The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Leticia Van de Putte, the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, calls for reducing high-stakes testing in a new plan for Texas schools. The campaign of her Republican opponent, Dan Patrick, said the plan would do nothing to help turn around underperforming schools. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/06/28/LVdP2.jpg)
Gov. Rick Perry’s office pushed back Tuesday against criticism that he overreached in funding the deployment of Texas National Guard troops to the border. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/07/21/Perry1CMS.jpg)
State Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, has defeated state Rep. Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, in a special election runoff for a vacant Houston-area state Senate seat. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/08/04/TandC.jpg)
UPDATED: Attorneys made their opening arguments Monday in a U.S. district court trial over a provision that requires abortion facilities to meet the same regulations as ambulatory surgical centers. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/07/31/Clinic_photo.jpg)
Providence Service Corporation of Texas, the lead contractor heading the state’s foster care redesign initiative, has voluntarily terminated its contract with the Department of Family and Protective Services. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/03/21/child-foster.jpg)
Rep. Scott Turner, R-Frisco, has not been in the Texas House for two years, but the freshman lawmaker and former California congressional candidate has his eye on the top job there: speaker. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/07/31/IMG_6991.jpg)
State Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, urged the GOP to focus on appealing to Hispanic voters, emphasizing that the “ultimate survivability of the Republican Party” is at stake, in an Austin speech Thursday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/02/14/Villalba-2.jpg)
Texas women who receive state-financed health services may be able to more easily access contraceptive products like intrauterine devices and hormonal implants beginning Friday, when rule changes to the state’s Medicaid program and the Texas Women’s Health Program go into effect. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-PeoplesClinic-004.jpg)
Five Republican nominees for seats in the Texas Senate voiced public opposition Monday to a proposal that would allow a controversial new form of betting on horse races in Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/06/10/lonestar-track.jpg)
Pretty soon, Texas lawmakers will have to decide who is a reporter — and who isn't. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCA0524.jpg)
Lame-duck Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst had to make a few committee assignments to replace members who resigned. But he didn't stop there. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/05/27/7C2A7339.jpg)
Hey, Texplainer: If high school students take AP U.S. history, does that mean they are studying Common Core? Wouldn't that be illegal in Texas? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/07/23/HistoryTextBooks.jpg)
The future of federal subsidies for Texans who buy insurance under the Affordable Care Act is unclear after two courts on Tuesday issued opposite rulings about eligibility for assistance. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/12/02/ACA-2.jpg)
While Congress hashes out legislation to reform the way the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs treats those who served in the military, Texas officials are trying to help the 1.7 million veterans who live here get timely medical care. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/va.jpg)
After appointing Sen. Jane Nelson to chair the Senate Finance Committee, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has picked Sen. Charles Schwertner to replace her as the head of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/02/27/D54H4667.jpg)
With help from The Washington Post’s Truth Teller, we’re analyzing the speeches that Texas’ candidates for lieutenant governor gave at their respective state political party conventions. Here we focus on Republican state Sen. Dan Patrick. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/06/07/PatrickSatRPT176cms.jpg)
With help from The Washington Post’s Truth Teller, we’re analyzing speeches Texas’ candidates for lieutenant governor gave at their respective state political party conventions. Here we focus on Democratic state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/06/28/LVdP1.jpg)
High-ranking University of Texas System officials are expected to appear before the House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations on Wednesday to answer questions about recent developments at UT-Austin. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/02/10/Cigarroa126.jpg)
A coalition of conservative groups set forth a strict proposal for the state’s fiscal future, emphasizing hard spending caps to limit the size of government, with the release Tuesday of a budget report from the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/BudgetTexas.jpg)
Democratic state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte and Republican state Sen. Dan Patrick, who are facing off in a fiery race for lieutenant governor, have both raised about $1 million since the end of May. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2014/05/28/VFP-Patrick-Split-2.jpg)