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Ross Ramsey co-founded The Texas Tribune in 2009 and served as its executive editor until his retirement in 2022. He wrote regular columns on politics, government and public policy. Before joining the Tribune, he was editor and co-owner of Texas Weekly. He did a 28-month stint in government with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Before that, he reported for the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Times Herald, as a Dallas-based freelancer for regional and national magazines and newspapers, and for radio stations in Denton and Dallas.
A Texas Senate committee is moving rapidly to require voter approval for local property tax increases over 2.5 percent. But some want to see the Legislature's school finance bill before they vote on property taxes. Full Story
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Between his office's bungled efforts to find noncitizens among the state's registered voters and Democrats pouncing on state actions they believe are targeted at Hispanics and other groups, Texas Secretary of State David Whitley's confirmation is in peril. Full Story
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What Texas Gov. Greg Abbott didn't say in Tuesday's State of the State speech was important. School finance and property taxes were the big issues before the speech — and Abbott didn't stray from those subjects. Full Story
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Property taxes and school finance — the top two priorities of state leaders this legislative session — aren't the sorts of issues that fire up political partisans. Sometimes, lawmakers are just trying to do some work. Full Story
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The property tax legislation unveiled by state leaders this week carries an implicit promise — that local school districts will get more state money — but doesn't say where that money might come from. Full Story
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The latest "voter fraud" news from the Texas secretary of state's office raised a lot of eyebrows — not because it was solid, but because it wasn't. Full Story
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What began as a lieutenant governor's unusual admonishment of a state senator has turned into something else: a smear campaign. Full Story
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In a new report, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar says the state should cover 40 percent of the cost of public education — and should cover the costs of inflation, too. Full Story
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A Republican senator criticized by an aide to the lieutenant governor came back with a rebuke — a jab that cost him his best committee assignment. There's a lesson in that for the other 30 senators, and a new landscape in the Senate. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott and his partners in office want to impose limits on the size of local property tax increases, and the governor has added a twist those local governments might like: He has targeted unfunded state mandates. Full Story
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