The latest state agencies news from The Texas Tribune.
The Senate Education Committee has sent legislation on minimum grading and attendance policies to the full chamber, but bills on residential development and special education policy have stalled. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/pencilgraphdown.jpg)
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association called an emergency board meeting this afternoon to discuss the Texas Department of Insurance’s decision to put the agency on administrative oversight. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/twia.png)
Rev. Carroll Pickett holds the world record for witnessing the most state executions as a chaplain. He saw 95 men die by lethal injection during his career as the death house chaplain. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Screen_shot_2011-02-28_at_1.24.39_PM.png)
In a recent Tribune article, state Rep. Leo Berman alleged that illegal immigrants are bringing infectious diseases into Texas. Is he right? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/texplainer-sponsoredTAMU.png)
The onetime death house chaplain on what it was like to witness the most state executions of anyone in his job (95, by lethal injection), what changed his mind about the death penalty and why lawmakers should continue to fund the chaplain program. Full Story
The Senate Nominations Committee voted 4-2 today to recommend approval of the state forensic board Chairman John Bradley's appointment. Sens. José Rodríguez and Kirk Watson voted against Bradley's nomination. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCA6256.jpg)
Inmates looking to catch up on their Shakespeare are out of luck. They won't find Love Poems & Sonnets in any Texas lock-up. The Texas Civil Rights Project released a report today on the list of 11,850 books banned by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/BowdenBooks.jpg)
Two agencies that Gov. Rick Perry has suggested suspending funding for — the Texas Historical Commission and the Texas Commission on the Arts — came before House Appropriations this morning. And lawmakers didn't seem particularly apt to shutter them. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Clifton_Tri_a.jpg)
The Texas Tribune sat down last week to talk with Sugar Land's director of intergovernmental affairs, Dale Rudick, to talk about the history of the prison in Sugar Land and about what local officials think would be a better use of the land where it sits today. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Dale_Rudick.jpg)
Dale Rudick, Sugar Land's director of intergovernmental affairs, on the history of the Central Prison Unit, why the city wants it shuttered, and whether the budget crunch is actually working to Sugar Land's advantage. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Dale_Rudick.jpg)
Texas school districts are bracing for budget cuts and layoffs in the coming months. And as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, education advocates are particularly concerned about the state's roll out of STAAR, a new testing system, in 2012. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/20100720_Sen_Educ_Comm_MG_5226x.jpg)
Gov. Scott Walker should come to Texas, where much of what he’s seeking already exists. The right to bargain collectively isn’t allowed among state employees, and no public employee in Texas may legally go on strike. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Wisconsin-Protest.jpg)
A majority of the state's voters say they're ready for full-blown casino gambling, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Feb23PollCharts.008.png)
Texas school districts are bracing for budget cuts and layoffs in the coming months. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the cuts have some worried about 2012, when the state will roll out STAAR, a new testing system. Full Story
Lives are at stake if the Legislature fails to appropriate the full amount of the Driver Responsibility Program fund, medical professionals said at a Capitol press conference today. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/drivers.jpg)
After listening to nearly two hours of emotional testimony from exonerated prisoners, the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee today approved a bill meant to reform the way law enforcement officials in Texas gather and use eyewitness identification evidence. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/tim.cole_3.jpg)
The House and Senate budgets propose a $95.6 million cut in total revenue from the Texas Youth Commission budget in 2012-2013, and lawmakers are eying reductions in parole services, which could lead to fewer staffers and fewer district parole offices. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Jail-Crowding.jpg)
On today's broadcast of CNN's American Morning, state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, and state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, debated the controversial issue of concealed handguns on college campuses. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/CM_Capture_1_5.png)
At last Wednesday's TribLive conversation, first-term House members Stefani Carter, R-Dallas, Cindy Burkett, R-Mesquite, and Rodney Anderson, R-Grand Prairie, explained why they think deep cuts to public education are possible. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/NewGuys_Still_1.jpg)
The power failures earlier this month have called into question one of Texas' most basic tenets: that we do everything, including deregulation, better than anyone else. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f4dc9cd4e2ff0dd709bae366e7611714/BD%20INC%20Power%20170%202011)