The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Texans for Public Justice, a nonprofit watchdog group, filed a complaint today urging the Texas Ethics Commission to require Gov. Rick Perry to provide detailed reports of campaign expenditures on the Governor's Mansion. Full Story
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Speaker's race 2011: Oh, yeah, it's on. Full Story
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Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, is expected to challenge House Speaker Joe Straus for his job, according to Capitol sources. Asked Monday whether he would seek Straus' post, Berman told the Tribune: "I can't say anything until tomorrow." Full Story
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M. Smith's interview with the new chair of the Texas GOP, Philpott on Republicans and Tea Partiers living in harmony, Aguilar on Immigration and Customs Enforcement's not-yet-released strategic plan, Ramshaw's tragic tale of out-of-state kids in Texas treatment centers, Grissom on how budget cuts could impact juvenile justice, Stiles' awesome new population app, Galbraith on the decline of the Ogallala Aquifer, Hamilton's interview with the commissioner of higher education and the debut of Hu's new video debate series: The best of our best from June 14 to 19, 2010. Full Story
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Capitol staffers report that they're being evacuated. Staffers say state troopers notified them that there was a possible bomb threat about 30 minutes ago. Full Story
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The recently released map of Texans' access to high-speed internet is a new flashpoint in the race for state Agriculture Commissioner. At issue is the nonprofit behind it, Connected Nation, which received $3 million in federal money for the project under current commissioner Todd Staples' auspices. Full Story
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While the right and left don't agree on much, both sides stipulate that the state's budget mess is a multibillion-dollar problem. In the debut of our new video series, the executive director of the progressive Center for Public Policy Priorities, former state district judge Scott McCown, and the director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, former state Rep. Talmadge Heflin, debate the best way to dig us out of the hole — and how we got into it in the first place. Full Story
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After shocking abuse was uncovered at Texas Youth Commission facilities in 2007, lawmakers successfully overhauled the state juvenile justice system. Three years later, advocates worry that budget woes will halt that progress. Full Story
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The executive director of the progressive Center for Public Policy Priorities and the director of the Center for Fiscal Policy at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, debate the best way to dig out of Texas' multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall. Full Story
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Tribune news partner WFAA-TV reports that state Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving, and her husband are driving cars owned by a highway contractor doing millions of dollars in business with the state. All the while, Harper-Brown sits on the influential House Transportation Committee. Full Story
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State Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, has asked the House Committee on General Investigating and Ethics to review how the Department of Family and Protective Services licenses, reviews and oversees residential treatment centers for foster kids. Full Story
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Is the boiling battle between Texas and the Environmental Protection Agency slowing to a simmer? Full Story
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More than 250,000 Texas homes, mostly in rural areas, don’t have access to high-speed internet, according to a new broadband services map commissioned by the Texas Department of Agriculture. Full Story
The Senate Committee on Education got a painful preview today of the problems in special education that they’ll have to tackle during the 2011 legislative session. Full Story
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The ongoing battle between the EPA and Texas got a little hotter today, and it could get even more intense as the TCEQ works on a plan to comply with stricter ozone regulations. Full Story
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Ramshaw and the Houston Chronicle's Terri Langford on incidents of abuse and mistreatment at residential treatment centers, M. Smith on the state Republican Party platform and 10th Amendment embracers, Galbraith on a pipeline project raising crude concerns and the most important word in water law, Ramsey on former officeholders who are now lobbyists and the possibility of a speaker's race, Grissom on a fight over solar power in Marfa, Hamilton and Aguilar on the TxDOT audit, Philpott on budget cuts affecting school districts and my conversation with Dallas County D.A. Craig Watkins: The best of our best from June 7-11, 2010. Full Story
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For the 11th event in our TribLive series, I interviewed the Dallas County district attorney about why and how he's worked to exonerate the wrongfully imprisoned and whether he's dragging his feet on a controversial corruption case involving county constables. Full Story
Texas could face legal action if it doesn't comply with new federal regulations for voters overseas. Full Story
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U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced today that he filed legislation to outlaw profiting from the sale of items related to killers or killings. Full Story
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How many former state officeholders are registered to lobby in Austin? The answer: 65, or a little less than 5 percent of the 1,475 lobbyists on the rolls at the Texas Ethics Commission, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. Full Story
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