Texas senators scratching for new state revenue canceled a meeting to talk about their options today, but a copy of their list got loose — and it includes $5.5 billion in taxes, fees, asset sales and accounting tricks that could be used to ease their budget problems. Full Story
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The Senate Natural Resources Committee heard testimony this morning on a bill that would create a Texas Energy Policy Council charged with formulating an energy plan for the state. Full Story
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This is no LOL matter: Texting while driving could soon be prohibited statewide. But using other applications on a smart phone, like GPS or Facebook, would not be banned — as long as you're reading, not typing. Full Story
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The Texas House today passed a bill allowing Texas Department of Transportation to study whether to increase the speed limit on certain highways to 85 miles per hour. See how the state compares with this interactive map. Full Story
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The Social Security numbers of 164,406 students who graduated from eight Texas school districts over the past two decades were placed at risk for identity theft, according to Texas Education Agency documents obtained by The Texas Tribune. Full Story
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Some pediatric dentists are bad-mouthing a bill that would allow mobile dental clinics to be paid by Medicaid for sealing the teeth of low-income kids at school. Full Story
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With budget gridlock in Washington, and massive education cuts at home, the Texas school districts that qualify for federal "Impact Aid" dollars are waging a war on two fronts. Full Story
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After his bill received heated debate on the floor, Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, withdrew his campus carry bill today. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: Lawmaker finds extra money for schools; redistricting gets under way; Nolan Ryan lends support to Todd Staples Full Story
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Brandon Darby has transformed himself from liberal social justice organizer and radical to much-maligned FBI informant to now right-of-center conservative hero — of a sort. Full Story
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A Texas lawmaker said the magic words Thursday morning to a panel of exhausted and nearly hopeless state budget writers: he has found a “new revenue source without raising taxes.” Full Story
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The public version of drawing new congressional maps for Texas started this morning with committee hearings and the unveiling of a proposal from a coalition that insists at least two of the four new districts should have Latino majorities. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, acknowledged that there's no way to take politics out of the mapmaking process. Full Story
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Advocates of solar power made their case last night for passage of a bill that would add a dollar each month to residential electric bills to fund solar projects. Opponents worry about costs. Full Story
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Competing rallies on Wednesday provided a stark backdrop to the House vs. Senate tug-of-war playing out in the Capitol. Full Story
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Is "family planning" a euphemism for abortion? For many House Republicans, yes. It's not that they don't understand the difference — it's that they don't trust family planning clinics not to steer women toward abortions. Full Story
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Attorney General Greg Abbott and former first lady Laura Bush are leading an effort to recruit more court-appointed special advocates for foster kids. With 42,000 children in the system, Gretch Sanders of KUT News reports on the growing need for so-called CASA volunteers. Full Story
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