DOT Announces Cross-Border Trucking Provisions
The U.S. Department of Transportation released preliminary details today on a program that would again open up U.S. roadways to Mexican truckers. Full Story
The U.S. Department of Transportation released preliminary details today on a program that would again open up U.S. roadways to Mexican truckers. Full Story
Data don’t lie: Amendments dominated the House floor last Friday as Representatives debated the budget bill. A visualization of the House transcript reveals “amendment” was the most used word. Full Story
Not much, unless you're one of the state's 130,000 civilian federal employees — or you’re scrambling to get your taxes done. Full Story
House Speaker Joe Straus was interviewed eariler this week by Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, government prof and half of the Tribune's polling team, about the session so far, the budget, gambling, rewriting state taxes, federal stimulus money and what he thinks about the tempest over research and teaching at the state's top universities. Full Story
Your afternoon reading: Budget cut-induced furor; an ongoing controversy at UT; House approval for school board disclosures. Full Story
No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome. Full Story
It's no government shutdown, to be sure, but Texas has run into its own bout of fiscal drama: leaked budget documents. Full Story
Expect just about every redistricting decision made this year to center on the state's rapidly growing Hispanic population. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on how the search for Hispanic-majority districts could affect the re-election chances of some lawmakers. Full Story
The betting game has already begun on whether the budget battle between a more moderate Senate and a far stingier House will lead to a standoff — and a special session in the summer. The two budget committee chairmen refuse to say whether one body may have more sway than the other in the final outcome. Full Story
Cutting the budget can be expensive. Something that appears to save money can, on further inspection, cost more. Family planning, for instance. Full Story
Drought and strong winds mean that the number of wildfires is way up this year. But the Texas Forest Service, the lead fire-fighting agency, is also facing heightened scrutiny in the Legislature — and, of course, budget cuts. Full Story
Texas senators scratching for new state revenue canceled a meeting to talk about their options today, but a copy of their list got loose — and it includes $5.5 billion in taxes, fees, asset sales and accounting tricks that could be used to ease their budget problems. Full Story
The Senate Natural Resources Committee heard testimony this morning on a bill that would create a Texas Energy Policy Council charged with formulating an energy plan for the state. Full Story
This is no LOL matter: Texting while driving could soon be prohibited statewide. But using other applications on a smart phone, like GPS or Facebook, would not be banned — as long as you're reading, not typing. Full Story
The Texas House today passed a bill allowing Texas Department of Transportation to study whether to increase the speed limit on certain highways to 85 miles per hour. See how the state compares with this interactive map. Full Story
The Social Security numbers of 164,406 students who graduated from eight Texas school districts over the past two decades were placed at risk for identity theft, according to Texas Education Agency documents obtained by The Texas Tribune. Full Story
Some pediatric dentists are bad-mouthing a bill that would allow mobile dental clinics to be paid by Medicaid for sealing the teeth of low-income kids at school. Full Story
With budget gridlock in Washington, and massive education cuts at home, the Texas school districts that qualify for federal "Impact Aid" dollars are waging a war on two fronts. Full Story
After his bill received heated debate on the floor, Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, withdrew his campus carry bill today. Full Story
Your afternoon reading: Lawmaker finds extra money for schools; redistricting gets under way; Nolan Ryan lends support to Todd Staples Full Story