As the House prepares for a vote on its budget bill, Senate lawmakers are hinting that they're looking to spend more than their counterparts on public education — setting the stage for a budget battle. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/pittsbudgetlayout_1.jpg)
After more than 11 hours of debate, seven points of order, more than 60 amendments and nearly as many heated exchanges, a mentally vanquished and emotionally exhausted Texas House preliminarily approved the controversial voter ID bill late tonight. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/11615b2d2b7627fb575b8b81d9af3afb/BD%20INC%20Anchia%2003%202011)
Your afternoon reading: voter ID debate under way; House budget passed without debate; Perry fined $1,500 for ethics violation Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCA1372.jpg)
The Senate preliminarily approved a bill today by state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, that would add new definitions and harsher penalties to human trafficking laws. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a7d996546ec7bd707b61c812565b475e/BD%20INC%20Van%20De%20Putte%2005%202011)
Use our infographic to understand the intent of the Rainy Day Fund, what it takes to draw from that savings account, and the political arguments for and against using it. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/rainy-dayLA_1.png)
The national criminal justice expert on how other states have handled controversial prison closings and reduced criminal justice costs and how the Right On Crime Movement might give lawmakers the political freedom to be more than tough when it comes to crime. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/MarcMauer.jpg)
The U.S. Department of State on Tuesday said U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual has agreed to stay in Mexico City to help the two governments organize a transition. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/MexicanFlagCloser.jpg)
Gov. Rick Perry was fined $1,500 by the Texas Ethics Commission for failing to report rental income from a house in College Station, and for filing incomplete information regarding debts on the same property, in personal financial statements required by state law. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b8ed7b2b6cb76ac0a17d5ddb42a03ad8/BD%20INC%20Perry%202010)
Voter ID, after a false start of sorts on Monday, hits the House floor again today. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/MustShowIDToVote.jpg)
The state’s 1,030 school districts have — in total — $10.2 billion in reserves and another $2.1 billion in unspent federal stimulus money. Can they use that money to avoid draconian cutbacks? It's not that simple. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/RainyDaySeveralUmbrellas.jpg)
College students will rally at the Capitol today for higher-education funding. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, some students think major changes are also needed on campus, where, they say, professors spend too much time researching and not enough time with undergraduates in the classroom. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/THECB.jpg)
At Tuesday's Senate Education Committee hearing on a trio of anti-bullying bills, the parents of children who committed suicide after being picked on by classmates asked lawmakers to fix a system they say failed their families. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Asher_Photo_jpg_800x1000_q100.png)
A disk holding the Social Security numbers of thousands of current and former students in the Laredo Independent School District — a total of 24,903 — has gone missing, according to the Texas Education Agency. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/SSID_School.jpg)
Lawmakers at the Capitol today debated eliminating a surcharge on traffic tickets that has been riddled with problems almost since its inception. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/075076a6830e68ba31b1c4255b7442bb/BD%20INC%20Burnam%20005%202010)
A bill that would give brewpubs more flexibility to sell their ales has been given a boost by a compromise with an influential beer lobby. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TxTrib-BeerBrewery-JV098.jpg)
The House Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding has expired, and its outspoken leader failed to get re-elected. So, amid all the state's fiscal concerns, who is keeping an eye on the stimulus? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/94f18a81f984c792d1254b0c7351d967/BD%20INC%20Dunnam%2001%202011)
Those with a concealed handgun license, which currently means they must be 21 years old. Though it won't necessarily be that way forever, which raises another question: When it comes to gun safety, does age matter? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/HandgunsAtFiringRange.jpg)
Your afternoon reading: Donna Howard speaks out; Railroad Commission clears gas driller; Berman and Burnam unite against driver program Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCB7682.jpg)
Health care providers who treat profoundly disabled children at home face major budget cuts this session — cuts they say would devastate their industry and cost the state more in the long run. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCB1349.jpg)
In a meeting this morning punctuated by harsh denunciations of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Texas Railroad Commission voted unanimously to clear a natural gas driller, Range Resources, of charges that it contaminated two water wells in Parker County. The EPA, however, said it stands by its charges against the driller. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/8617d0a602938cae4464ee6731989081/BD%20INC%20Williams%2021%202011)