The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
A new standardized testing system will replace the TAKS exam this year, and as Kelsey Sheridan of KUT News reports, the switch to more difficult tests comes as schools are already grappling with reduced budgets. Full Story
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In a rare move Thursday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest criminal court, stayed the scheduled Aug. 18 execution of Larry Swearingen, convicted of the 1998 rape and murder of 19-year-old Melissa Trotter. Full Story
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Nine Texas government borrowers including Dallas, Bexar, Tarrant and Travis counties could face costly downgrades in their bond ratings if the federal government doesn't quickly resolve its debt ceiling problems. Full Story
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The “Texas jobs miracle” is a hot topic, but Texas’ unemployment rate is higher than all four states that border it — and it’s up slightly from last year. So why is everyone touting Texas, and Gov. Rick Perry, for its strong economy? Full Story
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In this week's TribCast, Ross, Morgan, Jim and Ben discuss the more moderate State Board of Education and how the failure of "sanctuary cities" legislation could affect a Perry presidential bid. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday he isn’t worried that a failure to increase the nation’s debt ceiling would trigger an economic catastrophe. He also says that it should be up to the states to decide whether abortion is illegal — or legal. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday he isn’t worried that a failure to increase the nation’s debt ceiling would trigger an economic catastrophe. He also says that it should be up to the states to decide whether abortion is illegal — or legal. Full Story
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The number of animal rabies cases — particularly among skunks — has more than doubled since this time in 2010 in the Central Texas region, and the increase may be due to the state's nine-month drought. Full Story
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Mental health service provider Bluebonnet Trails escaped budget cuts that would have shut off services to more than 2,000 people. That number turned out to be less than 500, but as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the cuts still hurt. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Public Safety said Monday it had preserved certain travel records associated with the cost of providing security to Gov. Rick Perry before 2008, contrary to information it provided on Friday. Full Story
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State Rep. Beverly Woolley, R-Houston, says her current term — her ninth — will be her last; she's not running for re-election next year. Full Story
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Texans are already opening their pocketbooks to show support for their favorite presidential candidates. The Tribune’s visualizations of data from federal campaign finance reports reveal who has collected and spent the most in Texas. Full Story
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Maybe it’s because he was a mayor, a position with some executive authority and a low need for rhetorical flame throwing. But Lanham Lyne, a freshman member of the Texas House, is seriously reconsidering his decision to work in the Capitol. Full Story
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Ramshaw on the lioness of the Texas House, Dehn and Tan review 20 years of Rick Perry's political ads, Murphy's latest database includes the governor's political accounts over the last decade, Aaronson's visualizations of what was said in the biggest legislative debates, M. Smith on the woman in the middle chair at the State Board of Education, Galbraith on how the drought is forcing ranchers to sell their herds, Grissom has the story on a cattle rustler who's asking the courts to give him an old-fashioned sentence, Hamilton covers Rick O'Donnell's latest salvo at higher education, Aguilar on whether and how the sanctuary cities issue will translate at the ballot box next year, yours truly on Ron Paul's candidacy and the candidate in his own words: The best of our best from July 18 to 22, 2011. Full Story
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State officials said Friday they can’t reveal how much money taxpayers are spending to protect Gov. Rick Perry — and that records of security costs compiled before 2008 have been “purged.” Full Story
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New Texas Workforce Commission stats show that Texas has gained more than 220,000 jobs since last year. Check out this visualization of unemployment rates broken down by city for June 2010 and June 2011. Full Story
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Comptroller Susan Combs isn't a 2014 candidate yet, but she wants you to know that some of the Republican Party's money people are on board and that she's got a pile of cash in her campaign treasury. Full Story
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Rep. Senfronia Thompson’s almost 40-year House tenure is defined by her defense of the underserved. But her legislative career is peppered with occasional paradoxes. Full Story
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As the new chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, Nizam Peerwani will oversee the controversial probe of the arson science that led to the conviction and 2004 execution of Cameron Todd Willingham. Full Story
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State Rep. Senfronia Thompson is the longest-serving woman, African American and Democrat in the Texas House, where her career spans nearly four decades. Here's a photographic look back at her tenure in the Legislature's lower chamber. Full Story