We've added 27 new entities — including university systems, transit authorities, and appraisal and school districts — to the Tribune's government employee salaries database and updated 30 others, bringing the total number to 129, with salary data for 660,000 public employees. Full Story
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One of the state budget's most notoriously complicated components has lawmakers — just five days from the finish line — clamoring for a fix. Full Story
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The most important problems facing the country are economic, while immigration and border security are the most important problems facing the state, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry has delivered his fiscal message loud and clear: Balance the cash-strapped state budget with cuts, not with the Rainy Day Fund or new taxes. Yet some of his most loyal advisers, past and future, are representing clients beating a very different drum. Full Story
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The state’s contentious sanctuary cities bill failed to move out of the Senate late Tuesday — a move some senators said effectively killed one of the most controversial measures the Texas Legislature has considered this session. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry appeared on Fox News' "On the Record with Greta van Susteren" Tuesday night to discuss border security. Of course, he also took a few swipes at the federal government for not doing more to help curb illegal immigration. Full Story
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A threat from the federal government to shut down Texas airports or cancel flights may have killed legislation by Tea Party conservatives in the Capitol to prohibit federal agents from conducting "invasive searches." Full Story
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Legislation on textbook funding approved by the Senate today breathed new life into left-behind education bills, including three languishing charter school measures. Full Story
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A bill that could alter the state's formula funding for institutions of higher education to allow some of it to be based on outcomes such as graduation rates rather than simply enrollment has cleared the Senate. Full Story
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Texas’ efforts to take control over Medicaid, the joint state-federal health care program for poor children and the disabled, could be in trouble. Full Story
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After a testy exchange, House lawmakers gave an initial OK to a voting bill that would push up the election filing period in order to give military voters more time to get absentee ballots. Full Story
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In a mixed-bag swipe at "Obamacare," the Texas Senate approved a bill today that would require state agencies to report the costs — and savings — of implementing federal health care reform. Full Story
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The Legislature has just a few days to get the state budget, the most important bill of the session, passed and to the governor's desk. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on the final items needed to send lawmakers home on time. Full Story
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Last week, Texas A&M University System Board of Regents chairman Richard Box received a letter from five Texas A&M University professors concerned about his intended direction for the system. Today, he responded, saying, "We are all in this together." Full Story
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“The roosters are crowing and it’s time to go noodling,” said Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, today before the Senate passed a bill to crackdown on cockfighting rings. Full Story
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A bill aimed at reducing the glare from outdoor lighting in a large swath of West Texas in order to help the McDonald Observatory is currently stuck in the Senate, though its sponsor hopes to get it to the floor by the tomorrow's legislative deadline. Full Story
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One day after the education fiscal bill, SB 1581, died on the floor of the House, lawmakers are scrambling to reach a deal and keep the budget bill, HB 1, on track for approval by both chambers before the weekend deadline. The governor is among the optimists who think they'll finish their work without going into overtime. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Public Safety today announced the start of a program to help poor drivers pay off expensive surcharges and get their driver's licenses back. Full Story
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House lawmakers have given the first OK to a key piece of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's health reform plan, after efforts to turn the bill into a health care Christmas tree fell short. Full Story
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The Senate unanimously passed a major tort reform bill today that would allow courts to grant attorneys' fees to prevailing parties under certain circumstances. Full Story
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