The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
On Tuesday, the Federal Election Commission for the first time released detailed records for all congressional candidates' campaign spending. These records tell us who the candidates hire for advertising, consulting, etc., and can often be more interesting to politics junkies than lists of campaign donations. We've made spending by the Texas delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives searchable. Full Story
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It's not only rich people and lobbyists and interest group activists who make political contributions. Texas congressional candidates gave at least $1.3 million to other campaigns and causes over the last 15 months, according to itemized records of campaign expenditures released for the first time by the Federal Election Commission. Topping the list of big spenders in the Texas delegation were U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, who contributed at least $240,000 — the highest dollar amount — and Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, who gave more than 60 contributions — the highest number. Search our database to see who gave what to whom. Full Story
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Texas has nearly eight times as many people with serious mental illness in jails and prisons as it does in psychiatric hospitals, according to a new study by the Treatment Advocacy Center and the National Sheriffs’ Association. Full Story
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The state won't need new taxes or expanded legal gambling to cover a budget shortfall next session, but higher fees and more budget cuts are a possibility, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said at this morning's TribLive interview in Austin. Full Story
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Former employees of the Division of Workers' Compensation at the Texas Department of Insurance say their higher-ups have failed to sanction or remove dozens of physicians accused of fraudently overbilling and overtreating patients, costing insurers millions of dollars. The allegations of stalled enforcement action have sparked an inquiry by the State Auditor’s Office, records show. Full Story
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With more and more state employees and elected officials using websites like Facebook and Twitter the onslaught of social media use within governmental bodies brings with it a lot of questions. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers have been fishing for ideas on how to fill a looming budget deficit when they return to Austin in 2011. Based on new projections out today, they’re gonna need a bigger boat. Full Story
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We've updated our Texas prisons app to include data and visualizations about inmates from each of the state's 254 counties. Full Story
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Mabrie Jackson, who pulled out of the race for state Rep. Brian McCall's unexpired term, beat Van Taylor in Saturday's special election, winning 56 percent of the vote to his 44 percent, according to Collin County's election results. Full Story
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Republicans David Sibley and Brian Birdwell will meet in a runoff — date to be set by Gov. Rick Perry — for the open state Senate seat in Central Texas. Full Story
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Bill White touts his own Rio Grande Valley support, releasing a list of more than 90 officials who back him. Full Story
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Lawmakers and state employees are getting trained in CPR and defibrillator use today — almost a year after Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, suffered a heart attack and collapsed in a Capitol elevator. He was saved by his colleague, Rep. John Zerwas, an anesthesiologist who resuscitated him with CPR. Full Story
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As part of a special report for KUT News, Texas Monthly editor Jake Silverstein talks to former first lady Laura Bush, whose memoir, “Spoken from the Heart,” hit bookstores this week. Full Story
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The insurance plan for state employees will have a $140.4 million shortfall next year — and that's the least of its problems. The projected shortfall for the two years after that is $880 million, and it will take another $476 million to replenish the legally required contingency fund. The Employee Retirement System and state leaders are surprisingly mellow about the red ink, saying growth in the cost of health benefits has actually stabilized at around 9 percent. But steady and large increases in costs threaten to erode the program, leaving policymakers to consider cuts in benefits, to negotiate lower prices or to find vast amounts of new money. Full Story
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Susan Combs' new texastransparency.org includes an Open Data Center, where anyone can download dozens of raw data sets, much like the federal government's data.gov. Full Story
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The Pulitzer Prize-winning author and University of Texas professor, whose latest book is a modern history of capital punishment in America, says he doesn't oppose the death penalty — but he believes it's scandalously implemented in Texas. Full Story
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The Speaker doesn't have anyone studying gambling in advance of the next legislative session, and a leading Democrat says legislators ought to get together on their own to consider the issue. Full Story
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Stuffed alligators and wolves? A danger to your sleeping infant, according to the Department of Family and Protective Services' new "Room to Breathe" TV and radio campaign. Full Story
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If history is any guide, the Legislature will turn to accounting illusions to mask large portions of a budget shortfall of at least $11 billion. Trouble is, such trickery is a bet on the economy roaring back to life — and that's no sure thing. Full Story
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To the sound of drums and the sight of American flags, more than 25,000 people marched on Dallas City Hall in the latest episode in Texas' endless immigration saga. Full Story
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