The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
With less than five weeks left to go in the session, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst sat down with the Tribune to talk about his future political plans, the status of the budget in the Senate and in the biennial parley between the Senate and the House, redistricting and the tug-of-war over the Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
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Senators left a meeting this morning looking no closer to an agreement on the budget — and Finance Chair Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said the method of financing it remains the sticking point. Full Story
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The Texas House tentatively approved new political districts early this morning on a 92-52 vote after hours of nips and tucks that left the proposal they started with mostly intact. Full Story
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In this episode of the TribCast, Evan, Reeve, Ben and Mark chatter about Leo Berman, David Simpson, Jeff Wentworth and David Dewhurst. Full Story
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Waiting for the Senate budget debate? Get comfortable. Plans to bring the Senate’s substitute for the House’s budget, HB 1, up for a vote on the floor on Thursday have for now been pushed back to Friday or later, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said. Full Story
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The first reading is just an introduction, the second reading is when the action happens, and the third reading is for final passage. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, trying to build enough support to bring the budget up for consideration this week, appealed in writing to state senators, supporting the plan and a provision that would allow the state to spend $3 billion from the Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
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As the wildfires have worsened, costs have mounted at a rate of over $1 million per day. The state will pay the majority, though local governments and the feds will also pay a share. Full Story
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State Sen. Jeff Wentworth surprised his colleagues and brought the Senate to a standstill today when he tried to tack his controversial campus carry bill onto another measure. Full Story
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Texas state representatives will choose their voters today — grabbing the ones they want, ditching the ones they don't — as the decennial drawing of political maps reaches the floor of the House. Full Story
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The House was set to debate a bill that would scrap a 27-year-old law mandating a 22-to-1 student-teacher ratio in kindergarten through fourth grade today — but before it got the chance, state Rep. Borris Miles, D-Houston, derailed the legislation with a point of order. Full Story
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House Bill 127 would make middle and high school students leave campus if they want to satisfy their soda fix. Full Story
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Thousands of untested rape kits could be examined for DNA evidence, but a bill considered today by a Senate panel carries a hefty price tag. The result could be that the boxes remain stacked on shelves in police storage rooms across the state. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry says he is unswayed by estimates that the state's Rainy Day Fund may end up being more flush than previously anticipated and blasted the Legislature's budget office as an unreliable source of numbers. Full Story
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The Texas attorney general and the FBI are already investigating the accidental release of personal information by the comptroller's office. Now, as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, an outside group wants to start its own investigation. Full Story
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Dog breeders would be regulated for the first time in Texas under a bill the House tentatively approved today. Full Story
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Dear federal government: Texas needs help covering the cost of border security. Signed, the Texas Senate. A resolution adopted by the state Senate today is intended to send a message to Washington demanding more action on illegal immigration. Full Story
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Holdup? What holdup? Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, says he's got the votes to send abortion sonogram legislation back to the House — but the timeline for doing it depends on how quickly the Senate passes the budget. Full Story
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Harris County paid a forensic psychologist who was reprimanded earlier this month more than $300,000 to test defendants for intellectual disabilities from 2002 until 2008. Full Story
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If the House has its way, there will be 7.8 billion fewer state dollars headed to Texas public schools. Here's our searchable database built from state Rep. Scott Hochberg’s projections of how the funding cuts would hit 1,024 school districts across the state. Full Story
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