The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Lawmakers and health care advocates gathered today to kick off the state's first annual Minority Cancer Awareness Month, designated in the last legislative session to bring awareness to racial disparities in cancer survival. Full Story
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By mid-summer last year, it was so hot and dry that many West Texas cotton farmers gave up hope of producing a crop. Yet they had to keep watering, pumping from diminishing aquifers like the Ogallala, to claim crop insurance. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst appears to be in the middle of the Republican pack in the Texas Senate, where he presides, according to an analysis of senators' votes by Rice University political scientist Mark P. Jones. Full Story
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If the Supreme Court upholds the Affordable Care Act, Texas may see a surge in newly insured patients seeking primary care. As this interactive of primary-care workforce shortages from 2001 to 2011 shows, the number of physicians in your county isn't likely to keep up with demand. Full Story
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The death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin has put self-defense laws like Florida's into focus. What does Texas law say about using deadly force in self-defense? Full Story
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In her first TV commercials — running during college basketball games this weekend and then in broader rotation in Austin and San Antonio starting next week — Texas Senate candidate Elizabeth Ames Jones says she'll create jobs and fight "Obama bureaucrats." Full Story
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The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the national child advocacy group Children's Rights cannot file its class-action suit on behalf of all 12,000 youth in Texas' long-term foster care system. Full Story
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The process of desalination needs to be explored as an option for the future, experts testified Thursday in Austin before the House Natural Resources Committee. Full Story
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Texas women’s reproductive rights have drawn attention lately over the federal government's decision to cut funding for the state’s Women’s Health Program. Use this interactive to see just how many pregnancies, births and abortions occur across the Lone Star State. Full Story
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Apple Inc., which has reported having $100 billion in cash on hand, could get up to $35.5 million in various state and local incentives if it expands its operations in Austin. Full Story
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Sen. Florence Shapiro’s departure means the end of a nearly two-decade-long tenure in the state Senate — and an opening in the top position on the Senate Education Committee for the first time since 2003. Full Story
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State Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, is exploring a 2014 run for comptroller — an office that would open up if Susan Combs decides to move on, perhaps to run for lieutenant governor. Full Story
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Child Protective Services officials got an earful on Wednesday at a Senate hearing on improving the caseworker retention rates in rural communities. And they got a minor scolding from Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville. Full Story
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A mentally unstable man has been charged with throwing a bag filled with six Molotov cocktails at the door of the Fort Worth office of state Sen. Wendy Davis. Full Story
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School districts are taking advantage of the Texas Education Agency's decision to waive the requirement that STAAR exams count for 15 percent of students' grades for the 2011-12 school year. Full Story
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Will the Planned Parenthood brouhaha affect elections? Should state officeholders be able to collect retirement while they're still on the job? And should Texas lawmakers have term limits? Full Story
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Texas has scored a 68 out of 100, placing 27th in a national state integrity study. The state got high marks for auditing and for monitoring pension funds, but not as high for accountability of the governor and legislators. Full Story
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As the Ogallala Aquifer slowly declines, some West Texas farmers are facing a new type of regulation: a limit on the amount of water they would pump from wells on their own land. And many aren't happy about it. Full Story
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Texas Republicans are stuck, having won as many seats as it is possible to win by elections or by creative political mapping. But the solution for them is simple. Full Story
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Part news program, part call-in show, "The Prison Show" aims to help inmates stay connected to family, friends and the outside world. Full Story
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