The House Appropriations Committee, on a party-line vote, advanced the next state budget, sending to the full House a bill that spends $164.5 billion — about $23 billion less than state officials say they need to maintain current services. Full Story
The cost of common medical procedures paid for by Medicaid varies dramatically from hospital to hospital and region to region, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of claims by and payments to hundreds of hospitals across the state. Full Story
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M. Smith on the continuing controversy over Beaumont's school administrators, Tan on the deepening divide over the consequences of the House budget, Hamilton on the latest in the fight over higher ed accountability, Grissom on young inmates in adult prisons, Aguilar on the voter ID end game, Tan and Hasson's Rainy Day Fund infographic, Ramsey on the coming conflict over school district reserves, M. Smith and Aguilar on Laredo ISD's missing Social Security numbers, Galbraith on environmental regulators bracing for budget cuts and Ramshaw on greater scrutiny of neonatal intensive care units: The best of our best content from March 21 to 25, 2011. Full Story
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Organizations from across the country have come together at the annual National Latino Congreso in Austin to strategize on legislation affecting the Latino community. And as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, all eyes are on redistricting this year. Full Story
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Responding to a warning by the president of the Texas Exes that an anti-research mindset "would do irreparable damage" to UT-Austin, the UT System's Board of Regents insisted today that research is "extremely valuable." Full Story
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The U.S. Census Bureau released its final batch of state-by-state redistricting data this week, making it possible to visualize population growth by race and Hispanic origin across the country. Full Story
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Calling a point of order is a parliamentary delay tactic, but it can be a deadly one. Full Story
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The outspoken former UT dean and Boston University president on higher education's past, present and future — including his opinion of U.S. News & World Report's rankings, Howard Zinn and online degree programs. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: more budget analysis fallout; small businesses could lose tax break; UT alumni defend research Full Story
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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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