The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Gov. Greg Abbott, with the Texas Education Agency and Texas Division of Emergency Management, announced the COVID-19 Rapid Testing Pilot Program on Wednesday. Full Story
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A professional organization of social workers called the change "incredibly disheartening," while Gov. Greg Abbott's office said it was necessary to conform with existing state law. Full Story
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Women in Texas can continue to access the most common procedure used to end a pregnancy in the second trimester, after a federal appeals court Tuesday struck down a state law that would have curtailed its use. Full Story
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Civil rights groups and voting advocates had argued the restriction would disproportionately impact low-income voters, voters with disabilities, older voters and voters of color in Democratic counties. Full Story
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Amid the apprehension that Texans expressed about the spread of infections, there are partisan differences about how serious a problem the coronavirus is, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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Aides in the attorney general’s office have said their boss used the power of the agency to serve the financial interests of Nate Paul, an Austin investor and donor. Paul’s attorney said his client has been the victim of agency “dysfunction.” Full Story
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The long-running securities fraud case against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — now more than five years old — has been delayed for years as he resists paying special prosecutors $300 an hour. But he personally signed off on that rate for an inexperienced attorney probing a political donor’s complaint. Full Story
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Springer, a state representative, faces Luther, the Dallas salon owner who was jailed earlier this year after refusing to shutter her business due to pandemic restrictions, for the seat of state Sen. Pat Fallon, R-Prosper. Full Story
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The young lawyer has five years of experience and apparent ties to an attorney for Nate Paul, a political donor to Paxton at the center of the latest allegations against the attorney general. Full Story
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A state program that helps with speech and occupational therapy and other services is in need of a new funding strategy, the officials say. They've instructed the state to craft a plan to ensure such services are available for all eligible Texans. Full Story
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Top aides have accused Paxton of using the agency to serve the interests of the donor through the investigation — which has involved subpoenas related to the donor's financial interests. Full Story
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As the pandemic has dragged on in Texas, the distance between Abbott's approval and disapproval ratings from voters has narrowed, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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While Denton County is moving forward, Dallas and Harris counties officials almost immediately declined the offer to allow bars to reopen. Many others are taking a wait-and-see approach. Full Story
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The aides are doubling down on accusations they made last week to law enforcement that Paxton had committed crimes including bribery and abuse of office. Full Story
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The fate of the presidential race in Texas could be tied to dozens of legislative and congressional races in the state's suburbs. Those seats have often gone to Republicans. But Democratic candidates are raising and spending big. Full Story
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Voting rights groups say last-minute changes to the voting process in Texas have created confusion. Gov. Greg Abbott’s office says he has expanded accessibility by allowing voters to submit mail-in ballots in person before Election Day. Full Story
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Among the documents Paxton released Wednesday was a June 10 referral from the Travis County district attorney’s office, which asked the attorney general’s office to investigate a complaint that appears to come from Nate Paul. Full Story
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The elections administrator for the county, Texas' most populous and a critical stronghold for Democrats, has already sent the applications to voters 65 or over. The GOP Texas Supreme Court ruled he may not send them to the rest of the county's 2.4 million registered voters. Full Story
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Earlier in his career, media reports called the now 33-year-old real estate investor a “wunderkind,” a “rising star” and a “prodigy.” Now he’s fighting more than a dozen bankruptcies and has been linked to criminal allegations against an embattled Texas politician. Full Story
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The Biden ad buy as comes as The Lincoln Project, the group led by former Republican strategists working to defeat Trump, launched a $1 million digital ad campaign in the state. Full Story
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