The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Houston is the nation's fourth-largest city and home to the largest refining and petrochemical complex in the United States. But many worry it's a sitting duck when the next big hurricane comes. This multimedia project, done in partnership with ProPublica, looks at the dangers for the region. Full Story
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As the battle for control of the Travis County GOP heats up, and its newly elected chair writes increasingly raunchy tweets at a breakneck speed, Gov. Greg Abbott has stepped into the fray to condemn his fellow Republican Full Story
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On this week's TribCast, recorded with a live audience on the morning after Tuesday's primaries, Ross talks to Evan, Patrick, Abby and Jim about the results — and what they mean. Full Story
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House Speaker Joe Straus sailed to victory in his re-election bid and he avoided a significant net loss in fights between hard right conservatives and his lieutenants elsewhere in the state. Full Story
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A task force at the University of Houston has recommended in a draft campus carry policy that guns be banned in all residence halls on campus, except one. Full Story
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On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in the legal challenge to abortion restrictions passed by Texas lawmakers in 2013. The case may help clarify how far states can go in regulating the procedure. Full Story
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Access to preventive health care in heavily uninsured Texas is challenging for its poorest residents, so the state is relying on nonprofit community clinics to be the front line of public health defense. Full Story
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A slew of open seats in the Legislature means there will be at least 18 freshman lawmakers in the Capitol come January. Two thirds of the open seats are currently held by a Republican. Full Story
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Foreign terrorist groups and illegal immigration are the greatest threats to the United States, according to voters surveyed for the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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An effort by the Mexican government to bolster voter turnout abroad might help some undocumented immigrants in Texas obtain birth certificates for their U.S.-citizen children. Full Story
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The state’s highest criminal court dismissed the remaining indictment against former Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday morning, apparently ending the case that started with his threat to veto state funding for a local prosecutor if she refused to quit her office. Full Story
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As Texas primary races head into the final stretch, the latest campaign finance reports show House Speaker Joe Straus and a handful of his allies are spending big to fight off their Tea Party-backed challengers. Full Story
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Whether they were edged out in 2014 by thin margins or bowed out years ago and had a recent change of heart, several former House members want back under the dome next year. Full Story
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A high-ranking official at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is resigning after he co-authored an unflattering study that found the state’s exclusion of Planned Parenthood from a family planning program restricted women’s access to health care. Full Story
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The Texas Racing Commission voted 5-4 on Thursday to repeal rules allowing a new form of gambling, ending a monthslong deadlock that pitted members of the industry against state lawmakers. Full Story
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In a race pitting an East Texas incumbent versus an upstart challenger endorsed by conservative activists, a pair of unlikely issues has commanded focus: toll roads and a controversy at the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story
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The next Texas legislative session is almost a year away, but Senate Republicans are already zeroing in on proposals to bolster legal protections for religious opponents of same-sex marriage. Full Story
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Save for some narrow exceptions, guns will be allowed in classrooms but not in dorms at the University of Texas at Austin next school year under guidelines issued Wednesday. Full Story
The Texas Racing Commission's latest vote on a new form of gambling was a 4-4 tie. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar could break that deadlock this week, but he isn't saying how he might vote — or whether he will vote at all. Full Story
Baylor University has opted out of Texas' campus carry law, joining the long list of Texas private universities that have decided to continue banning handguns on their campuses. Full Story
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