The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
UPDATED: Texas health officials have delivered their much-anticipated plans for taking over the Medicaid Women's Health Program. They want to assume full responsibility in November. Federal officials say they're considering the plan. Full Story
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As the State Board of Education prepares to approve new K-12 math standards, it is receiving significant pushback from leaders in Texas' business community, who contend that they're are not up to snuff. Full Story
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This interactive breaks down the costs of the lawsuits that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has brought against the federal government. Full Story
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Texas is one of the nation's only producers of uranium, and mining companies are gearing up for expansion. That's causing concern among environmental groups, some of which have been battling uranium mining for decades. Full Story
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The four leading Republican U.S. Senate candidates will try again to prove to conservative voters which of them will adhere most strictly to the party's values in Washington. Full Story
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This week in the Newsreel we look at the Texas redistricting court case still pending in D.C., and the Texas Weekly 2012 election brackets. Full Story
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The Environmental Protection Agency is rolling out a rule aimed at improving air quality above national parks like Big Bend by focusing on big industrial plants. Full Story
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The pay for Texas lawmakers is low, but the pension benefits are sweet. Some say, though, that lawmakers who break the law should have to forfeit their pensions. Full Story
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Former Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Commissioner Buddy Garcia will fill a seat on the Railroad Commission that was vacated by Elizabeth Ames Jones, who is now a candidate for state Senate. Full Story
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The University of Texas at Austin is kicking the smoking habit, announcing today that it will ban smoking on all university grounds. The new policy is meant to ensure that UT continues receiving cancer research funds. Full Story
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Tom Leppert released a new TV ad that includes a thinly veiled swipe at U.S. Senate race rivals David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz. Full Story
The Texas Ethics Commission could undergo major changes in the next legislative session. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on why some think the state should scrap the commission and start over from scratch. Full Story
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The Texas Conservative Roundtable's first legislative rankings are out, and the group has a different view of who is conservative and who isn't than some others who rank lawmakers. Full Story
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The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will vote Wednesday on whether to prohibit state agencies from participating in contested case hearings on permits and licenses issued by the commission. Full Story
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The first two parts of M. Smith's series on failing school districts (plus Murphy and Seger's interactive on how districts' characteristics relate to ratings), Root on lagging GOP candidates for president trying to shore things up in Texas, Ramshaw on a "fiscal switcheroo" to get federal money for women's health programs, Galbraith talks to a West Texas farmer about crop insurance and climate change and Aguilar on the money behind a lawsuit on long rifle sales: The best of our best content from April 2 to 6, 2012. Full Story
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Redistricting has cost Texas taxpayers nearly $1.5 million in legal expenses so far — a total that could rise as more invoices are filed. Use our interactive to compare spending by category or to see the number of hours billed for legal work. Full Story
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At our Hot Seat conversation at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, state Reps. Tom Craddick, R-Midland, and Tryon Lewis, R-Odessa, and state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, discussed cuts to public and higher education and other by-products of the 82nd Session. Full Story
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The filings are in, the candidates are raising money and looking for support. It is finally primary season in Texas. Full Story
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The U.S. is losing a generation of family farmers that may not be replaced, according to national agriculture statistics. And as Mose Buchele of KUT News reports for StateImpact Texas, the drought may be exacerbating that trend in Texas. Full Story
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Wal-Mart looks to provide a cheaper alternative to workers compensation for their employees, and a Houston school district struggles with the possibility of closure. Full Story
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