Atter making their presence known during election season, the various Tea Party groups in Texas continue to steer the political agenda. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports.
March 2011
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas’ Next Tort Reform Battle: “Loser Pays”
Advocates say requiring the losing parties in litigation to pay their opponents’ legal fees is the cure for courts choked with the costs of “junk” lawsuits.
Posted in
State Government
Will Lawmakers Cut Their Own Benefits?
As they talk of cutting pension contributions and raising premiums for state employee health care and mandating layoffs and furloughs at state agencies, what are lawmakers doing to their own compensation and benefits?
Posted in
Energy
Does Gas Drilling Put Radiation in Texas Water?
With drilling on the rise, the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality answer questions about whether Texans need to worry about radioactivity in their water.
Posted in
State Government
Lights Out for Seniors, Poor
State Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, is concerned about budget cuts to a program that discounts utility bills for the elderly and those with low incomes.
Posted in
Public Education
Enviros to Shapiro: Don’t Be a Pest
A bill filed by state Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, has an unusual group turning out to education committee meetings: environmentalists.
Posted in
Demographics
Staples Stands By Website, Calls It Necessary [Updated]
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples has no plans to pull down a state-run website that allows border ranchers and farmers to document their daily struggles with drug cartels and undocumented immigrants.
Posted inState Government
The Midday Brief: Top Texas Headlines for March 10, 2011
Your afternoon reading: Pitts vs. Perry battle over budget heats up; state worker furlough bill introduced; more Texas vs. California
Posted in
State Government
LiveBlog: Budget Writers Weigh Tapping Rainy Day Fund
We’re liveblogging the House Appropriations Committee hearing, where lawmakers are expected to consider whether to tap into the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Shay Bilchik: The TT Interview
The director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown Public Policy Institute on the factors Texas lawmakers should consider as they seek to make budget cuts while continuing the reforms they started in 2007.