TribLive: Straus on School Finance
At Wednesday's TribLive conversation, House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, reacted to this week's ruling on the school finance lawsuit and talked about what happens now. Full Story
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The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
At Wednesday's TribLive conversation, House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, reacted to this week's ruling on the school finance lawsuit and talked about what happens now. Full Story
A planned interstate highway stretching from South Texas to Michigan remains decades away, but Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that lawmakers should find more money for the project and ones like it. Full Story
Despite strong resistance inside and outside the Legislature, groups representing gambling interests hope that a collaborative approach can help them make a breakthrough this legislative session. Full Story
The last substantial Texas ethics reforms passed during the 72nd legislative session. It wasn't easy then — and won't be easy now. But members pushing for new rules say they're optimistic that their colleagues will support making the state's business more transparent. Full Story
The culture of gift-giving is alive and well in the Texas Capitol, and lobbyists are the chief benefactors. Full Story
On Monday night's edition of Piers Morgan Tonight, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott spoke out against both background checks for personal gun sales and a ban on high-capacity magazines. Full Story
The legislative founders of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas laid out the first draft of a bill to reform the embattled agency on Tuesday before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Full Story
The new chairman and vice chairman of the Texas Ethics Commission board on the state’s disclosure rules, their efforts to prioritize certain types of ethics complaints and the reforms they anticipate in the 83rd legislative session. Full Story
A decision by the Texas Railroad Commission has paved the way for an open-pit coal mine to begin operating on the Texas-Mexico border. Opponents of the plan are weighing their options, which include making a request for another hearing. Full Story
Texas' financial disclosure practices for lawmakers may not be as thorough as ethics experts would like them to be. But the path Texas has taken to reach its guidelines puts it ahead of many other states. Use our interactive to see how Texas stacks up. Full Story
The Texas Department of Transportation is two years away from a severe drop in funding unless lawmakers find more cash, agency officials said at a budget hearing Monday. Full Story
The South Texas delegations of the Texas House and the Senate on Monday announced the filing of bills to create a Rio Grande Valley university that would include a medical school. Full Story
State Rep. Lance Gooden says he will carry legislation to make it illegal to use a drone to capture video or photographs of private property without the consent of the property’s owner or occupant. Full Story
When money was tight two years ago, the state's top budget writers employed cutbacks and accounting tricks to balance the budget. Money is flowing again, but the budget folks are still finding it easy to say no. Full Story
Will Texas expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act? That’s the $100 billion question this session at the Capitol, where supporters of federal health care reform may be gaining traction. Full Story
In this edition in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: Gov. Rick Perry delivered his State of the State address this week. It was big on large-scale spending, but didn't touch hot-button issues like abortion, immigration or gun control. Anti-abortion advocates rallied on the steps of the state Capitol. And U.S. Representative Roger Williams raised his Second Amendment banner. Full Story
At first glance, the first drafts of the House and Senate budgets leave billions of dollars on the table. A closer look shows there may not be as much left as many have hoped. Full Story
There will be no pay raise for legislators this year. The Texas Ethics Commission, at the urging of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus, declined to raise the per diem payments lawmakers get when they're in session. Full Story
The $1.8 billion in tax relief that Gov. Rick Perry called for this week was short on details, but the few that are out there are already sparking questions. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry's brief remarks at the State Board of Education on Friday echoed his State of the State address, where he called for the creation of more charter schools and the expansion of career and technical courses for high school students. Full Story