state government

A Private Battle Over Ethics Goes Public

By Ross Ramsey Nov. 22, 2013

What had been a private battle over whether and when a nonprofit political group has to register as a lobbyist — or list the donors to its political purse — is slowly edging toward public hearings. Full Story

Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
Perry Supporter's Firm in Talks Over State Grant

By Alexa Ura Nov. 19, 2013

The Automobile Club of Southern California is negotiating with the governor's office over a Texas Enterprise Fund grant. The company's CEO is a longtime contributor to Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story

Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
Video: Perry Touts Texas' Fiscal Policy Over California's

By Justin Dehn Nov. 18, 2013

Gov. Rick Perry discussed the fiscal policy differences between Texas and California at a luncheon hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation on Monday, Nov. 18. Full Story
Gubernatorial Hopefuls Make Candidacies Official

By Jay Root Nov. 9, 2013

Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott made their candidacies for governor official on Saturday by filling out the paperwork and paying the $3,750 fee to file in their respective primaries. Full Story

Credit: Jack Plunkett / Erika Rich
Texas Weekly Newsreel: Voting, Polling and Fracking

By Justin Dehn Nov. 9, 2013

This week in the Newsreel: The voting is over for now, the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll is out, and a statewide candidate questions the loyalty of anyone who loves Texas but hates fracking. Full Story
Democrats Martinez, Willis Enter Senate District 10 Race

By Alexa Ura Nov. 9, 2013

After months of speculation, two Democratic candidates have emerged to campaign for the contested Senate District 10 seat Sen. Wendy Davis has vacated to run for governor. Libby Willis and Mike Martinez have officially entered the race. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman
Perry Talks Job Creation in New National Ad

By Emily Ramshaw Nov. 8, 2013

In a new ad for Americans for Economic Freedom, an organization aimed at helping Gov. Rick Perry champion Texas' economic model, the possible presidential contender talks job creation. Full Story
OIG Loses Another Medicaid Fraud Court Battle

By Becca Aaronson Nov. 5, 2013

The health commission’s Office of Inspector General, which says Texas has misspent hundreds of millions of dollars on Medicaid orthodontic and dental fraud, has now lost its first three court battles against accused providers. Full Story
Lawmaker Eyes Access to UT Regents' Computers

By Reeve Hamilton Nov. 4, 2013

State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer believes that the investigation into whether a University of Texas System regent should be impeached could require a look at UT regents' personal computers, iPads and smartphones. Full Story

Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
Newsreel: Closing One Election, Opening Another

By Justin Dehn Nov. 2, 2013

This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: The vote on water and other constitutional amendments is days away, Todd Staples jabs at Dan Patrick and Democrats start testing Ted Cruz's popularity with independent voters. Full Story
TribLive: A Conversation With Todd Staples

By Evan Smith Nov. 1, 2013

Full video of my 10/31 TribLive conversation with Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, a 2014 candidate for lieutenant governor. Full Story
Friendly Fire in Texas Legislative Races

By Ross Ramsey Nov. 1, 2013

What's normal in Texas general elections — legislators in one party endorsing candidates challenging colleagues from the other party — is turning up in primaries. Full Story
TribLive: Staples on Undocumented Immigrants

By Evan Smith Oct. 31, 2013

At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, a 2014 candidate for lieutenant governor, talked about his opposition to in-state tuition and other state programs for undocumented immigrants. Full Story
TribLive: Staples on Why He's Running

By Evan Smith Oct. 31, 2013

At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples explained why he decided to run for lieutenant governor in 2014. Full Story
TribLive: Staples on His Opponents

By Evan Smith Oct. 31, 2013

At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, a 2014 candidate for lieutenant governor, talked about his three Republican opponents. Full Story
Video: Voters Will Decide on Property Tax Breaks for Military Veterans

By Alana Rocha Oct. 31, 2013

Two of the nine constitutional amendments on the Nov. 5 ballot could benefit many of the 1.6 million veterans in Texas. Full Story

Credit: Lain Yandahi
Trial Lawyers Meeting to Address Recent Criticism

By Jay Root Oct. 30, 2013

In the wake of criticism from a former Texas Trial Lawyers Association president about the group's spending practices, the association has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday in Austin to address concerns. Full Story

Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller / Todd Wiseman
Surprise Could Leave Senate Democrats Without a Safety Margin

By Ross Ramsey Oct. 29, 2013

Sometimes, it's the non-announcement that gets the political headline. Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns won’t run for the Senate, greatly increasing already high odds that the SD-10 seat will go to the Republicans. Full Story
Hot Seat: A Conversation With Duncan, Frullo and Springer

By Evan Smith Oct. 28, 2013

At our 10/23 Hot Seat conversation at the Texas Tech University, state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, and state Reps. John Frullo, R-Lubbock, and Drew Springer, R-Muenster, talked about water, transportation, public education and other issues in play in the 83rd session. Full Story
Newsreel: Peace, Cruz and Nugent

By Justin Dehn and Alana Rocha Oct. 26, 2013

This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz checks in with voters on a post-shutdown tour of Texas, surprising moves on the 2014 campaign trail and Gov. Rick Perry announces a Texas A&M campus in Israel. Full Story

Credit: Gage Skidmore/Reynaldo Leal