The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Expect just about every redistricting decision made this year to center on the state's rapidly growing Hispanic population. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on how the search for Hispanic-majority districts could affect the re-election chances of some lawmakers. Full Story
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The Texas Forest Service is the lead state agency tasked with fighting wildfires. Among its recent challenges: a 3,000-acre blaze on an army base near Brownwood. Full Story
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Cutting the budget can be expensive. Something that appears to save money can, on further inspection, cost more. Family planning, for instance. Full Story
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Texas senators scratching for new state revenue canceled a meeting to talk about their options today, but a copy of their list got loose — and it includes $5.5 billion in taxes, fees, asset sales and accounting tricks that could be used to ease their budget problems. Full Story
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This is no LOL matter: Texting while driving could soon be prohibited statewide. But using other applications on a smart phone, like GPS or Facebook, would not be banned — as long as you're reading, not typing. Full Story
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The Texas House sent its budget blueprint to the Senate this week. But many senators say those cuts are too deep, and they're ready to make some drastic changes. Full Story
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After his bill received heated debate on the floor, Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, withdrew his campus carry bill today. Full Story
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A Texas lawmaker said the magic words Thursday morning to a panel of exhausted and nearly hopeless state budget writers: he has found a “new revenue source without raising taxes.” Full Story
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The public version of drawing new congressional maps for Texas started this morning with committee hearings and the unveiling of a proposal from a coalition that insists at least two of the four new districts should have Latino majorities. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, acknowledged that there's no way to take politics out of the mapmaking process. Full Story
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Attorney General Greg Abbott and former first lady Laura Bush are leading an effort to recruit more court-appointed special advocates for foster kids. With 42,000 children in the system, Gretch Sanders of KUT News reports on the growing need for so-called CASA volunteers. Full Story
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Is "family planning" a euphemism for abortion? For many House Republicans, yes. It's not that they don't understand the difference — it's that they don't trust family planning clinics not to steer women toward abortions. Full Story
In this week's episode, Evan, Ross, Reeve and Ben discuss the House budget and what it means for the Senate, pansexuals and Western civilization. Full Story
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The dust-up over who should be the steward of the Alamo continued into today's House Culture, Recreation & Tourism Committee, where three bills addressing the historic site were heard. Full Story
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Texans on all sides of the budget equation rallied at the Capitol Wednesday for vastly different priorities. Full Story
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Texans on all sides of the budget equation rallied at the Capitol Wednesday for vastly different priorities. Full Story
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A bill from state Rep. Rob Eissler modifying how end-of-course exams factor into graduation led House Republicans into a debate over how best to handle student testing during what one called "extraordinary times" in public education. Full Story
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A Senate committee on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill that would prevent the Texas Veterans Commission — which faces a proposed 20 percent budget cut — from dipping into a fund it is barred from using for administrative purposes. Full Story
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Thousands of protesters chanted "They say, 'Cut back.' We say, 'Fight back'" as they marched to the Capitol this afternoon to rally against proposed budget cuts. Full Story
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The Senate today passed a bill that would reduce restrictions on post-conviction DNA testing by allowing biological evidence that was previously untested, or tested by older, potentially inaccurate techniques, to be tested and used as evidence in court. Full Story
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