Your evening reading: Dewhurst proposes taking $1 billion from Rainy Day Fund for water projects; Perry voices support for letting districts decide on 15 percent rule; ethics commission backs off plan to add investigative powers Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry has come out in favor of allowing school districts to choose whether to implement a rule requiring that new state assessments count for 15 percent of high school students' final grades. Full Story
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The Texas Ethics Commission backed off Thursday from a proposal to take some investigative authority away from the Travis County district attorney’s office, but the agency approved two recommendations aimed at enhancing criminal investigations of state elected officials. Full Story
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While skeptics say reporting requirements for state graduation rates contain too many loopholes, other education policy experts say Texas deserves credit for implementing innovative programs to keep students in school. Full Story
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Cost-cutting and fiscal transparency will likely dominate the upcoming legislative session, but lawmakers don't have high hopes for reforming the System Benefit Fund, a pot of $850 million not being used for its intended purposes. Full Story
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A day after U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison introduced immigration legislation that would give legal status to some undocumented minors, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus laid out its own goals for reform. Full Story
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Our interactive map highlights every existing toll road in Texas and all toll projects currently in development. Charging drivers for the ability to avoid traffic is spreading from the state's biggest cities to every corner of the state. Full Story
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He hasn't even taken office yet, but one of Ted Cruz's first moves as Texas' senator-elect is already delighting conservatives. Full Story
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