Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

To understand why Harvey Laas, a rancher with no medical training, runs a health clinic out of a spotless 40-foot truck, it helps to know that his family has worked to bring doctors to the area since shortly after arriving in Waller County in 1896.

The United States is hungry for talent in technological fields but must look abroad for much of it – like about half of the engineers we need.

The number of Americans without health insurance rose to 46.3 million last year as people began losing jobs and coverage in the current recession.

“Supporting a Healthy Future—the Business Case for Reform”

Mr. Bill Hammond
President & CEO
Texas Association of Business

Dear Bill:

Stop the presses—no more “Angry Mob” bumper stickers. Your grandkids won’t respect you! Turn off Rush Limbaugh. Put down your policy fax from the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Please, don't take Tom Delay's call—he's busy dancing.

SMALL BUSINESS

H.B. 4765: Lowers the franchise tax burden on small businesses by increasing the total revenue exemption from $300,000 to $1 million. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010, except Section 1 takes effect January 1, 2010, and Sections 2 and 3 take effect January 1, 2012, only if the changes to Tax Code, Section 155.0211, contained in HB 2154 result in an attributable increase in tax revenue during the state fiscal biennium beginning September 1, 2009. Otherwise, Section 1 has no effect, and Sections 2 and 3 take effect January 1, 2010.

In just one day, seven public universities apparently claimed an entire $25 million pot of state money designed to help them become research powerhouses.

Record-breaking heat in parts of Texas is causing electricity bills to soar, just when most consumers were expecting some relief from sinking natural-gas prices.

When Ricardo Romo became president of the University of Texas at San Antonio a decade ago, he resolved to transform the sleepy commuter campus into a premier research university.

Unlicensed boarding homes can be dirty, dangerous and leave vulnerable residents open to exploitation.

Desirée Wood gave up hope that the man who raped her 20 years ago in Dallas would ever be caught and sentenced for the crime. Now, she says, she has reason to believe her attacker might see some form of justice, after all.

Stiffer criminal penalties start Tuesday for those who defraud senior citizens, carry out drive-by shootings that inflict injury or loot an area evacuated because of natural disaster.

Criminals also will face more stringent punishment under new state laws aimed at cracking down on street gangs, tampering with government records, and stealing air conditioning parts and other materials made of copper.

Low-wage workers are routinely denied proper overtime pay and are often paid less than the minimum wage, according to a new study based on a survey of workers in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Gov. Rick Perry is naming Thomas Suehs of Austin to be executive commissioner of health and human services for Texas

As motorists throughout Texas plan to take to the roads this Labor Day weekend, they should note there are several new state driving laws that take effect Tuesday.

A new law that goes into effect on Tuesday expands the use of mandatory blood draws and breathalyzers for individuals arrested for drunken driving, according to a press release from District Attorney Susan Reed.

A look at legislation passed or introduced by states and the District of Columbia since 2007 regarding the HPV vaccine. Several other states provided money for girls to receive the vaccine, either through legislation or the budgeting process.

Calling himself the "only true man of the people" in the race, Austin author-entertainer Kinky Friedman plans to launch his Democratic campaign for governor today with a statewide media tour starting in Austin.

Japan's decision to throw out the old economic guard in Sunday's election is one more hint that the United States needs to come out of this recession with an economy led by exports – which means led by Texas.

Kinky Friedman, the author-musician who railed against the two-party system as an independent candidate for governor three years ago, joined that system Monday when he declared he will seek the Democratic nomination for the state's top job next year.

Preventive services for the chronically ill may reduce health-care costs, but they are unlikely to generate the kind of fantastic savings that President Obama and other Democrats have said could help pay for an overhaul of the nation's health system, according to a study being published Tuesday.