The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Lame duck or not, Rick Perry is still the Republican governor of a strongly Republican state. In Texas, he controls the levers of government, muzzles the news media and has no meaningful political opposition. Full Story
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Emily Ramshaw explains how family planning clinics are complying with the state's new abortion sonogram law. Morgan Smith shows us a school district that is canceling its sports program. Full Story
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Despite opposition from state Rep. Larry Taylor, who co-chairs the Windstorm Insurance Legislative Oversight Board, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association's board decided today to hire a third party to assess its financial structure. Full Story
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In rural Val Verde County, defendants who are too poor to afford their own lawyers have waited years for resolution of their cases. As a new legal battle between their lawyers and the county begins, their day in court remains elusive. Full Story
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The underlying fundamentals that buttressed Gov. Rick Perry's political power in the state are not much changed, and they suggest that the governor will reassert his powerful presence in Texas politics now that he is back. Full Story
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The revelation last year that the Texas state hospital system employed three doctors with a documented history of inappropriate behavior has lawmakers again investigating alleged abuse within the system. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story
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Texans again face the possibility of having to vote two separate times this spring in the state's primary elections. Full Story
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He's come a long way since President Obama told him he thought he was a White House intern. San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro was invited to Tuesday's State of the Union address, and he received a coveted seat near the first lady. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry won't refund taxpayers for the Department of Public Safety security detail that followed him on the presidential campaign trail — no matter how many letters Texas Democrats send him. Full Story
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Federal redistricting judges in San Antonio want to see if they can get agreement on political maps in time for an April 3 primary and said they are "giving serious consideration" to split primaries if no agreement can be reached quickly. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry must now get back to work in Texas. But after a poor performance on the national stage, what's in store for Perry as he re-engages in state politics? Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story
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In this week's nonscientific survey of political and government insiders, we asked what Gov. Rick Perry's re-entry into state politics will be like, and whether they think he'll remain in office or quit early. Full Story
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Root on the end of Rick Perry's presidential campaign, Murphy on what happens to his campaign cash, Ramsey on his next act, Ramshaw, Aaronson, Murphy, Chang and Seger interactively chart the rise and fall of his run, Aguilar talks Juárez violence with a documentary filmmaker, Galbraith on the tug-of-war over surface water, Grissom and Murphy on three decades of capital punishment in Texas, Hamilton and Aaronson on our workforce needs in 2018 and Tan on the state's much-reduced list of women's health clinics: The best of our best content from January 16-20, 2012. Full Story
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Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court tossed judge-drawn redistricting maps for Texas, a panel of federal judges set a Feb. 1 conference on what comes next — timing that could endanger the April 3 primaries. Full Story
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Amid calls for greater emphasis on vocational training that meets the needs of Texas employers, the state's higher education czar says universities should also remain focused on providing a “solid academic foundation." Full Story
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Texas’ unemployment rate — 7.8 percent — is the lowest it’s been since July 2009, when the recession was just heating up, according to employment statistics released by the Texas Workforce Commission today. Full Story
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The U.S. Supreme Court threw out court-drawn Texas redistricting maps on Friday morning, saying a panel of federal judges should have used the Legislature's maps as their starting point. Full Story
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Now what? This week, we asked the insiders what Gov. Rick Perry's reentry into state politics will be like (and, it should be noted, collected these answers before the governor dropped out of the presidential race on Thursday morning). Full Story
Ross, Reeve, Brandi and Thanh look ahead to the South Carolina primary, look back on the history of the death penalty in Texas, and discuss the current state of women's health clinics in the state. Full Story
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Four of the state's top officeholders each raised more than $1 million during the second half of 2011. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who is running for the U.S. Senate, raised $1.5 million for his federal campaign account during the fourth quarter alone. Full Story
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