Latest Texas state government News
As Texas Chief Justice Nathan Hecht prepares to retire, he reflects on the court he helped change
When Nathan Hecht ran for the Texas Supreme Court in 1988, no Republican had ever been elected to the state’s highest civil court. His election foreshadowed a coming transformation of the court, civil legal procedure and Texas itself. Hecht is the longest tenured Supreme Court...
Expanding college financial aid will help Texas meet workforce needs, new higher ed chief says
Wynn Rosser, a bow tie-wearing East Texan with multigenerational familial roots in rural life, will take the helm of Texas’ higher education agency in the new year. As higher ed commissioner, Rosser will serve as the chief executive officer of the Coordinating Board, the state...
Texas agency to ask for $300 million to fix “significant neglect” in Medicaid enrollment system
In Texas, health advocates often find themselves playing defense to encourage leaders to preserve the state’s relatively frugal public service offerings while also pushing for more. That’s why a $300 million ask to lawmakers next year from the state’s notoriously tight-lipped...
Texas hasn't updated a 2006 study that found undocumented immigrants contribute more than they cost
In 2006, Texas State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn set out to assess the impact undocumented Texans have on the state economy and found that they contributed more to Texas than they cost the state. “This is the first time any state has done a comprehensive financial analysis...
Texas House speaker who faced blowback over Paxton impeachment drops bid to keep post
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Republican speaker of the Texas House abandoned efforts Friday to keep his powerful post in the face of unrelenting pressure from the party's hard right and anger over the historic impeachment last year of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Dade Phelan's...
Maternal mortality review panels are in the spotlight. Here's what they do
Efforts to reduce the nation's persistently high maternal mortality rates involve state panels of experts that investigate and learn from each mother's death. The panels — called maternal mortality review committees — usually do their work quietly and out of the public eye. But...
Texas Supreme Court overturns ruling that state Attorney General Ken Paxton testify in lawsuit
The Texas Supreme Court on Friday overturned a lower court ruling that state Attorney General Ken Paxton testify in a whistleblower lawsuit at the heart of impeachment charges brought against him in 2023. The court on Friday said Paxton’s office does not dispute any issue in the...
Could Texas do for Alzheimer’s research what it did for cancer?
Two decades ago, state Rep. Tom Craddick could ask a room of his West Texas constituents what illness they feared the most and the answer, unfailingly, was always cancer. A few weeks ago, about the time Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick contacted him about a new blockbuster medical research fund...
Texas high court says execution in 'shaken baby syndrome' case can't be halted by lawmaker subpoena
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled that a legislative subpoena cannot stop an execution after Republican and Democratic lawmakers who say Robert Roberson is innocent used the novel maneuver to pause his execution at the last minute. The ruling clears the...
A growing and aging population is forcing Texas counties to seek state EMS funding
County Commissioner Rick Bailey knows immediately when one of his Johnson County constituents has suffered a health scare. That’s typically when the calls and texts roll in from residents wanting to know more about ambulance service for those living outside the city limits of Cleburne or...
