Texas Legislature

A Conversation with Gonzales, Issac and Workman

By Evan Smith Jan. 10, 2011

Full audio from my TribLive conversation with incoming House members Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock, Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs, and Paul Workman, R-Austin. Full Story

Credit: Bob Daemmrich
A Conversation With Three Incoming House Members

By Evan Smith Jan. 10, 2011

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

Credit: Bob Daemmrich
Inside Intelligence: The House Republican Caucus Will...

By Ross Ramsey Jan. 10, 2011

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
Misdemeanor Misbehavior?

By Morgan Smith Jan. 9, 2011

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

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Pomp, Circumstance, Consequences

By Brandi Grissom, Reeve Hamilton, Elise Hu, Ross Ramsey, Emily Ramshaw, Morgan Smith, Matt Stiles, Julián Aguilar and Kate Galbraith Jan. 9, 2011

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

Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
TribBlog: Patrick Wades Into Caucus Controversy

By Evan Smith Jan. 7, 2011

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

Credit: Candidate photo
Mental Breakdown

By Erika Aguilar, KUT News Jan. 7, 2011

Mental health providers are bracing themselves for brutal budget cuts. Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
Green House

By Ross Ramsey Jan. 7, 2011

The biggest caucus in the Texas House is the Republicans', now with 101 members. Next? The Democrats', at 49. And then there’s the freshman class — one of the biggest in years — with 38 members. All but six are Republicans, and many of them replaced Democrats. They face some challenges. Full Story

Credit: Justin Dehn
Discharged?

By Emily Ramshaw Jan. 7, 2011

Advocates for shuttering Texas' institutions for people with disabilities say they have a big plus in their column this session: the state’s giant budget crunch. Full Story

Credit: Todd Wiseman
TribBlog: Proposed Immigration Laws Create Unlikely Alliances

By Julián Aguilar Jan. 6, 2011

Proposing state enforcement of immigration laws can produce strange bedfellows. "Who would imagine that after 28 years of law enforcement the ACLU would be talking so nicely about me,” Sheriff Richard Wiles joked after being introduced as a common-sense sheriff by ACLU of Texas Executive Director Terri Burke for his opposition to proposed legislation patterned on Arizona’s. Full Story

Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller
Gonzales on Being a Hispanic Republican

By Evan Smith Jan. 6, 2011

At this morning's TribLive conversation with three incoming members of the Texas House, state Rep.-elect Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock, explained why being Hispanic and being a Republican are not incompatible. Full Story
On the Records: The Bills So Far

By Matt Stiles Jan. 6, 2011

A new word cloud visualizes the bills filed so far according to their Texas Legislative Council assigned categories. After education, which accounts for more than a quarter of the bills, the top categories are elections, criminal procedure, vehicles and traffic, and taxation. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Wordle.net
The Revenue Guesstimate

By Ross Ramsey Jan. 6, 2011

Lawmakers are waiting for Comptroller Susan Combs to forecast exactly how much money the state will collect between now and August 2013 so they can write a two-year budget that spends no more than that. It's not exactly like opening the envelopes at the Oscars, but the Capitol community will be hanging on her every word. If history is a guide, her estimate of revenues will be closer to the bull's eye than the Legislature's estimate of spending. But this is a dark art; accuracy can be elusive. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman/Bob Daemmrich
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 61

By Elise Hu Jan. 5, 2011

In this week's skirmish, we preview the session ahead with a last look at the speaker's race and a closer look at 2011's budget struggles. Full Story
TribBlog: Coalition Urges "Balanced" Budget Approach

By Brandi Grissom Jan. 5, 2011

A wide-ranging coalition of education, criminal justice, religious and charitable groups today called on Texas lawmakers to use more than a machete to balance the state budget this year. Full Story

Credit: Jacob Villanueva
A Taxing Problem

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Jan. 4, 2011

It's not hard to find strange bedfellows in the Texas Legislature when the bills start flying. Republicans and Democrats frequently cross the aisle to support legislation that they feel will help their constituents. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the same could be true as lawmakers try to figure out how to balance the state budget. Full Story
Michele Deitch: The TT Interview

By Brandi Grissom Jan. 4, 2011

The jail conditions expert and professor at the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs on why maintaining treatment programs that keep offenders in their communities and reducing some of the harsh, long-term jail sentences often doled out in Texas' notoriously tough criminal justice system could be more cost-efficient and allow Texas to close prisons. Full Story

Credit: Justin Dehn
A Taxing Problem

By Ben Philpott, KUT News Jan. 4, 2011

It's not hard to find strange bedfellows in the Texas Legislature when the bills start flying. Republicans and Democrats frequently cross the aisle to support legislation that they feel will help their constituents. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the same could be true as lawmakers try to figure out how to balance the state budget during the upcoming legislative session. Full Story
Unfunded But Vital?

By Morgan Smith Jan. 4, 2011

Get acquainted with a phrase that will be oft-repeated in the upcoming 82nd Legislature’s brawls over public education: unfunded mandate. To help schools cope with any reduced funding, lawmakers will look to relax state regulations that create costs local school districts bear on their own or with limited help from the state. But will dropping these requirements hurt educational quality? Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman, Brent Hoard/Elizabeth Albert
Now What?

By Ross Ramsey Jan. 3, 2011

Texas alternates election years with governing years, with legislative sessions set in the odd-numbered years after voters choose their leaders. There are variations, but it’s got a rhythm: Choose them, watch them govern, choose, watch. The elections behind us, it’s time to see what this particular bunch will do. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman