September 28, 2009
Hundreds of southeast Texans displaced by Hurricane Rita four years ago are still waiting for new federally funded homes to be built while a state agency tries to spend the housing construction money it has a little faster. Those waiting …
May 27, 2009
A work slowdown by House Democrats was meant to stop a voter identification law. But other bills in the path of destruction deal with hurricane insurance, local road projects, solar energy incentives and even trans fats in restaurant foods. Endangered …
April 20, 2009
Texas legislators on April 7 finally jumped into debate over how to improve the troubled windstorm insurance system that serves as a last resort for hurricane protection along much of the Gulf Coast. The House Insurance Committee, watched closely by …
April 9, 2009
Texas legislators finally have jumped into debate over how to improve the troubled windstorm insurance system that serves as a last resort for hurricane protection along much of the Gulf Coast. The House Insurance Committee, watched closely by coastal residents …
March 18, 2009
Some Democratic lawmakers joined by Texas residents who have had trouble getting drivers’ licenses under new Department of Public Safety rules are pushing for legislation that would undo a policy they say harms U.S. citizens and legal immigrants. Rep. Ruth …
January 12, 2009
Hurricane Ike was the big storm Texas officials feared would hit the coast – and the state’s way of paying for it afterward. When lawmakers convene Jan. 13, they’ll face the financial devastation left by the Category 2 storm that …
September 19, 2008
A Texas consumer group took issue with the state-chartered windstorm insurance association over its refusal to pay coastal residents for storm surge damage in Hurricane Ike. The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association says it only intends to pay Gulf Coast policyholders …
April 30, 2008
Relatives of those killed in a 2005 BP plant explosion and other industrial accident victims are urging the Legislature to undo a Texas Supreme Court ruling in a high-profile workplace injury case. “If no one is held accountable, then nobody …
February 5, 2007
A proposed ban on smoking in all bars, restaurants and work sites across Texas is igniting a big-money fight at the state Capitol. Anti-smoking forces are lining up against the tobacco industry and some restaurant owners, with lobbyists from both …