The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
DAY 27 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Lawmakers didn't cut spending for the Texas HIV Medication Program, but it remains nearly $20 million short. Full Story
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Tan on coming prison school cuts and online sales taxes, Root on Rick Perry's support for tax increases when he was a lawmaker, Ramshaw and Serafini on what "Perrycare" would entail, yours truly on the differences between Perry and George W. Bush, Philpott on the passions of the Paulites, Murphy and Seger unveil the Trib's Texas Public Schools Database, Hamilton on UT's answer to calls for improvements in higher ed, Galbraith on predictions that the record heat in Texas will be a long-term problem and Aguilar on the legal shootout over gun sales in Texas: The best of our best content from Aug. 22 to 26, 2011. Full Story
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Anne Heiligenstein, the commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services, is retiring from the agency after three years. Full Story
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DAY 26 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: 23 of the state's 94 parks face reductions in staff or operations. Full Story
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Watching Rick Perry can cause flashbacks. Both he and George W. Bush were governors of Texas, but Perry isn’t running the same government Bush was running in 2000. The problems are different. Their strengths are different. And the pitch is different, too. Full Story
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Hey, Texplainer: Why does the Texas Constitution have so many amendments? The way it's written makes it both fairly easy to amend and highly restrictive in the powers it grants, making frequent and often highly specific changes necessary. Full Story
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DAY 25 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: The state is preparing to begin requiring online retailers to collect sales taxes from their customers over the strenuous objections of Amazon. Full Story
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DAY 24 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: The state is preparing to enforce more stringent voter ID requirements. Full Story
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A state judge has declined to remove District Attorney John Bradley from continuing to investigate the case of Michael Morton, whose 1987 murder conviction has been called into question by new DNA evidence suggesting someone else killed his wife. Full Story
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DAY 23 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: The state's prison education system, known as the Windham School District, eliminates or reduces classes for Texas inmates. Full Story
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DAY 23 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: The state's prison education system, known as the Windham School District, eliminates or reduces classes for inmates. Full Story
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DAY 22 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Lawmakers slash funding for residency programs in Texas, making it even more difficult for the state to meet its growing physician shortage. Full Story
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The restricted club that is the Texas Senate will be invaded by noisy conservative voters and activists next year if senators have to choose a new leader from their own ranks, reprising the 2011 contretemps over the choice for Speaker of the House. Full Story
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DAY 21 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Nearly 56,000 students will remain on charter school waiting lists after lawmakers failed to lift a cap on the number of charters the SBOE can grant. Full Story
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DAY 20 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Financially stable charter schools will have an easier time seeking lower interest rate loans to expand or build their facilities. Full Story
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Aaronson analyzes TWIA claims and lawyer fees, Aguilar talks border security and voter ID with Chuy Hinojosa, Grissom on the latest inmate exonerated via DNA evidence, Hamilton interviews John Sharp on higher ed and the SEC, Murphy interactively maps the changes wrought by redistricting, Philpott on who's running Texas while Rick Perry is out campaigning for president, Ramsey on Perry's history of off-the-cuff remarks, Ramshaw on Perry's childhood years in Paint Creek, Root on Perry's extraordinary first week on the trail and Tan on even more ways Texas will change on Sept. 1: The best of our best content from Aug. 15-19, 2011. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry likes to rail against the Obama administration's "failed" federal stimulus program, but he and state lawmakers have more than $17 billion in fed-stim dollars to thank for the last two balanced Texas budgets. Full Story
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DAY 19 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Sugar Land's historic, art deco-style prison is closing. Full Story
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For the first time, Texas is closing a state prison. Take a look inside the historic Central Unit in Sugar Land as workers prepare it for shuttering. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry — touting the state's job growth on the campaign trail — got some bad news this morning: The state's unemployment rate is the worst in nearly a quarter century. Full Story
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