The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
With a month to go before Election Day, challengers in fifteen House races outraised incumbents during the most recent reporting period, according to the most recent filings with the Texas Ethics Commission. In eight of those races, the challengers led in combined spending and saving, a rough measure of each campaign's financial strength. Full Story
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In this week's skirmish, topics include campaign cash, the latest polls in the governor's race, the hotbed of Texas House activity in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the consequences of the budget crisis. Full Story
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Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune looks at where the candidates running in House District 48 stand on the issue of education. Full Story
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If the state needs money to balance its budget, it should look first to sin taxes on gambling, alcohol and marijuana. Full Story
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A court filing provides 59 hints as to what the state's case against state Rep. Ismael "Kino" Flores, D-Palmview, will look like when his trial for ethics charges begins on Oct. 18. Full Story
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The Republican Party of Texas is accusing Democratic state Rep. Joe Moody, of El Paso, of plagiarizing the text of a State of the State address by Gov. Rick Perry, and it has launched a website to make its case: www.madatmoody.com. Full Story
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State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, says it would be "irresponsible" not to act in the wake of the suicide of 13-year old Asher Brown, a student who committed suicide after being bullied for his size, religion and perceived sexuality. Full Story
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In House District 45 — which covers Hays, Blanco and Caldwell counties — incumbent Democrat Patrick Rose faces a stiff challenge from Republican Jason Isaac. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune looks at where the candidates stand on two flashpoints this election year: the budget and immigration. Full Story
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The executive director of the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition on how criminal justice austerity measures demanded by state leaders would affect Texas prisons, poor people accused of crimes and the counties responsible for overseeing overcrowded jails. Full Story
Double-billing taxpayers for travel expenses, driving a luxury car owned by a state transportation contractor and repeatedly failing to pay taxes won’t put a lawmaker in good standing with the ethics police, as state Reps. Charles “Doc” Anderson, R-Waco; Joe Driver, R-Garland; and Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving, are finding. The three hope the headlines dogging their re-election bids won’t follow them to the polls, while their Democratic opponents are reveling in their misery at every campaign stop. Yet whether a scandal forces an incumbent from office depends on the scenario. Full Story
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Tension between Texas and the federal government has been a major focus of Rick Perry's re-election campaign. But on Monday, two top Democratic leaders in the Texas House ganged up on Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott and, by proxy, the governor over the recent federal education funds fight. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story
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As part of an occasional series looking into how shortfall-inspired budget cuts could affect different state agencies heading into the 2011 legislative session, Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on the likely impact on the state's criminal justice system. Full Story
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In a courtroom Monday, a Galveston County judge will decide whether to release details of millions of dollars in fees earned by attorneys in the largest class-action settlement paid out by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. Full Story
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Aguilar on Mexican journalists in grave danger, Galbraith on the continuing saga of Texas vs. the EPA, Ramshaw on whether a broken hospital bed constitutes medical malpractice, M. Smith on the latest delay in the Cameron Todd Willingham case, Hamilton interviews a Sarah Palin-approved GOP candidate for Congress, Stiles goes all interactive in chronicling the massive increase in legislative filings in the last 20 years, Grissom talks about the criminalization of mental illness with an author who knows the subject first-hand, Philpott on closing the budget gap without federal stimulus money, Ramsey on everyone ignoring down-ballot candidates, Hu on the mysterious lack of Rick Perry yard signs and yours truly sits down with the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor: The best of our best from September 20 to 24, 2010. Full Story
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Film crews tweet the darndest things... Full Story
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For the 13th event in our TribLive series, I interviewed the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor on running for office for the first time in a tough year, how she'd deal with the budget shortfall, whether she'd mess with the Senate's two-thirds rule and what's wrong with the Texas Enterprise Fund. Full Story
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Raw, unedited audio from Linda Chavez-Thompson's Wednesday morning appearance at our TribLive breakfast series. Features questions from Evan Smith and the audience. Full Story
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Linda Chavez-Thompson, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, told a TribLive audience this morning that she's not afraid of being associated with President Barack Obama; quite the opposite. Full Story
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A representative for the Texas Legislative Council, which helps lawmakers research and draft bills, won't speculate on why proposed and passed legislation has risen sharply in the last two decades. But it's one reason the agency has expanded its legal division over the years, she says. Full Story
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If the Larry Taylor-Steve Mostyn battle over windstorm insurance payouts wasn't a proxy war for the tort reformists and the trial lawyers before, it certainly is now. Full Story
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