The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
It’s easier to spike legislation than to pass it, and timing is important. Nothing is dead for certain until the session ends, but lots of important things are not done, and the regular session ends on Memorial Day. Full Story
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Texas could save money, and prisoners could get a better education, some lawmakers say, if inmate learning programs were provided online. But correctional education experts and teachers say lawmakers’ ideas — particularly about online programs — show a lack of understanding about prison life. Full Story
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For the latest installment of our unscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked about politics — whether Barack Obama will do as well in Texas in 2012 as in 2008, whether Republicans can lose a statewide election, whether any top officeholders are in danger, and which issues in the Legislature will become issues in the elections, for better and for worse. Full Story
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The House has blown its stack and made up again a couple of times since our last conversation, all within the rules, and all — if you take a long view of things —right on schedule. Senators, who had a group conniption fit last week, have remained clear to partly cloudy and calm. Full Story
Kel Seliger decided to run the redistricting marathon by saving up his energy until the end and then running a sprint. The Amarillo Republican's Senate Redistricting Committee met less than three weeks before end of the session to consider Senate district maps that had at that point been public for less than 24 hours. He told members — this was on Thursday — that they had until 5 p.m. to get their amendments to him and to make sure they were legally vetted and so on. And he said he planned to vote on the plan, along with a House plan already approved on the other side of the rotunda, on Friday. That sets up a full Senate vote for as early as next week. Full Story
The ideas on what to do with the state budget are getting weirder and weirder. Full Story
Aaronson on pork choppers, Aguilar on sanctuary cities legislation, Galbraith on Brownsville's ban on plastic bags, Grissom on Delma Banks and prosecutorial misconduct, Hamilton on a tough week for higher education in Texas, Philpott on wildfires and politics, Ramshaw on the state's pursuit of a federal Medicaid overhaul, M. Smith on what would happen if lawmakers don't rewrite school finance formulas, yours truly on the Lege as schoolyard and Stiles with interactive graphics on how the proposed Senate redistricting maps compare with current ones: The best of our best content from May 9 to 13, 2011. Full Story
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A South Texas border brawl, complete with personal attacks about weight and cowardice, took place between former allies Aaron Peña, R-Edinburg, and Armando Martinez, D-Weslaco. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers have a message for Transportation Security Administration: hands off. The House passed a bill today that would prohibit invasive searches and pat-downs at airport security or other public buildings. Full Story
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The Governor, with the help of the Legislature, seems driven to dilute one of our most enduring constitutional bulwarks: the ability of Texas residents to get a fair shake in court. Full Story
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No time to follow all the happenings of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recap of the biggest political stories in the state. Full Story
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Forget the hyperbolic editorial rhetoric. The Governor’s proposals for improving our civil justice system will help make lawsuits less expensive and less time consuming. Full Story
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The Texas House passed a bill today on malt liquor drinks that contain caffeine, ginseng, taurine or guarana. The bill prohibits the sale, manufacture, import and possessing of alcoholic energy drinks, like the infamous Four Loko. Full Story
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The mission and jurisdiction of the ever-controversial Texas Forensic Science Commission would get some clarification under a bil the Senate approved today. Full Story
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This session, Texas Democrats are a frustrated bunch. From sanctuary cities to the state budget, they have so far lost every battle they've waged against the GOP. Texas Politics Project Director Jim Henson analyzes the struggle between the majority and the minority. Full Story
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It turns out you can do a lot of damage with nothing more than a rule book, which is hazardous in a place that often runs like a schoolyard: Conduct trumps content. Full Story
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When state Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, introduced a bill last legislative session to allow licensed hunters to shoot feral hogs from helicopters, Texas lawmakers jokingly passed out “pork chopper” buttons. They're not laughing anymore. Full Story
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Facing an estimated 28 percent reduction in funds to care for medically fragile children, in-home nursing companies say they could be forced to shut their doors, or else dramatically slash what they pay nurses. Full Story
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In what may be the Democrats' first concrete victory of the session, the House at last sent HB 400 to its grave when it failed to take up the controversial education legislation before its midnight deadline. Full Story
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In keeping with Republican lawmakers' promises to strengthen state voting laws, the House today tentatively passed a bill that would make it a separate punishable offense for an illegal immigrant or non-citizen to vote or attempt to vote. Full Story
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