The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
Behold the mighty freshman Republicans of the Texas House of Representatives. They’re supposed to be quiet, to bow to their tenured colleagues, to stay out of the way. But here they are, quietly and deferentially exercising some clout on the only piece of legislation that absolutely has to pass: the state budget. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/NoNewTaxes.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Tribweek-03-25-2011.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9af90b409b0c866915c660f3d788618a/.dontusevoting)
Calling a point of order is a parliamentary delay tactic, but it can be a deadly one. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCA1372.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/TheDifferenceScreencap_s.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d7ff44a10d39e7cc92c7ddc8f1ac998a/BD%20INC%20Dewhurst%2004%202011)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Capsized4.jpg)
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
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TexasFlagRainyDay.jpg)
Deliberation about what to cut — and whom to save — ended with a vote to restore $4.5 billion to state health agencies at a Senate Health and Human Services subcommittee hearing this morning. The issue now goes to the full Senate Finance Committee. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/healthcare.jpg)
Judges across the state, and particularly in Harris County, are sending youth offenders to adult prisons even when they have few prior offenses, according to a study by a University of Texas criminal justice expert. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/JuvenilesCriminalJustice.jpg)
This week's episode of the TribCast features Evan, Ross, Reeve and Ben talking mostly about the budget, but also a bit about redistricting and academic research. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TT-TribCast-002.png)
As the House prepares for a vote on its budget bill, Senate lawmakers are hinting that they're looking to spend more than their counterparts on public education — setting the stage for a budget battle. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/pittsbudgetlayout_1.jpg)
House Democrats unsuccessfully fired off a half-dozen points of order challenging several provisions in the voter ID bill all in an effort to halt or alter the controversial legislation. Republicans expressed exasperation at the Democrats' attempts to stall the legislation. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/VoterIDWED.jpg)
After more than 11 hours of debate, seven points of order, more than 60 amendments and nearly as many heated exchanges, a mentally vanquished and emotionally exhausted Texas House preliminarily approved the controversial voter ID bill late tonight. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/11615b2d2b7627fb575b8b81d9af3afb/BD%20INC%20Anchia%2003%202011)
We're continuing to live stream the Texas House floor debate on the controversial voter ID debate. Click here for access to the stream on our 82nd Legislature page. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/VoterID2.jpg)
Republican senators say the state's budget shortfall will mean educations cuts, but they said schools should focus first on eliminating non-classroom expenses and keeping as many teachers as possible. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/SenateEDU.jpg)
The Senate preliminarily approved a bill today by state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, that would add new definitions and harsher penalties to human trafficking laws. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a7d996546ec7bd707b61c812565b475e/BD%20INC%20Van%20De%20Putte%2005%202011)
Use our infographic to understand the intent of the Rainy Day Fund, what it takes to draw from that savings account, and the political arguments for and against using it. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/rainy-dayLA_1.png)
The national criminal justice expert on how other states have handled controversial prison closings and reduced criminal justice costs and how the Right On Crime Movement might give lawmakers the political freedom to be more than tough when it comes to crime. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/MarcMauer.jpg)
The Tribune sat down recently with national criminal justice expert Marc Mauer, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based reform advocacy group The Sentencing Project, to get his advice about how Texas can continue on its so-called 'right on crime' path even as lawmakers slice millions from the state budget. Mauer, who was in Austin for the Barbara Jordan Symposium at the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs, talked about how other states have handled controversial prison closings, how others have reduced criminal justice costs and how the Right On Crime Movement — with support from conservative leaders like Grover Norquist and Newt Gingrich — might give lawmakers the political freedom to be more than tough when it comes to crime. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Screen_shot_2011-03-22_at_11.20.00_AM.png)