The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
This month, the sole public water well in Barnhart went dry for nearly three days. Residents in the Permian Basin community say that the area's thriving fracking industry is important but that a proper balance must be struck. Full Story
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Seventeen Democrats in the Texas Legislature participated in a new video offering support to gay teens. The video is the latest entry in the nationwide "It Gets Better" campaign, which began in 2010. Full Story
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The effort to give World War II hero Audie Murphy a Texas Legislative Medal of Honor fizzled for the second time in two years. Supporters wonder if Murphy and other veterans from the "greatest generation" are being forgotten. Full Story
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The Texas House went off script Thursday, adopting several amendments to political redistricting maps it initially intended to adopt without changes. Full Story
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State Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, R-Parker, said she hopes to reintroduce a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of gestation if her legislation passes this weekend. Full Story
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It's virtually impossible to predict what Rick Perry will do, but speculation is mounting that he won't run for re-election. The chatter is on the upswing now that the governor has said he will make his intentions known before July 1. Full Story
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Hey, Texplainer: Some people are comparing an omnibus abortion bill in the Texas Legislature to an Arizona law that was ruled unconstitutional. Are the measures the same? Full Story
State Rep. Charlie Geren and leaders in the North Texas town of Blue Mound are upset that Gov. Rick Perry vetoed a bill that would have made it easier for the town to gain control of its water system. Full Story
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On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: What's next for the state's only political corruption investigation unit, whose funding Gov. Rick Perry has eliminated. Full Story
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UPDATED: The board of the state’s embattled Texas Windstorm Insurance Association agreed Tuesday to take steps that it says will better prepare the agency for the 2013 hurricane season and be more efficient over the long term. Full Story
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Texas Democrats exercised considerable influence over the legislative process during the 2013 regular session, in contrast with their relative impotence last fall. While the November election results were unequivocally red, the legislation passed during the session was decidedly purple. Full Story
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In a new video, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, a declared candidate for lieutenant governor in 2014, vows that he will fight back against progressives who want to turn tomorrow's Texas into the California or Washington, D.C., of today. Full Story
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District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg's story was primarily about a public fall from grace. When Gov. Rick Perry stripped funding from the public integrity unit she runs, it also became a story about a political power grab. Full Story
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Of the hundreds of bills that were approved by both the House and the Senate in the 83rd legislative session, more than two dozen were vetoed by Gov. Rick Perry. Use our interactive to see which measures did not survive Sunday's veto deadline. Full Story
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As Gov. Rick Perry puts an end to the so-called Kumbaya Session, we begin our weekly news-inspired playlist with Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy." Full Story
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This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: It's week three of the special session, and Gov. Rick Perry has added a few more items to the agenda, including abortion restrictions, transportation and criminal sentencing for teenagers. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry issued more than two dozen vetoes Friday, including a line-item veto that wipes out funding for the Travis County prosecutors who investigate government fraud and public corruption. He also vetoed a bill that would have had Texas law mirror gender wage protections in the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. Full Story
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UPDATED: After hearing impassioned testimony, a Senate committee has given tentative approval to an omnibus abortion regulation bill. The legislation now goes to the full Senate. Full Story
Though Senate Democrats argued that their objections and the testimony from public hearings were being ignored, the Texas Senate approved redistricting maps Friday. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry has signed into law Senate Bill 21, a measure that will subject Texans applying for unemployment benefits to a drug test if their responses to a screening questionnaire indicate possible drug use. Full Story
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