Texas need to address its structural deficit during the current session, or it will face even deeper financial problems in two years than it faces today, senate leaders said Tuesday afternoon.
Thanh Tan
Thanh Tan was a multimedia reporter/producer for the Tribune from 2011 to 2012. She previously worked at Idaho Public Television, a PBS station that serves a statewide audience. While there, she was an Emmy award-winning producer/reporter/host for the longest-running legislative public affairs program in the West, Idaho Reports, moderator of The Idaho Debates, and a writer/producer for the flagship series Outdoor Idaho. Prior to joining IdahoPTV, she was a general assignment reporter at the ABC affiliate in Portland, Oregon. and a political reporter for KBCI-TV in Boise, Idaho. Her work has also appeared on the PBS NewsHour and This American Life. She graduated with honors from the University of Southern California with degrees in International Relations and Broadcast Journalism.
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State Government
Update: The Texas Budget Cycle
Confused about the state’s budget process? Trust us — you’re not alone. Check our flow chart to help understand where we are in the process (highlighted in yellow) and what steps are next (highlighted in gray).
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Guides
Texplainer: Are All Committee Meetings Televised?
Generally, committee meetings are open to the public and recorded — one way or another.
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Economy
House Budget Shrinks Spending, Slashes Services
The Texas House started with a $164.5 billion budget and ended with the same total. But lawmakers spent the better part of a weekend making changes inside the budget for 2012-13 before giving it their approval, 98 to 49.
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Economy
Liveblog: House Debates HB 1
We liveblogged the full debate over HB 1, the House version of the general appropriations bills for the next biennium, which passed late Sunday night 98 to 49.
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Economy
Video: Lawmakers React to Budget Bills; Look Ahead to HB1 Battle
State Reps. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, and Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, react to the passage of HB4 and HB275, and preview of the upcoming battle over HB1, the House’s bare-bones general appropriations plan for the next biennium.
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State Government
House Gives Early OK to Bills Balancing ’11 Budget
House lawmakers voted this afternoon to preliminarily pass HB 4 and HB 275, two bills that together will balance the state’s budget for the remaining months of the fiscal year through a mix of spending cuts and use of the Rainy Day Fund.
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State Government
LiveBlog: House Debates Rainy Day Bills
We’re liveblogging from the House floor, where lawmakers are expected to vote on HB 4 and HB 275, two bills that would balance the Fiscal Year 2011 budget and authorize lawmakers to withdraw $3.1 billion from the Rainy Day Fund.
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State Government
VIDEO: GOP Freshman Lawmakers Discuss Tea Party Influence, Budget Clout
Thirty new GOP state lawmakers took office this year, promising their constituents they’d cut the fat out of government. As the House prepares to vote on a slew of budget bills on Thursday and Friday, this freshman bloc is showing some clout.
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Economy
Lawmakers, Policy Experts Spar Over LBB Jobs Analysis
Lawmakers and lobbyists continue to spar over the accuracy of a recent Legislative Budget Board analysis of the effect House Bill 1 could have on jobs in the state of Texas.