After years of budget cuts, raids on dedicated funding and deferred maintenance, rats, bats, leaking roofs and audible bathroom sounds are the new normal in state government.
Sid Miller
Posted inState Government
Ag Commissioner Says Consumers “Screwed”
The Texas Department of Agriculture is supposed to ensure consumers aren’t getting ripped off by fuel pumps, retail scanners or other measuring devices. But the agency is so cash-strapped that consumers are getting “screwed” due to a lack of oversight, the agency’s new commissioner says.
Posted in
Higher Education
The Brief: Feb. 27, 2015
Voters are evenly split on whether the state should offer in-state tuition rates for undocumented immigrants, but that outer parity covers some pronounced polarization on the issue, according to the latest UT/TT Poll.
Posted in
Health care
The Brief: Jan. 29, 2015
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick gave the green light Wednesday on a push for open carry legislation in the Senate, a day after he indicated in a Texas Tribune interview that the votes weren’t there for passage.
Posted in
Politics
Texas Republicans Extend Statewide Streak to 16 Years
Texas Democrats maintained their 16-year losing streak on Tuesday night, with Republicans decisively sweeping all 15 statewide races on the ballot.
Posted in
Energy
The Brief: Oct. 30, 2014
Questions continue to be raised about a giant water pipeline project that would pump roughly 16 billion gallons of groundwater annually from Burleson County to San Antonio.
Posted in
Energy
Liveblog: Environment at The Texas Tribune Festival
We’re liveblogging the sessions from the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival’s Environment track. The sessions include panels on the state’s water needs, the Texas coast, agriculture in the state and Texas’ battles with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
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Politics
The Brief: May 28, 2014
The Tea Party demonstrated forcefully its predominant position in Texas GOP politics on a runoff election night that also closed the curtain on a couple of long political careers.
Posted in
Politics
TribTalk: Runoff Candidates Make Their Cases to Texas Voters
Leading up to today’s primary runoff, the candidates in statewide races made their best case for why they should be their party’s nominee in November — columns we published on TribTalk. Here they are, in their own words.
Posted in
Politics
Conservative Candidates Ride Out Hard Hits
In three statewide Republican runoff races, candidates who have aligned themselves to the right of their opponents are poised to capture the party’s nomination despite fielding significant blows from their opponents, including forays into mental health records from three decades ago and a potentially disqualifying violation of state securities law.