“Palatable and Acceptable”
On Thursday the Senate passed SB 21—the drug-testing-for-unemployment-benefits bill—with a couple of modifications from the Democrats, and without much excitement on either side.
Erica Grieder is a senior Editor at Texas Monthly. From 2007 to 2012, she covered Texas as the southwest correspondent for the Economist, to which she still contributes. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Spectator, the Atlantic, Foreign Policy, and the New Republic. Her first book, Big, Hot, Cheap and Right, was published in April 2013 by Public Affairs Books. She lives in Austin.
On Thursday the Senate passed SB 21—the drug-testing-for-unemployment-benefits bill—with a couple of modifications from the Democrats, and without much excitement on either side.
By Erica Grieder and Laura Wright
On Thursday the Texas Senate passed SB2, which would expand the number of charter licenses in the state.
The announcement that Google Fiber is coming to Austin means more than just super-fast cat videos.
Don't understand Texas's constitutional spending cap? You've come to the right place.
By Erica Grieder and Laura Wright
Whatever happens to the struggling agency, the fallout from the scandal will linger.
Polls show that a majority of Texans support legal recognition for same-sex couples, but legalizing marriage equality in Texas would require an amendment to the state constitution.
The Senate's unanimous passage of SB 7 gives a small hint of what a Texas approach to Medicaid might look like.
Has Texas entered a new era in which talking about new revenue doesn't equal certain political death?
This week's debate on the PUC shows why the sunset process continues to shine light on good government.
The Democrats in the Texas Senate might not be crazy about this year's budget, but most of them are a lot happier than they were in 2011.
What's really behind Dan Patrick's bill on graduation requirements at the state's public universities?
Sawyer Chandler and Sam Matthews, young activists, are calling on legislators to strengthen Texas's safeguards against shark finning—with an assist from Coach Taylor.
By Erica Grieder and Laura Wright
On Tuesday, the Texas Legislature took a few moments to swoon over RGIII.
Space entrepreneur (and noted crank) Elon Musk's latest project is ready to launch. Will the Open Beaches Act stand in his way?
Too many people, most of whom don’t know what they’re talking about. In defense of our (mostly) great state.
In his biennial address on the state of the judiciary, the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court remembers the Alamo.
The Texas Senate passes its version of the supplemental appropriations bill for some cash-strapped state agencies.
After the 2011 budget cuts, the Lege has some room for reform on public education.
"I don’t know anyone nationally who’s scoffing at this," says the chairman of the state GOP.
Why Texas should think about raising the minimum wage—and why doing so might not be such a good idea in other states.
A Q&A on immigration reform with the president and CEO of the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Democrats and Republicans seem ready to make a push for comprehensive immigration reform, after years of stalemate on the issue. But Brooke Rollins, head of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, thinks their approach may have the wrong focus.
John Whitmire is making his third attempt to streamline the appeals process for inmates who may be exonerated by improved forensic techniques.
Looking back at the last pay-for-play scandal as the call for ethics reforms rises in the 83rd Legislative Session.
By Sonia Smith and Erica Grieder
The newly elected senator makes a thoughtful case for opportunity conservatism, but can he sustain the message?
By Erica Grieder and Texas Monthly
Activist Glenda Joe on the immigrant experience in Houston.
Cruz argues that Republicans support limited government because they believe that’s what best creates opportunity, and therefore progress.
Of course, that could reflect poorly on the state’s budgeting process.
Will an increasingly Hispanic Texas be an increasingly Democratic one?
Does Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act encroach on States' Rights?
The Republican nominee may have lost the election, but his margin of victory in Texas suggests how the state may be changing.
There are relatively few safeguards against a legislator’s potential conflict of interest turning into an actual conflict of interest.
Republicans will spend more, but they don’t want to spend it on schools.
Meet Vinny Minchillo, one of the creative forces behind Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.