It’s a strange thing to walk through the Texas Capitol on a weekday afternoon. There are the familiar crowded committee rooms, the halls filled with lobbyists, the shark tank in the Capitol extension filled with Cub Scouts, smokers and people whose cellular phones won’t work anywhere else in the underground.
Posted in
Health care
Why Rally If the Votes Are Truly Locked Up?
Ordinarily, anyone who could collect more than 80 House votes for an issue before it’s even been heard in committee would be happy indeed. But the folks pushing to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, to the maximum are worried about the depth of their support.
Posted inState Government
The Parlous Piñata Position
You have to take a deep breath to recite the full name of the newest organization in town: Gov. George W. Bush Presidential Exploratory Committee, Inc. It is up and running, with faxes and phones and all that stuff. Also well underway is the phase where the candidate gets fawning magazine, newspaper and television stories the media equivalent of hanging up a piñata before the big party. It’s nice, big, eye-catching, room-dominating, and the bats will come out as soon as everyone arrives.
Posted in
Graphics and data reporting
Search the newly updated Texas state employees salaries database
The Texas Tribune’s database of Texas state employees’ compensation is updated to represent salaries as of October 1.
