The latest David Dewhurst news from The Texas Tribune.
Behind the fiery health care rhetoric is a measure expected to dramatically expand Texas’ Medicaid program, adding up to 1 million adults to the state’s insurance roll — but at a steep cost. Texas will have to come up with hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue to foot its share of the bill. Full Story
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House lawmakers passed the Senate version of long-awaited health care reform on Sunday night. And Texas leaders were quick to fire off on it. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus sent a firmly-worded letter to members of Congress today, urging them to vote against health care reform in Washington, or, as they dub it, "the federal government's takeover of health care." A vote is expected on Sunday. Full Story
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The big three state leaders approved seven new security measures for the Capitol, and none of them are X-ray machines or metal detectors that the director of the top Texas police agency said are critical to keep the pink dome safe from armed intruders. Full Story
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Sen. Kip Averitt, R-Waco, resigned from office Monday, a week after winning the GOP primary for reelection to a seat he no longer wants to hold. Full Story
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Linda Chavez-Thompson announces victory over Ronnie Earle and Marc Katz in the race for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. The winner of that contest will face incumbent Republican David Dewhurst in November. Full Story
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Republican candidate Milton Rister says he's got nothing to do with the speaker-bashing in an email making the rounds in Georgetown. Full Story
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"[S]he would bring a fresh perspective, a commitment to work with both sides of the aisle and an emphasis on the state's public schools and higher education..." Full Story
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"Earle has the better insight into the levers of power in government," says the Morning News. "Chavez-Thompson is undoubtedly the best Democratic candidate in the race," says the Express-News. Full Story
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How will lawmakers deal with a budget shortfall of at least $11 billion — and maybe several billion more — in the next legislative session? In all likelihood, by doing what they did in 2003, when things were almost this bad. Full Story
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The Department of Public Safety, which is struggling financially, is planning to use $16 million of the federal stimulus dollars that Gov. Rick Perry begrudgingly accepted to plug a hole in the border security budget. The decision follows a mandate by Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Joe Straus that state agencies cut 5 percent out of their budgets to meet an anticipated shortfall. Full Story
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Debra Medina has a dream — and it’s not just to bring a gun into a grocery store. Full Story
No surprise here, but still: State leaders want state agencies to cut five percent from their current budgets "due to the uncertainty of the state's short-term economic future, as well as potentially substantial long-term costs associated with the passage of federal legislation currently being debated in Washington, D.C." Full Story
As El Paso begins to wear the new off its hard-fought medical school, another Texas border community is starting on the long road to establishing its own. University of Texas System officials are evaluating how long it will take and how much it could cost to train the next generation of doctors in the Rio Grande Valley. Full Story
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Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson invited both of the Democrats running for his job to stop by for a crash course on what the General Land Office does. Full Story
She was born into a family of eight children near Lubbock, worked on cotton fields in her teens and later became a Hispanic labor leader. Now she's running for lieutenant governor. We've packaged resources (in various media platforms) on the latest entrant to the race. Full Story
As we approach today’s filing deadline, there are — to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld — known knowns. We also know there are known unknowns. But there are also unknown unknowns; the ones we don't know we don't know. Full Story
The political window is about to close: Today's the last day to become a candidate in the 2010 state elections. What we know so far is that the ballot will have a fireworks show at the top, with contested and well-financed gubernatorial primaries on both sides. A couple of statewide Democratic races will be competitive, but with incumbents seeking reelection on the Republican side, there's little action there. Full Story
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Can you do better than the "Davey Dewhurst sandwich"? A year-end Texas Tribune contest. Full Story
David Dewhurst will seek reelection on the Republican side, effectively ending that party's primary for lieutenant governor. But the Democrats are still stirring the pot. Ronnie Earle, the former Travis County DA is in. As of earlier today, Austin restauranteur Marc Katz is in. Will Linda Chavez-Thompson sign up? Full Story