Newsreel: Freshmen Invade, Perry Appoints
This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: It's freshman orientation at the Texas Capitol, and Gov. Rick Perry has appointed a new Texas Supreme Court justice and a new secretary of state. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/113012_ART.jpg)
-
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Ethics Commission Backs Off Plan Adding Some Investigative Powers
The Texas Ethics Commission backed off Thursday from a proposal to take some investigative authority away from the Travis County district attorney’s office, but the agency approved two recommendations aimed at enhancing criminal investigations of state elected officials. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib_Capitol_MS_4.jpg)
![Texas Capitol's dome]()
Credit: Muliadi Soenaryo -
Little Hope for Overhaul as Fund Nears $1 Billion
Cost-cutting and fiscal transparency will likely dominate the upcoming legislative session, but lawmakers don't have high hopes for reforming the System Benefit Fund, a pot of $850 million not being used for its intended purposes. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/PiggyBankBudget.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Puppy Mill Law Faces Legal Challenge
A Texas law that aims to prevent puppy and kitten breeders from abusing animals faces a court challenge, but advocates have come forward to defend the law. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Puppy_with_nose_in_fence.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
John Steen Named Texas Secretary of State
John Steen, a lawyer from San Antonio, will be Texas' next secretary of state. He is replacing Hope Andrade, who resigned Friday. The appointment takes effect Tuesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TexasCapitol.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Name Change Among Possible Railroad Commission Changes
This month, the state's Sunset Advisory Commission released a series of recommendations on how the Railroad Commission — which governs the oil and gas industry, not railroads — could better serve the state. Among the recommendations: a name change. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/RRC-logo.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Employee Union Says Low Prison Pay Jeopardizes Security
Prison employee union leaders are pressuring the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Legislature to provide better pay, arguing that understaffing is particularly dangerous during the holidays. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Jail-Crowding.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Secretary of State Hope Andrade Resigns
Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade is resigning effective Friday, her office has confirmed. Andrade has held the post since 2008, when her appointment by Gov. Rick Perry made her Texas' first Latina secretary of state. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Teacher Retirement System Looks to Cut Costs
Texas lawmakers are once again heading into a legislative session facing concerns over the fiscal health of the state’s major pension systems, and changes to retirees’ health insurance may play a role. Full Story
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Woman Released on Parole Seeks Exoneration in Child Sex Assault
Amid questions about whether she and three other San Antonio were wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting two young girls, Anna Vasquez will be released on parole Friday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Anna-Vasquez-Parole.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
-
Oversight Committee Again Targets TWIA Costs
While coastal residents told lawmakers that increasing policy rates are harming the coastal economy, state lawmakers grilled windstorm insurance administrators over money spent on consultants at a legislative hearing Thursday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Galveston-Scene.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Carl Guderian -
Visualization: Executions on Perry's Watch at 250
The execution of Donnie Lee Roberts Jr., 41, on Wednesday for the 2003 shooting death of a Polk County woman marked the 250th execution during Gov. Rick Perry’s tenure, and the 12th in 2012. The total is the largest — by far — under any recent governor in the United States. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Execution-Data-App.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Political Clash Dominates Debate Over Reforming Windstorm Association
As state lawmakers prepare for a joint hearing Wednesday morning on how to reform the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, a long-standing political battle continues to define the debate. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Hurricane-Ike-Map.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Chuck Simmins -
Lawmakers Discuss Ways to Fight Prescription Drug Abuse
At a Senate panel hearing Tuesday on prescription drug abuse, doctors called upon the Legislature to provide "better education to physicians" about “how addictive these drugs are.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Pills.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Maria Kaloudi -
New Parole Rules Sought in Cases That Involved Injury to a Child
Advocates in Houston are hoping to make parole more difficult for anyone convicted of injuring a child. They plan to pursue legislation to allow the Board of Pardons and Paroles to deny reviews of parole eligibility for up to five years in these cases. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Parole-Forms-BehindBars.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
CPRIT Dealing With Resignations of Scientific Reviewers
The state’s $3 billion effort to battle cancer was delivered a major blow this month when 18 scientific reviewers resigned. Most of them allege that the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas was favoring politics, rather than science, when picking projects to fund. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Cancer-Research.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Some Inmates Forego Health Care to Avoid Fees
When lawmakers decided to charge inmates $100 a year for medical treatments, they expected it to help plug holes in the prison budget. But critics of the new policy say the result is less health care for sick inmates. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/20100526-DSC_6152.jpg)
![An inmate sleeps in his cubicle in the geriatric unit of the Estelle Prison in Huntsville.]()
Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller for The Texas Tribune -
Mental Health of Veterans is Focus of House Panel's Hearing
Amid a recent increase in suicides among military veterans, Texas lawmakers are looking at ways to address mental health challenges for veterans as they return home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/SoldierOnHill.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Spc. Bobby Allen / DVIDS -
Inmate's Case Highlights Medical Parole Issues
Advocates for inmate Donald Rash, who suffers numerous medical problems, argue that he should be granted parole. They say the state is wasting millions caring for infirm and elderly inmates who no longer pose a threat to society. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Jail-Prison-Bars-2.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
Credit: Neil Conway -
Select Texas Districts Aim to Pilot Testing Reforms
Thanks to a new law, a consortium of school districts could offer a new way forward as policymakers address the increasingly heated opposition to the state's high-stakes standardized test-based accountability system. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/ExamExemption-2.jpg)
![Article thumbnail]()
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/476c7bd2c1d027b8892fc64fb617ecf7/BD%20INC%20Andrade%20CMS%202011)