monuments. Full Story
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Lots of states make it as easy as possible to register and vote, whether there's a pandemic or not. Texas is not one of those states. Full Story
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Earlier this week, Texas disclosed more than 124,000 previously unreported COVID-19 tests, at a time when the proportion of positive tests results was drawing attention. Full Story
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