The latest state agencies news from The Texas Tribune.
The numbers prove it: State government is shrinking. Many attribute the drop in state jobs to the budget cuts lawmakers passed last legislative session. But agencies had been preparing for the deficit by dropping employees for more than a year. Full Story
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The former head of the U.S. Armed Forces Southern Command said Monday that if the U.S. does not provide more support to Mexico, that country's next presidential administration may have no choice but to make a deal with cartel leaders. Full Story
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Travis County prosecutors on Monday provided “powerful evidence” to a Williamson County district court that could be crucial in exonerating Michael Morton of the 1986 murder of his wife. Full Story
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We'll be liveblogging throughout the weekend from The Texas Tribune Festival's public and higher education track — which includes panels on the role research should play at state universities and how to pay for public education. Full Story
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We'll be liveblogging throughout the weekend from The Texas Tribune Festival's health and human services track — which includes panels on the fight over federal health reform, whether Texas can cure cancer and what effect tort reform has had statewide. Full Story
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We'll be liveblogging throughout the weekend from the Texas Tribune Festival's energy and environment track — which includes panels on the coming crisis over water, big oil and national security, and whether green energy is an oxymoron. Full Story
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Ramshaw, Root and Philpott track the governor on the campaign trail, Tan and Dehn on high school football concussions, and Murphy and yours truly on the partisan climates of each district under redistricting maps: The best of our content from Sept. 19 to 23. Full Story
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Despite more details from the Obama administration today about how it would exempt states from complying with the law's signature requirements, the Texas Education Agency has yet to decide whether it will apply for a waiver on federal accountability requirements under the 2001 act. Full Story
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How much Texas pays exonerated prisoners depends largely on when they were released and applied for compensation. Changes in the law over the last decade have created vastly different payouts for former prisoners, leaving some feeling doubly wronged. Full Story
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The long-standing tradition of allowing death row inmates one last meal of their choosing before they enter the execution chamber ends today, said Brad Livingston, executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Full Story
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Rolando Pablos, the former chairman of the Texas Racing Commission, will fill the empty slot at the Texas Public Utility Commission. Separately, the state's electric grid operator announced that its board chairwoman, Laura Doll, is stepping down. Full Story
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Responding to cases of abuse and even death in Texas' residential treatment centers, a mental health organization is funding a program to better train direct-care workers. Full Story
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The U.S. Justice Department said Monday that new political maps for the Texas House and the state's congressional delegation don't protect the electoral power of the state's minority populations as required by the federal Voting Right Act. Full Story
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In Texas, eyewitness misidentifications have accounted for 80 percent of the 44 wrongful convictions overturned through DNA evidence. A new report released Monday urges significant changes in how police lineups are conducted. Full Story
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Aaronson on the rise in the state's unemployment rate, Aguilar on the push to mandate use of an electronic employment verification program, Galbraith on fears about the drought's impact on lake levels, Grissom on the latest in the Duane Buck case, Hamilton on the possible end of physics (academically speaking), Murphy updates our public employee pay app, Ramsey on David "Mitt" Dewhurst, Ramshaw on Rick Perry's campaign swing through Virginia and Iowa, Root on the deletion of gubernatorial emails and M. Smith on the teaching of safe sex where you'd least expect it: The best of our best content from Sept. 12-16, 2011. Full Story
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Former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders' charter school application was among eight approved by the Texas State Board of Education today. Full Story
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The shining Texas jobs miracle that Gov. Rick Perry is touting on the presidential campaign trail may be dimming, according to statistics released today by the Texas Workforce Commission. Texas lost 1,300 jobs in August, marking the first month of employment decline in Texas in almost a year. Full Story
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Abstinence still rules on a state policy level, but from Midland to Spring Branch, a quiet message is spreading through Texas schools: It's time to start teaching students about contraception. Full Story
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At about 7:40 p.m., the U.S. Supreme Court stayed the execution of Duane Edward Buck. His trial was one of several cases in which a psychologist told jurors that his race made him more dangerous. Full Story
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Tonight, Texas is scheduled to execute its 11th death row inmate this year. As Matt Largey of KUT News reports, controversy surrounding the inmate's case could put the spotlight back on Gov. Rick Perry's death penalty record, which has received national attention in recent weeks. Full Story