A Texas congressman is seeking to designate seven of the top Mexican cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations." Critics of the proposal fear such a designation could harm Mexico’s ability to wage its own fight against the cartels. Full Story
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The comptroller of public accounts has been ducking responsibility ever since revealing that her agency had put the names and Social Security numbers of 3.5 million people in a publicly available spot on its website. Full Story
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Though secondhand smoke leads to nearly 50,000 U.S. deaths among nonsmoking adults every year, no southern state, including Texas, has adopted a smoke-free law for worksites, restaurants and bars, according to a new CDC report. Full Story
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The rogue antics of freshman state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview — knocking three bills, including veteran Democratic state Rep. Senfronia Thompson’s contentious puppy mill bill, off of a fast-track House calendar — are attracting glares and backlash from his colleagues, some of whom are considering returning the favor. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, Lance Armstrong talked about the investigation into allegations that he doped as a pro cyclist — and whether the controversy has impacted his advocacy on behalf of cancer research funding and a workplace smoking ban. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: Senate committee passes budget; Perry designates days of prayer for rain; puppy mill bill off fast track Full Story
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With Texas in the throes of a terrible drought and wildfires raging across the state, Gov. Rick Perry designated April 22 to April 24 as official days of prayer for rain. Full Story
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The Daughters of the Republic of Texas would continue to be the caretakers of the Alamo, under a bill the House gave preliminary approval to this morning. Full Story
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The House has given an early OK to a bill that would allow craft breweries to charge admission for tours, and include up to two six-packs of beers to give to tourists at the end. Full Story
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For the second time, Rep. Senfronia Thompson's contentious "puppy mill" bill has been bumped from the fast track. It will now be subject to debate on the general House calendar. Full Story
A $176.5 billion budget for the 2012-13 biennium — 5.9 percent smaller than the current budget but almost $12 billion larger than the version passed earlier by the House — won approval from the Senate Finance Committee Thursday. Full Story
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We liveblogged this morning's Triblive with Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor who was instrumental in creating the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, and is pushing smoke-free workplace bills in the Legislature. Full Story
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The Rainy Day Fund, this session's forbidden fruit, is still tempting some lawmakers. Full Story
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The president of the University of Houston and chancellor of the University of Houston System on the status of UH's tier-one efforts, dealing with serious budget cuts, and the value of academic research. Full Story
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In this week's jam-packed episode, Evan, Ross, Reeve and Ben discuss higher education reformers, data security at the Comptroller's office, redistricting, the budget, and birthdays. Full Story
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Senate Finance Chair Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, has dropped the news many have been waiting to hear: He wants to attach a contingency provision to the 2012-13 budget that would withdraw $3 billion from the Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
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The House got closer Wednesday to locking in measures to reduce the number of wrongful convictions in Texas. Full Story
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Responding to a Texas Tribune article about young adults who age out of foster care being denied their records, House lawmakers passed a bill today to require the prompt release of case files following a child's discharge from foster care. Full Story
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House lawmakers have put their initial stamp of approval on a health care compact — a partnership with other states to ask the federal government for control over Medicaid and Medicare in Texas. Full Story
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The House tentatively passed a bill to provide students who have demonstrated college readiness with priority access to TEXAS Grants, the state's primary need-based financial aid program. Full Story
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