state government

TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Evan Smith March 26, 2011

M. Smith on the continuing controversy over Beaumont's school administrators, Tan on the deepening divide over the consequences of the House budget, Hamilton on the latest in the fight over higher ed accountability, Grissom on young inmates in adult prisons, Aguilar on the voter ID end game, Tan and Hasson's Rainy Day Fund infographic, Ramsey on the coming conflict over school district reserves, M. Smith and Aguilar on Laredo ISD's missing Social Security numbers, Galbraith on environmental regulators bracing for budget cuts and Ramshaw on greater scrutiny of neonatal intensive care units: The best of our best content from March 21 to 25, 2011. Full Story
Latino Leaders Eye Redistricting Changes

By Ben Philpott, KUT News March 25, 2011

Organizations from across the country have come together at the annual National Latino Congreso in Austin to strategize on legislation affecting the Latino community. And as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, all eyes are on redistricting this year. Full Story

Credit: Bob Daemmrich
Texplainer: What Is a "Point of Order"?

By Becca Aaronson March 25, 2011

Calling a point of order is a parliamentary delay tactic, but it can be a deadly one. Full Story

Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
House, Senate Budget Battle Looming

By Justin Dehn and Thanh Tan March 25, 2011

This week, we saw signs Senate budget writers may be willing to spend more than their counterparts in the House. Meanwhile, a new analysis of the House budget's possible effects on Texas jobs raised eyebrows. Full Story
Deep Rift in Beaumont on School Administration

By Morgan Smith March 25, 2011

Beaumont's Carrol A. Thomas, who makes $347,834 annually, is the highest-paid superintendent in Texas, even though his district of about 20,000 students is considerably smaller than those in other Texas cities. Full Story

Credit: Callie Richmond
Texas Could Require Disclosure of Drilling Chemicals

By Kate Galbraith March 25, 2011

A recently introduced bill would make Texas one of only a few states to require natural gas companies to disclose, for a public website, what chemicals they use in the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing. Full Story

$A worker untangles a hose at a Fountain Quail water management and treatment facility in Roanoake, Texas. Fountain Quail cleans and separates water used in fracking for natural gas removal.$

Credit: Matt Nager for The New York Times
The Week in Texas Politics Recap: March 21 to March 25

By Justin Dehn March 25, 2011

No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome. Full Story
State Senate, Facing Tight Budget, Hunts Revenue

By Ross Ramsey March 25, 2011

The Texas Senate isn’t allowed to raise money. It’s right there in the state’s Constitution, which says all revenue bills must originate in the House. But there it goes, looking for “non-tax revenues” to put enough meat on the skimpy proposed budget to get senators to vote for it. Full Story

Credit: Bob Daemmrich
Analysis of House Budget Divides Lawmakers

By Thanh Tan March 24, 2011

Lawmakers offered dueling interpretations Thursday of a Legislative Budget Board analysis predicting that the state could lose hundreds of thousands of jobs if the House's budget bill is passed. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Committee Votes to Restore $4.5 Billion for Health Services

By Becca Aaronson March 24, 2011

Deliberation about what to cut — and whom to save — ended with a vote to restore $4.5 billion to state health agencies at a Senate Health and Human Services subcommittee hearing this morning. The issue now goes to the full Senate Finance Committee. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Report: Hundreds of Youths in Adult Prisons

By Brandi Grissom March 24, 2011

Judges across the state, and particularly in Harris County, are sending youth offenders to adult prisons even when they have few prior offenses, according to a study by a University of Texas criminal justice expert. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Jacob Villanueva
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 72

By Reeve Hamilton March 23, 2011

This week's episode of the TribCast features Evan, Ross, Reeve and Ben talking mostly about the budget, but also a bit about redistricting and academic research. Full Story
House, Senate Budget Goals Could Lead to Battle

By Thanh Tan March 23, 2011

As the House prepares for a vote on its budget bill, Senate lawmakers are hinting that they're looking to spend more than their counterparts on public education — setting the stage for a budget battle. Full Story
Amendments, Emotion Dominate Texas Voter ID Debate

By Justin Dehn March 23, 2011

House Democrats unsuccessfully fired off a half-dozen points of order challenging several provisions in the voter ID bill all in an effort to halt or alter the controversial legislation. Republicans expressed exasperation at the Democrats' attempts to stall the legislation. Full Story
Voter ID Passes House After Long, Emotional Debate

By Julián Aguilar March 23, 2011

After more than 11 hours of debate, seven points of order, more than 60 amendments and nearly as many heated exchanges, a mentally vanquished and emotionally exhausted Texas House preliminarily approved the controversial voter ID bill late tonight. Full Story

Credit: Bob Daemmrich
Classrooms A Priority

By Justin Dehn March 23, 2011

Republican senators say the state's budget shortfall will mean educations cuts, but they said schools should focus first on eliminating non-classroom expenses and keeping as many teachers as possible. Full Story
Human Trafficking Bill Passes in Senate

By Christopher Smith Gonzalez March 23, 2011

The Senate preliminarily approved a bill today by state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, that would add new definitions and harsher penalties to human trafficking laws. Full Story

Credit: Bob Daemmrich
Infographic: The Politics of the Rainy Day Fund

By Thanh Tan and Ben Hasson March 23, 2011

Use our infographic to understand the intent of the Rainy Day Fund, what it takes to draw from that savings account, and the political arguments for and against using it. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Ben Hasson
Marc Mauer: The TT Interview

By Brandi Grissom March 23, 2011

The Tribune sat down recently with national criminal justice expert Marc Mauer, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based reform advocacy group The Sentencing Project, to get his advice about how Texas can continue on its so-called 'right on crime' path even as lawmakers slice millions from the state budget. Mauer, who was in Austin for the Barbara Jordan Symposium at the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs, talked about how other states have handled controversial prison closings, how others have reduced criminal justice costs and how the Right On Crime Movement — with support from conservative leaders like Grover Norquist and Newt Gingrich — might give lawmakers the political freedom to be more than tough when it comes to crime. Full Story

Credit: Brandi Grissom
Marc Mauer: The TT Interview

By Brandi Grissom March 23, 2011

The national criminal justice expert on how other states have handled controversial prison closings and reduced criminal justice costs and how the Right On Crime Movement might give lawmakers the political freedom to be more than tough when it comes to crime. Full Story

Credit: Justin Dehn