The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
General elections in Texas will be less competitive than ever under the redistricting maps approved by the Legislature earlier this year. The political threats to incumbents, if any, will come in primaries and not in general elections. Full Story
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Rolando Pablos, the former chairman of the Texas Racing Commission, will fill the empty slot at the Texas Public Utility Commission. Separately, the state's electric grid operator announced that its board chairwoman, Laura Doll, is stepping down. Full Story
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Responding to cases of abuse and even death in Texas' residential treatment centers, a mental health organization is funding a program to better train direct-care workers. Full Story
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The Texas Senate's chief budget writer — Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan — won't seek re-election, he announced this morning. Full Story
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The U.S. Justice Department said Monday that new political maps for the Texas House and the state's congressional delegation don't protect the electoral power of the state's minority populations as required by the federal Voting Right Act. Full Story
In Texas, eyewitness misidentifications have accounted for 80 percent of the 44 wrongful convictions overturned through DNA evidence. A new report released Monday urges significant changes in how police lineups are conducted. Full Story
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A group of Tea Party activists pushing for stricter immigration laws Monday asked Gov. Rick Perry to leave the presidential campaign trail and call the Legislature back into session to tackle a ban on so-called sanctuary cities. Full Story
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After two decades in the Texas Senate, Plano Republican Florence Shapiro said this afternoon that she won't seek re-election. State Rep. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, starts as a strong replacement candidate. Full Story
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New rules intended to reduce the danger of concussions in high school football players are now in effect. But do they go far enough? Full Story
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Three statewide elected officials have their eyes on the lieutenant governor’s job now that David Dewhurst is running for U.S. Senate. They admit it's early to be maneuvering for an election that’s almost three years away — but they admit it while pressing forward. Full Story
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Nationwide, about 60,000 concussions occur on high school fields every year. The Tribune visited Wimberley High School to find out how it is preparing for new state laws to prevent head injuries in student athletes. Full Story
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Aaronson on the rise in the state's unemployment rate, Aguilar on the push to mandate use of an electronic employment verification program, Galbraith on fears about the drought's impact on lake levels, Grissom on the latest in the Duane Buck case, Hamilton on the possible end of physics (academically speaking), Murphy updates our public employee pay app, Ramsey on David "Mitt" Dewhurst, Ramshaw on Rick Perry's campaign swing through Virginia and Iowa, Root on the deletion of gubernatorial emails and M. Smith on the teaching of safe sex where you'd least expect it: The best of our best content from Sept. 12-16, 2011. Full Story
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The former Texas Tech football coach on his pending lawsuit against the university, how the state's doing at educating student athletes and what happens if the Big 12 falls apart. Full Story
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Former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders' charter school application was among eight approved by the Texas State Board of Education today. Full Story
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The shining Texas jobs miracle that Gov. Rick Perry is touting on the presidential campaign trail may be dimming, according to statistics released today by the Texas Workforce Commission. Texas lost 1,300 jobs in August, marking the first month of employment decline in Texas in almost a year. Full Story
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Abstinence still rules on a state policy level, but from Midland to Spring Branch, a quiet message is spreading through Texas schools: It's time to start teaching students about contraception. Full Story
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General elections in Texas will be less competitive than ever under the redistricting maps approved by the Legislature earlier this year. The takeaway is simple: Texas has a strongly Republican map and the political threats to incumbents, if any, will come in primaries and not in general elections. Full Story
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Lots of things affect election outcomes. Candidates. Money. Issues. Surprises. But some of the results are wired into district maps, through redistricting. Here's our charting of the political atmosphere — Republican or Democratic — in each of the House, Senate and congressional districts drawn by the Legislature this year. Full Story
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At about 7:40 p.m., the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the execution of Duane Edward Buck. His trial was one of several cases in which a psychologist told jurors that his race made him more dangerous. Full Story
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The Texas land commissioner on running for lieutenant governor (in an election that's three years off), water and education and other issues facing the state and his potential foes — especially Comptroller Susan Combs. Full Story
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