This week, we saw signs Senate budget writers may be willing to spend more than their counterparts in the House. Meanwhile, a new analysis of the House budget's possible effects on Texas jobs raised eyebrows. Full Story
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Hundreds of thousands of job losses in Texas after budget cuts? Republican leaders say it could be worse. Full Story
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Beaumont's Carrol A. Thomas, who makes $347,834 annually, is the highest-paid superintendent in Texas, even though his district of about 20,000 students is considerably smaller than those in other Texas cities. Full Story
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A recently introduced bill would make Texas one of only a few states to require natural gas companies to disclose, for a public website, what chemicals they use in the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing. Full Story
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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
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The Texas Senate isn’t allowed to raise money. It’s right there in the state’s Constitution, which says all revenue bills must originate in the House. But there it goes, looking for “non-tax revenues” to put enough meat on the skimpy proposed budget to get senators to vote for it. Full Story
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Lawmakers offered dueling interpretations Thursday of a Legislative Budget Board analysis predicting that the state could lose hundreds of thousands of jobs if the House's budget bill is passed. Full Story
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Senators tried to improve the funding picture for public education on Thursday when the Senate Finance Committee voted 13-2 to add $5.7 billion to its initial proposal. But that's still about a $4 billion reduction from current levels. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: committee votes to reduce health care cuts; study says budget could force hundreds of thousands of layoffs; judge's decision could impact voter ID Full Story
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The Houston builder and Health Care Compact Alliance vice chair on how an interstate compact could fix health care in Texas — and give the state some semblance of local control over what he calls an unsustainable health care system. Full Story
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The University of Texas System leadership has officially reassigned controversial new hire, Rick O'Donnell, to a new position — one that will only exist for a matter of months. Full Story
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Deliberation about what to cut — and whom to save — ended with a vote to restore $4.5 billion to state health agencies at a Senate Health and Human Services subcommittee hearing this morning. The issue now goes to the full Senate Finance Committee. Full Story
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After more than 11 hours of draining debate, and years of Republican-led efforts, a voter ID bill appears headed toward the governor's desk. Full Story
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Hunger, at an all-time high in the U.S., is especially pronounced among seniors, with more than 6 million considered "food insecure." And as Matt Largey of KUT News reports, the problem is growing in Texas. Full Story
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Judges across the state, and particularly in Harris County, are sending youth offenders to adult prisons even when they have few prior offenses, according to a study by a University of Texas criminal justice expert. Full Story
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This week's episode of the TribCast features Evan, Ross, Reeve and Ben talking mostly about the budget, but also a bit about redistricting and academic research. Full Story
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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
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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
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Your afternoon reading: voter ID debate under way; House budget passed without debate; Perry fined $1,500 for ethics violation Full Story
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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
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