The company behind the only EPA-approved pesticide for feral hogs has withdrawn its request for registration in Texas. But that doesn’t mean the battle over the warfarin-based poison’s safety is finished.
state agencies
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State Government
House tentatively backs measure allowing lottery winners to remain anonymous
The lower chamber tentatively approved a measure that would let lottery winners of $1 million or more remain anonymous.
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Health care
For troubled foster kids in Houston, sleeping in offices is “rock bottom”
No child is supposed to sleep or spend more than a few hours at the Harris County Youth Services Center’s Point of Entry in Houston. But Texas’ foster care placement crisis has forced some of the state’s most troubled teens to sleep in a place that isn’t equipped to care for them.
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State Government
House lawmakers approve bill requiring more study for hog poison
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s push to use a warfarin-based poison to kill feral hogs in the state has a long list of opponents that now includes more than two-thirds of the Legislature where Miller once served.
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State Government
Embattled TABC chief Sherry Cook is stepping down
Amid a controversy over travel to fancy resorts and other spending controversies, the head of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Sherry Cook, announced she was stepping down from her job effective May 23.
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Criminal Justice
Outlook uncertain for bill to raise age of criminal responsibility
Democratic state Sen. John Whitmire of Houston says a bill that would raise the age of adult criminal responsibility in Texas from 17 to 18 years old fails to address his chief concerns: cost and safety.
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State Government
TABC on hot seat over trips and spending controversies
For more than three hours, top TABC officials were grilled by House members for misusing state resources, taking trips to Hawaii on the taxpayers’ dime, mixing vacation with state duties, misreporting who has been assigned which state-owned vehicles, and cozying up to the very industry they’re supposed to be regulating.
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State Government
Texas Insurance Commissioner David Mattax dies after fight with cancer
Texas Insurance Commissioner David Mattax died Thursday morning following a battle with cancer.
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Energy
Texas Public Utility Commission Chairman Nelson to retire
Chairman Donna Nelson announced Thursday that she will retire from the Public Utility Commission of Texas, ending a nine-year tenure.
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State Government
Top liquor regulator got “hazardous duty” pay on Hawaii junket
The state’s top alcohol administrator received “hazardous duty” pay while in Hawaii. And the TABC brass has gotten trained as police officers, which allows them to get take-home cars, free gas and an array of weaponry, according to records and interviews.