The Brief: May 21, 2013
Though a budget deal was struck last week, lawmakers aren't done arguing about it. Full Story
Though a budget deal was struck last week, lawmakers aren't done arguing about it. Full Story
UPDATED: Despite looming deadlines, the House postponed on Monday a vote on Senate Joint Resolution 1, which would allow voters to decide whether to set up a fund for water infrastructure projects. Full Story
In a surprise turn of events in the House on Monday evening, a Medicaid reform bill meant to address long-term and acute care services became a weapon in the GOP’s fight against Medicaid expansion. Full Story
The House on Monday approved Senate Bill 1185 by Sen. Joan Huffman, which would create a pilot program that connects mentally ill inmates with social, clinical, housing and welfare services during the first weeks after the person's release from jail. Full Story
The Texas House gave tentative approval to billions of dollars in bonds for campus construction projects on Monday. The version it approved totaled nearly $2.7 billion, up from about $2.4 billion initially approved by the Senate. Full Story
Your evening reading: uncertainty lingers over budget deal as votes loom; dispute over innocence commission bill threatens to derail other legislation; UT regent nominees grilled at hearing Full Story
UPDATED: A dramatic overhaul of Texas' craft brewing industry easily won final approval in the House on Monday. Full Story
Top Republicans say Texas Comptroller Susan Combs has teamed up with major oil company interests to fight reforms of species protection programs. Full Story
A battle over legislation that would create an innocence commission to review wrongful conviction has turned personal — and potentially deadly for a handful of bills authored by state Sen. Joan Huffman. Full Story
UPDATED: Facing a laundry list of record votes, lawmakers tacked on several amendments to an Ethics Commission reform bill on Monday that would strengthen the disclosure rules that govern them and their contributors. Full Story
University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers was a popular topic Monday as the Senate Nominations Committee had several questions for the three nominees for the UT System's Board of Regents. Full Story
Correctional officers in a statewide union say that a 5 percent pay increase lawmakers have proposed in the state budget is not sufficient to stymie the corruption and reduce physical dangers they face every day. Full Story
Senate Education Chairman Dan Patrick announced on Monday that CSCOPE, the state's curriculum delivery system, would no longer offer lesson plans to Texas school districts. Full Story
It's easier, it seems, for lawmakers to regulate others than to regulate themselves. Ethics and transparency legislation has had a bumpy ride in the current legislative session. Full Story
The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Friday that it would allow a Texas facility to become the second place in the country that can export liquefied natural gas to new markets. Full Story
Take a photographic trip through Sen. John Carona's career in the Texas Legislature, from his swearing in as a freshman House member in 1991 to his chairmanship of the powerful Senate Committee on Business & Commerce. Full Story
Smart electricity meters have long been criticized by those who say they present a health risks and infringe on individual rights. Now, with legislative action to allow property owners to deny meters failing, municipalities are picking up the slack. Full Story
The constitutional provision of a part-time Legislature whose members have full-time jobs back home blurs the line between public responsibilities and personal ambition — as the story of a certain powerful state senator illustrates. Full Story
With a budget deal struck, the spotlight now shifts to Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story
Legislators are preparing to dedicate hundreds of millions more dollars to mental health care for the first time in years. Haven for Hope in San Antonio serves as a model of the services and success they aim to emulate. Full Story