The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Almost six months ago, undercover videos purported to show Planned Parenthood official in Texas discussing illegal acts. Texas Republicans pounced, opening up multiple battlefronts against the embattled women’s health organization. Full Story
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Our 1/28 conversation on bending the health care cost curve with Sue Bornstein of the Texas Medical Home Initiative, state Reps. Nicole Collier and Stephanie Klick, and Daniel Varga of Texas Health Resources. Full Story
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House Speaker Joe Straus finds himself in a familiar position, fending off Tea Party primary challenges to hold his San Antonio seat and, presumably, his grip on the gavel. Full Story
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Until the most recent legislative session, the state had a tax on illegal drugs, adding tax evasion to the list of things that could put buyers and sellers into jail. Those drugs remain illegal, but the transactions are now tax-free. Full Story
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Former state Rep. Lance Gooden wants his seat in the Texas House back, setting up a rubber match in the Republican primary for House District 4 with the man who beat him in 2014, Stuart Spitzer. Full Story
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday stuck to an earlier decision granting relief to a Montgomery County man convicted of murder. Full Story
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State senators on Tuesday urged Texas' six university system chancellors not to single out students who carry guns on campus when the state's new campus carry goes into effect this August. Full Story
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Supporters and opponents of two controversial new gun laws passed last year — open carry and campus carry — will update Texas lawmakers Tuesday on how the measures are working so far. Full Story
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At our 1/22 symposium on urban public education, John Fitzpatrick of Educate Texas talked about widening the high school-to-college pipeline with David Anthony, CEO of Raise Your Hand Texas;Susan Simpson Hull, superintendent of the Grand Prairie Independent School District; Daniel King, superintendent of the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District; and William Serrata, president of the El Paso Community College District. Full Story
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At our 1/22 symposium on urban public education, Chris Coxon of Educate Texas led a discussion about social and emotional learning with Paul Cruz, superintendent of the Austin Independent School District; Eric Gordon, CEO of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District; Terry Grier, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District; and Airick West, member of the board of directors for Kansas City Public Schools. Full Story
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At our 1/22 symposium on urban public education, I talked about the intersection of policy and population with superintendents Juan Cabrera of El Paso, Richard Carranza of San Francisco and Michael Hinojosa of Dallas and UTEP's Elena Izquierdo. Full Story
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A Nobel Prize-winning physicist at the University of Texas at Austin declared Monday that he will try to ban guns from his classroom this fall, even if university rules and state law say he can't. Full Story
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A Harris County grand jury on Monday indicted the videographers behind undercover recordings of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Houston and cleared the clinic of any wrongdoing. Full Story
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Taking aim at a new Texas law making it a state felony to harbor undocumented immigrants, a national civil rights group announced Monday that it is suing the state. Full Story
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The “lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-key” crowd has given way to another wave — across party lines, by the way — that’s trying to rework everything from whom police take to jail to who remains there overnight. Full Story
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At our 1/22 symposium on urban public education, I talked accountability, demographic change, school choice and school finance with Mike Morath, the state's new commissioner of education. Full Story
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State Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, will remain on the primary ballot for re-election in Senate District 13, despite his plan to seek the Harris County Commissioner's seat left open when Commissioner El Franco Lee died on January 3. Full Story
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Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth announced Friday that it will opt out of the state's new campus carry law, making it the 21st private college to decide to continue to ban guns. Full Story
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In the crowded race for Senate District 24, the challenge candidates face is standing out to voters across a sprawling district that stretches from Abilene to the northwest suburbs of Austin to tell the difference between them. Full Story
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In the Roundup: The U.S. Supreme Court will consider President Obama’s controversial immigration program, Gov. Greg Abbott travels to Israel and the state’s attorney general says participation on fantasy sports sites can involve illegal gambling. Full Story
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