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Senator Says Innocence Commission Bill is in Trouble
Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout with comments from Cory Session and the Innocence Project of Texas.Legislation that would create a commission to review wrongful convictions in...
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House, Senate Clash Over Dutton Bill Resolved
Updated, 1 p.m. A clash between the House and Senate on Friday morning appears to be water under the bridge.State Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, had threatened to kill every Senate bill on the House's...
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Transportation, Criminal Justice Bills Headed to Full Senate
Six hours before a marathon state House committee hearing on abortion, two Senate committees quickly kicked out less controversial bills on transportation funding and criminal justice reform to the...
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Liveblog: Health Care at The Texas Tribune Festival
We're liveblogging the sessions from the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival's Health Care track. The sessions include panels on mental health, the Affordable Care Act, medical education and women's...
View ArticleVideo: A Conversation With Huffman and Watson
Full video of my 1/12 conversation with state Sens. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and Kirk Watson, D-Austin — the chairs of the Senate Republican and Democratic caucuses.
View ArticleVideo: Huffman and Watson on the Two-Thirds Rule
At our 1/12 conversation, state Sens. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and Kirk Watson, D-Austin — the chairs of the Senate Republican and Democratic caucuses — talked about the likely fate of the two-thirds...
View ArticleVideo: Huffman and Watson on Open Carry
At our 1/12 conversation, state Sens. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and Kirk Watson, D-Austin — the chairs of the Senate Republican and Democratic caucuses — talked about proposed gun legislation in the...
View ArticleVideo: Huffman and Watson on Dan Patrick
At our 1/12 conversation, state Sens. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and Kirk Watson, D-Austin — the chairs of the Senate Republican and Democratic caucuses — talked about what kind of lieutenant governor...
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Public Integrity Unit Chief Testifies Before State Senators
The head of the state's public integrity unit told Senate lawmakers on Monday that Gov. Rick Perry’s veto of its funding in 2013 forced the division — which investigates public corruption and is housed...
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The Brief: Feb. 4, 2015
The Big ConversationThe ability of Austin tech firm 21CT to secure a $20 million Medicaid fraud software contract through a no-bid program run by the state's Department of Information Resources drew...
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The Brief: Feb. 19, 2015
The Big ConversationSenate budget writers on Wednesday lit into Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek, a former senator himself, in a hearing that concluded with another call for...
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Lobby Firm Helped Draft GOP Letter to Racing Commission
When the Senate Republican Caucus fired off a letter to the Texas Racing Commission last summer blasting a proposal to allow a new form of electronic gambling, it was interpreted as standard...
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The Brief: Feb. 25, 2015
The Big ConversationTexans in this month's University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll made clear that the property tax is their least favorite tax. The only other tax to be disliked by voters more than it...
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The Brief: March 5, 2015
The Big ConversationBusiness interests on Wednesday told Senate budget writers that a tax relief plan focused on making changes to the business margins tax prioritized the wrong issue.“The biggest sore...
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The Brief: April 2, 2015
The Big ConversationThe blowback experienced by Indiana over its religious freedom law, seen by many as a vehicle to protect discrimination against gays and lesbians, has Texas' largest business...
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The Brief: April 8, 2015
The Big ConversationLawmakers are talking about giving taxpayers billions in tax relief this session. But in a state with 27 million residents, it turns out that even $4.5 billion doesn't stretch as...
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Senate Backs Bill That Would Relocate Public Integrity Unit
Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.The Texas Senate has preliminarily passed a bill that would move the state’s public integrity unit from the Travis...
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Lawmakers in No Rush to Disclose Lobbyist Wining and Dining
Lawmakers in the Texas Senate aren’t exactly tripping over themselves to let the public know who’s wining and dining them.Two bills aimed at requiring disclosure of such lobbyist entertainment are on...
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Senate Announces Budget Negotiation Team
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has announced his five Senate conferees who will try to hash out a final version of the two-year state budget with their House counterparts named by Speaker Joe Straus on...
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The Brief: May 14, 2015
The Big ConversationThe House gaveled out a few minutes before 11 p.m. on Wednesday. That's a late night, for sure, but they're all but guaranteed to be meeting tonight until midnight.The long hours...
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