Police at the Capitol say the state's lawmakers and their guests will be safe under the pink dome as the 82nd Legislature gets underway tomorrow. But lawmakers are encouraging vigilance after the Arizona shooting this weekend that left a congresswoman critically injured and 14 others dead. Full Story
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Despite loud protests from Tea Party groups that pushed for a more conservative leader, the Texas House Republican Caucus endorsed incumbent Speaker Joe Straus in an afternoon vote. Straus, appearing after the meeting, said the notion of a speaker's race was "overstudied and overanalyzed." Full Story
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Electricity use on the Texas grid rose by 3.5 percent in 2010, and wind turbines generated 7.8 percent of the power, according to figures released today by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid operator. Full Story
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Tea Partiers expect to have a seat at the table during Texas' 82nd Legislative Session, the first since the movement's rise, via the new Tea Party Caucus organized by Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston. The caucus is advised by a select group of Tea Party leaders from around the state, including Greg Holloway, a leader of the Austin Tea Party Patriots and the Common Sense Texans Network. He talked with the Trib about the upcoming session. Full Story
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A judge has sentenced former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, to three years in prison. Full Story
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House Speaker Joe Straus has the support of the House Republican legislative caucus, which met on the afternoon before the legislative session to take the measure of the incumbent and two challengers: Warren Chisum of Pampa and Ken Paxton of McKinney. With all but one of the 101 Republicans in the House present, 70 stood up to show their support for Straus in the closed meeting, according to legisaltors who were inside. With that done, there was no reason to check the support for the other two candidates. Full Story
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Democratic state lawmakers warned Monday of the "dangerous" cuts to public and higher education that are likely as the Legislature prepares to address a massive budget shortfall. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: the revenue estimate, Tom DeLay and more Kay Bailey Hutchison speculation Full Story
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In a press conference announcing a projected $72.2 billion in state revenue in 2012-2013, Comptroller Susan Combs explains why her previous estimates have been off target. Full Story
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The state will have $77.3 billion in general revenue during the next two-year budget cycle, Comptroller Susan Combs said this morning. The comptroller estimated the Rainy Day Fund will have $9.4 billion in it at the end of the 2012-2013 biennium and that the size of the current deficit is $4.3 billion. Full Story
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Tomorrow's the big day, but in terms of action, today might be bigger. Full Story
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For the year's first installment of our nonscientific survey of political and policy insiders on issues of the moment, we asked whether Joe Straus would win another term as speaker, whether the next speaker should share power with the Democrats when doling out committee chairmanships and other assignments and whether the Republican Caucus is the right forum for picking the leader of the House. Full Story
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For our first TribLive conversation of 2011, I interviewed Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock; Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs; and Paul Workman, R-Austin, about the Speaker's race, the budget shortfall, immigration, the Tea Party and how they and other newbies will navigate the 82nd legislative session. Full Story
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The House Republican Caucus will meet today to debate whether it should choose a favorite in the race for speaker of the House among the three candidates: the incumbent, Joe Straus of San Antonio, and Warren Chisum of Pampa and Ken Paxton of McKinney. But the vote's not binding. So why do it? Full Story
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Here's the layout for next week, in 100 words or less: Comptroller's release of her estimate of how much revenue the state will bring in by the end of August 2013; Tea Party rallies; GOP caucus vote on whether to show a preference for a speaker followed, maybe, by said vote; opening day with swearings-in of members (most statewides are already sworn in, with the exception of the top two, who get the treatment a week after the session starts), the official vote for speaker, and adoption of rules by the House and the Senate; and budgeteers' release of the proposed budget for 2012-13. Full Story
The Texas criminal justice system is increasingly the destination for mischief-makers, some as young as 6, in the state’s public schools, according to a new study, which sheds light on what is a rapidly growing part of school budgets: campus security. Full Story
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Republicans might not all like House Speaker Joe Straus, but he's got a better chance than his predecessor to lead the House to "fiscally responsible, limited and just government," according to Debra Medina, the conservative activist and former Republican gubernatorial candidate. Full Story
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The 82nd Texas Legislature convenes in Austin this week, and while it’s not as much fun as the circus — usually — it’s more important and does have its share of comedy and drama. Full Story
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Hamilton on what demographic change is doing to higher education, Stiles interactively looks at fines levied last year by the Texas Ethics Commission, Ramshaw on the struggle of foster kids to hang on to their belongings as they're shuffled around by the state, Philpott on whether a sales tax increase could plug the state's budget hole (and whether it's possible to enact one), Grissom talks to jail conditions expert Michele Deitch, M. Smith and Dehn on how electronic textbooks are made, Galbraith interviews on Texas Parks and Wildlife head Carter Smith, yours truly on the dark art of revenue estimating, Aguilar on the strange bedfellows lining up against state enforcement of immigration laws and Chang on the bleak hopes of needle exchange advocates: The best of our best from Jan. 3 to 7, 2011. Full Story
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A speaker preference vote in the House Republican Caucus is "simply the right thing to do," state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, said Friday night, wading into a roiling controversy that has pit Republican against Republican in the aftermath of November's election. Full Story
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