The Legislature's starting budget will apparently include proposals to cancel popular back-to-school sales tax holidays, cut discounts for retailers who remit sales taxes early, allow sales of liquor on Sundays to increase revenue from taxes on alcohol, cut the state's subsidy of dependent insurance premiums for state employees and lower the tax breaks for energy companies that take on certain high-cost gas drilling projects, sources say. Full Story
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As the inauguration parties kick off with a big party for lawmakers sponsored by the beer lobby, we looked into just how much Texans love their brewsky. Full Story
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HJR 51 hasn't had a committee hearing, and was only filed Jan. 4, but it already has 111 Facebook friends and hundreds of Twitter followers. As lawmakers scramble in the coming months to push their legislation through the Lege, expect more and more bills to get their own social media presence. Full Story
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Texans heard from two familiar pols today: Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. We turned their prepared remarks into word clouds to help visualize the tone and rhetoric of their inaugural speeches at the Capitol. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: inauguration coverage, corporate sponsorship and conservatives on spending cuts Full Story
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The full text of Gov. Rick Perry's inauguration speech, as written. Full Story
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Here's the full text of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's inauguration speech, as written. Full Story
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Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry is set to be sworn in for an unprecedented third term, and a good-sized crowd has turned out for the festivities (and free barbecue). Stay with us for updates from the speech and swearing-in at the Capitol. Full Story
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Say it ain't so: Elise Hu, one of the Trib's best and brightest, is leaving us for NPR. Full Story
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During today's inauguration festivities, expect less pomp and more circumstance. Full Story
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As be begins his second decade as governor, Rick Perry's plan is to deal with the basics: to make sure the state is on a smooth economic path, to pass a balanced state budget, to coax the federal government into loosening its purse strings and tightening its security on the Mexican border. Full Story
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Residents of Hidalgo and other nearby counties live to be 80 years old, two years longer than the Texas average. Meanwhile, in parts of East Texas, residents live much shorter lives. Full Story
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With some top state leaders warning that Texas' dire fiscal situation will lead to the loss of several thousand state jobs, House budget writers will release their first draft budget today. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, big job cuts may be just the beginning. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: a resignation and an endorsement in the Senate race; Rick Perry and the gift of the EPA Full Story
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Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams will resign this week, allowing him to work full time on a race for U.S. Senate — and to avoid a potentially bruising legislative fight over the future of his agency. Full Story
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The race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison may only be days old, but at least one candidate in the crowded field is already pulling out the big guns. Full Story
At Gov. Rick Perry's swearing-in tomorrow, look for signs. Full Story
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We've been waiting for it and wanting it for almost a year — and now the day has arrived. Finaliy, we're launching a Trib-content-centric edition of the daily trivia game QRANK right here on our site. Full Story
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Despite the budget crisis, thousands of Texas teachers know their jobs are safe. They possess a "continuing contract" — the public education equivalent of tenure. Many of the most senior educators are employed under these contracts, which may complicate the efforts of some districts to cut personnel costs. Full Story
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The Waxahachie Republican talks about the size of the budget shortfall, the possibility of new revenue sources and why he'd support legalized gambling. Full Story
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