The chairman of the House Public Education Committee on how many public school teachers, administrators and non-instructional staff members are at risk of being laid off as a result of the budget shortfall.
February 2011
Posted in
Public Education
Rob Eissler on the Rainy Day Fund
The chairman of the House Public Education Committee on whether the Rainy Day Fund should be used, in part or in whole, to reduce the size of the budget shortfall.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Bill Aims to Make Sexting Illegal
Under the proposed legislation, teens caught “sexting” could face up to a Class A Misdemeanor. Parents could also face penalties.
Posted in
Public Education
A Trio of Bills on Student Ticketing
State Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston, has filed three bills aimed at regulating the practice of ticketing students for misbehavior in public schools.
Posted in
Energy
El Paso’s Water Crisis
El Pasoans are not supposed to shower today. Or wash dishes, or do the laundry. The city is in the third day of a severe water shortage, which was partly caused by last week’s rolling blackouts. Restrictions may be lifted tonight.
Posted inState Government
The Midday Brief: Top Texas Headlines for Feb. 7, 2011
Your afternoon reading: Texas faces lawsuits over education cuts; bill targets “sexting”; and El Paso nears end of water crisis
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Watson Files Bill to Make Sexting Illegal
“Sexting” — sending or receiving pornographic images via cell phones — should be a criminal offense for teenagers, say Attorney General Greg Abbott and Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin.
Posted in
Health care
Hammond: No Time to Be Penny-Wise, Pound-Foolish
We must continue to fight to ensure that we implement cost-saving reforms that reflect Texas’ commitment to prosperity and to economic growth. But our current budget shortfall isn’t a time to be penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Posted in
Politics
What They’d Do About the Budget Shortfall
We asked three big thinkers in the Capitol community — Talmadge Heflin, Eva DeLuna Castro and Bill Hammond — to tell us what they’d do if they had the power to take on the budget shortfall themselves.
Posted in
Health care
Castro: Start by Casting Aside Wishful Thinking
We need a balanced approach that uses our reserves and adds revenue. And we have to start by casting aside wishful thinking; we are writing the 2012-13 budget, with higher costs and increased enrollment in education and health care services — not some past budget.