On Way Out of Office, Some Lawmakers Keep Spending Campaign Cash
If Texas Sen. Troy Fraser is looking for a country music song to describe his recent months in office, “I’ve Been Everywhere” might do the trick. Full Story
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![Sen. Troy Fraser R-Horseshoe Bay on floor April 23]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Analysis: Straus Stays Firm but Won’t Raise Voice in Texas House
Buried in a couple of vanilla announcements this week, House Speaker Joe Straus gently telegraphed some of his plans for next year’s legislative session. If you weren’t listening carefully, you probably missed it. Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, campaigns for re-election at The Barn Door restaurant in San Antonio on Jan. 21, 2016.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Video: A Conversation with Dawn Buckingham
Full video of my 4/21 conversation with Dawn Buckingham, a candidate in the Republican runoff in Senate District 24. Full Story
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State Workers Want Pensions to Catch Up
Thousands of retired Texas state workers are essentially stuck in 2001. Though health care, food and pretty much everything else keep getting more expensive, their monthly pension checks haven’t budged. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Analysis: Sid Miller's Lonely Political Rodeo
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller's itch for public attention earned him his latest headline, aided by his overdeveloped political reflex for deflecting blame. But the attention comes at an inopportune time. Full Story
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![Sid Miller, who was elected agriculture commissioner in November 2014, is shown at Day 3 of the Texas Republican Convention in Fort Worth on June 7, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
FDA Blocks Texas Import of Execution Drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has told the Texas Department of Criminal Justice it is tentatively barred from importing a drug used in executions. Full Story
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![The view of Texas' execution chamber from a witness viewing room.]()
Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice -
New Gas Pump Stickers Highlight Sid Miller, Ding Lawmakers
A new sticker for the state's gas pumps comes with a few additional flourishes: Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller's name emblazoned across the top and a disclaimer blaming gas taxes on Congress and the Texas Legislature. Full Story
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![A new fuel pump sticker issued by the Texas Department of Agriculture puts tax blame on Congress and the Legislature while placing Commissioner Sid Miller's name in greater prominence.]()
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Travis Co. DA Reportedly Investigating Rep. Dukes
The Texas state auditor's office has referred its investigation into possible misuse of state workers by state Rep. Dawnna Dukes to Travis County prosecutors, the Austin American-Statesman reported late Friday. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin.]()
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Analysis: The Difficult Intersection of Tragedy and Public Policy
Anyone trying to influence public policy will move where the public’s attention takes them, into the edges of the spotlight around events that might make their arguments for them. Full Story
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![A large crowd congregates during a community gathering in honor of Haruka Weiser on the University of Texas campus on April 7, 2016.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber -
Video: A Conversation with Nevárez and Uresti
Full video of our 4/13 conversation at Sul Ross State University in Alpine with state Rep. Poncho Nevárez, D-Eagle Pass, and state Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio. Full Story
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New Prison Rule Means Jailbirds Can't Tweet
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has decided that prison inmates should not be allowed to have active social media accounts, even if friends or family on the outside run them. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Jacob Villanueva -
Under New Campus Carry Rules, Texas A&M to Permit Handguns in Classrooms, Dorms
Texas A&M University's proposed new campus carry rules include few major restrictions for handguns and will allow the weapons in classrooms and dormitories. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Hutchison, Fenves Decry Dwindling State Support for Higher Education
Before meeting with state and higher ed leaders, UT-Austin President Greg Fenves and former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said Monday that universities, state governments and the private sector need to take action to preserve public colleges' strengths. Full Story
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![Former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas is shown speaking at The Texas Tribune Festival on Sept. 20, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Hospital Counters Austin Couple's Claim Over Abortion Limits
An Austin hospital is contradicting a couple's account that the state’s ban on abortion after 20 weeks kept them from ending an ill-fated pregnancy. Full Story
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Credit: Tamir Kalifa -
Rick Perry's Criminal Case Officially Dismissed
The criminal case against former Gov. Rick Perry was officially dismissed on Wednesday, weeks after the Texas' highest criminal court ordered that it be dropped. Full Story
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![Former Gov. Rick Perry speaks at the Texas Public Policy Foundation in Austin hours after the state's highest criminal court dismissed the remaining indictment against him in a case related to a veto threat against the Travis County district attorney.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
TribCast: Cruz in Wisconsin, Abortion Policy, Foster Children
On this week's TribCast, Ross talks to Ayan, Alexa and Edgar about the aftermath of Wisconsin's presidential primaries, a tragic instance of confusion over the state's abortion laws, and the state's efforts to clean up problems with child protection in Texas. Full Story
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Years After Landmark Ruling, Court To Rehear "Bizarre" Pipeline Case
Nearly five years after issuing a ruling cheered by property rights advocates, the Texas Supreme Court is set to rehear a case pitting two Texas brothers against a pipeline company that seized their land through eminent domain. Full Story
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![David Holland walks among the dozens of pipeline markers scattered across his Beaumont-area farm.]()
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Analysis: Texas Government's Shrinking Financial Buffer
State revenue could easily take some big hits this year — from a sliding oil and gas industry and from a series of potentially adverse court rulings. The message from the top to lawmakers: Don't get too spendy. Full Story
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![An oil pump.]()
Credit: Esteban Monclova for The Texas Tribune -
Abortion Limits Create Nightmare for Parents of Stillborn Baby
An Austin couple sought medical help when their almost-20-week old son began emerging early, but were told doctors could do little to help because of restrictions on abortion in Texas. Full Story
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Credit: Tamir Kalifa -
Texas Supreme Court Upholds Tax on "Small Tobacco"
A state tax that imposes a 55-cent fee on each pack of cigarettes produced by small tobacco manufacturers is constitutional, even though Big Tobacco manufacturers do not pay the tax, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday. Full Story
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