The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Thousands will gather at the state GOP convention in San Antonio this week. Texas Democrats will meet in Fort Worth for their biennial meeting the following weekend. School shootings and the #MeToo movement are among the issues that could loom large at one or both events. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/06/20/DemsGOP-Agree.jpg)
With lots of female candidates in Texas trying to win spots in the state's male-dominated congressional and legislative delegations, a series of workshops on Sunday helped Democratic women navigate the challenges of running their first political campaigns. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/123a8d09e2671ce57bd4e6f505dac2f0/Kim_Olson_LBS_TT.jpg)
The money collected will go to a “dedicated testing evidence account” controlled by the state comptroller. The Governor's Criminal Justice Division will then distribute the funds to qualifying crime labs and agencies on an application basis. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/RapeKit.jpg)
The lawsuit filed against the Santa Fe shooting suspect's parents aims to hold gun owners responsible for the way they store their firearms around their troubled children. Experts say it fits into a nationwide pattern of gun liability cases that aspire to keep gun owners and manufacturers accountable through fear of high-cost lawsuits. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ca644b1da72845f2c9bb9a6ac29ad836/Clint_McGuire_Santa_Fe_MS_TT.jpg)
As the U.S. Supreme Court ponders a Texas redistricting case, a coalition of voting and civil rights groups is pushing to establish an independent commission in which citizens, rather than lawmakers, would draw the state’s political maps. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/05/24/115thCongressionalDistrictMaps.png)
Texas lawmakers signed off on building the country's first state-backed gold depository in 2015 after the project was reworked to ensure a private firm would absorb all the costs. Gov. Greg Abbott said at the time that the project would allow Texas to “repatriate” gold from New York. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/07/02/Texas-Gold-2.jpg)
We've updated compensation data for more than 145,000 state employees in our Government Salaries Explorer. This update reflects the latest state agency payrolls of 2018. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/08/20/Salaries-Capitol-less.jpg)
The state law that defines residency requirements is hard to enforce. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/08/16/APrice-EmptyChambers-3.jpg)
The move from the Texas Supreme Court comes more than a year after an Austin-based appeals court said the agency must reveal a 2014 supplier of lethal injection drugs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/09/09/DeathChamber-Texas.jpg)
Texas groups representing Latino residents are among those who are suing the Trump administration over the addition of a question about citizenship to the 2020 census questionnaire. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4ca4925e309487fdff9bd23657964bed/Cesar_Blanco_CENSUS_MKC_TT.jpg)
The poll was conducted in the days immediately following a deadly school shooting in Southeast Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d4019745f8514a8d4d540391b8593888/Santa_Fe_shooting_2_MS_TT.jpg)
Anita and Jim McHaney just wanted to sell their pickled beets at a farmers market. It turns out that's not an easy task. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bae2978b46dca10f3c538aa5157f2247/Pickle_1_LS_TT.jpg)
The plan includes new gun laws, training for school officials and an app. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/aad1d973e15b1089eaa3e4233666be7b/Santa_Fe_high_School_crosses_2_REUTERS.jpg)
The doctored photo purported to show Goldberg wearing a shirt that showed President Donald Trump shooting himself. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/03/06/Sid_Miller_primary_night_3_SK_TT.jpg)
The governor's announcement follows three days of roundtable discussions about school safety last week at the Capitol. He said he was open to a special session to implement some of his ideas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/20a5f20998982b280545cfe5c4075473/Abbott_school_safety_presser_1_LBH_TT.jpg)
Friday's ruling doesn't directly address regulations implemented by some Texas cities restricting homeowners' use of services like Airbnb. But it bolsters the case against the City of Austin's short-term rental ordinance in several major ways, lawyers said. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/02/24/Air_BnB_Mariana.jpg)
This year's surge in women candidates could result in a record high percentage of female representation in Texas’ congressional delegation and the state legislature. But regardless of the outcome in November, Texas women will still fall short of equal representation in their government. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7c590bb581fa2551c7668899bf2240b5/Escobar_Garcia_Paxton_Valdez_TT.jpg)
Architects and school safety experts say that campuses are already designed with minimizing death in mind — but that architecture can only go so far. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/01aabb878630fae55935ee77fa34a49f/Santa_Fe_shooting_1_MS_TT.jpg)
Texas law prohibits employment discrimination based on a host of factors, including sex, race, religion and disability. But there’s no express protection for LGBTQ employees. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/490ff6d0f0a1ef9521d870c65d27479c/Stacy_Bailey_Julie_Vazquez_1_TT.JPG)
Five of the seven Texas House GOP runoffs were won by candidates who had support from two groups aligned with retiring House Speaker Joe Straus and other establishment Republicans. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/2d18d7d4c7fe0b6678d8f637af197dcd/Harris_McNutt_Allison_Beebe.jpg)