The latest Harold Dutton Jr. news from The Texas Tribune.
The Justice track at the 2015 Texas Tribune Festival featured panel discussions on criminal justice reform, the Legislature, open carry, and gay rights and states' rights. There was also a conversation with several Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judges. Full Story
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Legislation that reforms the state's grand jury system now awaits Gov. Greg Abbott's signature after the House on Sunday approved a compromise between the two chambers. Full Story
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The House faces a major deadline today; it's the last day to take up contested Senate bills and, as such, the session promises to last until the clock strikes midnight. It doesn't help that a major backlog of controversial legislation awaits House members. Full Story
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The Texas House on Sunday gave final approval to an overhaul of the state's grand juries, moving one step closer to getting rid of a controversial way of seating the panels. Full Story
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Gone are accusations of gamesmanship as lawmakers get to work finding common ground on the session's border security bill. Full Story
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It took more than 17 hours, but the House gave preliminary OK to a budget. Anticipated fights over vouchers and in-state tuition for undocumented students failed to materialize. Full Story
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Legislators in 2015 are poised to take up a proposal that would have the state close nursing homes that rack up high-level federal violations on three separate days over a two-year period. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry's recent remarks about states’ rights and marijuana laws drew national attention, though his staff said they were nothing new. Despite the clamor over the remarks, Texans shouldn't expect marijuana laws to change anytime soon. Full Story
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UPDATED: Friday morning's clash between the House and Senate appears to be water under the bridge. Lawmakers in the upper chamber said it was a tussle over a local Houston matter — but that they're working to resolve it. Full Story
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While members of the Texas Legislature can no longer act as lobbyists before state agencies, plenty of lawmakers still manage to lobby local governments. Others find work that critics would classify as lobbying by another name. Full Story
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Rep. Senfronia Thompson’s almost 40-year House tenure is defined by her defense of the underserved. But her legislative career is peppered with occasional paradoxes. Full Story
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Even as it is coping with deep reductions to its own budget, the Texas Education Agency faces criticism from school districts and lawmakers, although not necessarily for the same reasons — vivid evidence of the pressure on the TEA. Full Story
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On Tuesday night, House Bill 1942 by state Rep. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington, which seeks to reduce bullying in schools by providing what the bill analysis calls "a minimal framework" for how to address incidents of bullying, was tentatively approved by the House with a vote of 102-34. Full Story
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House lawmakers will get another day to pore over redistricting maps, after Democratic members vehemently opposed an effort to change the deadline for submitting amendments. Full Story
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Almost 157,000 inmates in the Texas prison system were counted by the U.S. Census Bureau as living where they're incarcerated and not as residents of their home counties — a policy that some opponents argue has dire political and economic consequences. Full Story
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