Sen. Bob Deuell, who chairs the Senate Nominations Committee, says Gail Lowe has not been scheduled for a hearing as chairwoman of the State Board of Education because she lacks the votes for a confirmation on the floor. Full Story
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You can’t buy liquor on Sundays and car dealerships can only be open one day over a weekend because of the last remnants of so-called “blue laws” in Texas. But a state Senate bill would change that for alcohol sales. Full Story
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A hearing on Thursday, largely meant to look into use of the Rainy Day Fund, played host to drama pitting House lawmakers against Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story
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With drilling on the rise, the Texas Railroad Commission and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality answer questions about whether Texans need to worry about radioactivity in their water. Full Story
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As they talk of cutting pension contributions and raising premiums for state employee health care and mandating layoffs and furloughs at state agencies, what are lawmakers doing to their own compensation and benefits? Full Story
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Advocates say requiring the losing parties in litigation to pay their opponents’ legal fees is the cure for courts choked with the costs of “junk” lawsuits. Full Story
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Atter making their presence known during election season, the various Tea Party groups in Texas continue to steer the political agenda. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story
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Texas' renewed commitment to natural gas comes at a time of sharply increased scrutiny for the gas industry. Full Story
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State Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, is concerned about budget cuts to a program that discounts utility bills for the elderly and those with low incomes. Full Story
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A bill filed by state Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, has an unusual group turning out to education committee meetings: environmentalists. Full Story
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Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples has no plans to pull down a state-run website that allows border ranchers and farmers to document their daily struggles with drug cartels and undocumented immigrants. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: Pitts vs. Perry battle over budget heats up; state worker furlough bill introduced; more Texas vs. California Full Story
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We're liveblogging the House Appropriations Committee hearing, where lawmakers are expected to consider whether to tap into the state's Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
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The director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown Public Policy Institute on the factors Texas lawmakers should consider as they seek to make budget cuts while continuing the reforms they started in 2007. Full Story
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At today's TribLive conversation, Speaker Joe Straus stopped short of supporting the tapping of the Rainy Day Fund to cover the current biennium's $4.3 billion deficit, but he left the door open. Full Story
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At the Tribune's New Day Rising symposium on Feb. 28, four public policy experts talked about criminal justice, education, health care and other issues and the impact of the coming Hispanic majority. Full Story
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State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, filed a bill today that would make it a state jail felony to "lewdly violate" a person's privacy in a place like a public restroom. Full Story
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This morning's TribLive event is a return engagement: House Speaker Joe Straus on stage with Tribune CEO and Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry, addressing education cuts on Wednesday, had one message for districts facing layoffs: Don't shoot the messenger. Full Story
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A new report says that Texas ranked 10th in installations of solar power in 2010, a jump from the previous year. But this is unlikely to deter solar proponents pushing for more legislative incentives. Full Story
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