The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Wait times to get an abortion in Texas have grown in some metropolitan areas, a trend that could be felt statewide if the Supreme Court allows the strictest provision of the state’s 2013 abortion law to take effect. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott's criminal justice division is doling out $133 million in grants to local law enforcement agencies and victims' assistance programs across seven Texas regions, he announced Friday. Full Story
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State Sen. John Whitmire might call a hearing and seek leadership changes at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department after multiple reports of youths fighting, climbing onto rooftops and running away from staff in large numbers at youth correctional facilities. Full Story
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Following an outcry from dozens of state lawmakers, Texas’ top health agency announced Thursday it will make less drastic cuts than originally planned to a therapy program for children with disabilities, even if that means spending more than lawmakers budgeted for the program. Full Story
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Gun control supporters may have lost the fight to keep handguns off college campuses, but now some are pressuring administrators to create as many gun-free zones as possible. Full Story
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Amid an ongoing lawsuit over deep cuts made by lawmakers this year to a therapy program for children with disabilities, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday offered a sternly worded defense of the Legislature’s move. Full Story
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Amid reports of a spike in illegal border crossings, Gov. Greg Abbott is again pushing the federal government to fortify the Texas-Mexico border, demanding "immediate and bold action" from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Full Story
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Safety advocates staged a “thirst strike” on the steps of Dallas City Hall Tuesday, calling on city leaders to guarantee periodic rest breaks for construction workers who toil for hours in the city’s sweltering summers. Full Story
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On 9/28, we talked about the future of environmental policy in Texas with the TCEQ's Toby Baker ; John Hall of the Environmental Defense Fund; state Rep. Geanie Morrison, R-Victoria; and Mike Wetz of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Full Story
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Anti-establishment Republicans have tried three times to knock House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, out of the top job. Now they're entering an election season nearly five dozen votes short of what they need. Full Story
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Carrizo cane sprouts along the banks of the Rio Grande, providing easy cover for smugglers and drug mules. A new state law says it should be eradicated, but lawmakers neglected to set aside any money for razing cane. Full Story
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Splitting the majority party in the House of Representatives leaves a potential speaker with two routes to the top. Lawmakers did it one way in Texas and another way in Washington, D.C. Full Story
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A group of youth offenders once considered the worst of the worst for crimes including murder, capital murder, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated robbery returned to Giddings State School recently not as inmates but as thankful adults. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Criminal Justice on Friday shot down allegations that it is manufacturing its own hard-to-find execution drugs after federal defense attorneys in an Oklahoma death row case accused the Texas prison system of doing exactly that. Full Story
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In the Roundup: Pope Francis addresses Congress, exciting the Catholics in the Texas delegation, the state’s new E-verify law isn’t quite clear to those tasked with enforcing it and a judge delays funding cuts to a therapy program for poor and disabled children. Full Story
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Allowing more people to register their opinions on issues before state legislators is technologically easy. But is it really something legislators want to do? Full Story
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Following a directive from the Legislature, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission announced Wednesday that it would combine two of the state's main women’s health programs to create the “Healthy Texas Women” program on July 1. Full Story
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When and how local clerks can make poor plaintiffs pay court fees to get divorced will be argued before the Texas Supreme Court Wednesday, with both sides hoping the justices provide clarity on the contentious issue. Full Story
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To the better-known name of Sandra Bland — whose death by apparent suicide in the Waller County Jail this summer sparked national outrage — state Sen. John Whitmire on Tuesday linked three others with mental or emotional problems who have recently died in custody. Full Story
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Texas' largest health agency says it has not studied how budget cuts will affect children’s access to medically necessary therapy treatments — and appeared this week to place the blame for that on Texas A&M University. The university is denying the state's account. Full Story