Analysis: Expect some clouds in Monday’s Texas budget forecast
The Legislature goes to Austin on Tuesday, but lawmakers will find out a day before that what kind of budget they're going to write. Spoiler alert: Money is tight. Full Story
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![Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Texas lawmakers set a spending cap they likely won't reach
The Legislative Budget Board picked 8 percent as the growth rate in the state’s two-year budget, capping how much lawmakers can spend in next year's legislative session. Lawmakers say the state doesn't have enough money to reach that cap. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
UT/TT Poll: Bathrooms, the Constitution and other hot Texas issues
A slight majority of Texas voters — and an overwhelming majority of Republican voters — think transgender people should use the restrooms that match their birth gender, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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Far Ahead of 2018, Some Statewide Officials Build Big War Chests
It may be the political offseason, but some statewide officials are already building sizable war chests with more than two years until they are up for re-election. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, l, applauds as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is introduced Feb. 17, 2015 prior to his State of the State speech.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Abbott, Hegar Order Agencies To End De Facto Severance Payments
Gov. Greg Abbott and Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Wednesday ordered state agencies to stop paying departing employees by placing them on "emergency leave." Full Story
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![Governor Greg Abbott announced an expansion of the Governor’s Commission for Women at the Governor’s Mansion in Austin, TX on Wednesday, March 30th.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles/ Texas Tribune -
Scenes from the Texas GOP Convention
Scenes from the 2016 state Republican Party convention in Dallas, Texas. Full Story
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![Linda Eden of Denton County poses with Donald Trump poster while attending the trade show at the Republican Party of Texas convention on May 13, 2016.]()
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Former Death Row Inmate Fights for Compensation
Freed after a decade on Texas death row for a murder he says he didn't commit, Alfred Dewayne Brown thinks he's entitled to compensation from the state, but Comptroller Glenn Hegar is saying no. Full Story
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![Alfred Dewayne Brown hugs his sister Connie Brown on the day of his release, June 8, 2015.]()
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Video: A Conversation with Glenn Hegar
At our 4/29 symposium on the Texas economy, I talked with Comptroller of Public Accounts Glenn Hegar about the price of oil, economic incentives, taxes, spending, Texas vs. D.C., and more. Full Story
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As Oil Prices Plunge, Small Producers Could Get Tax Relief
After a 20-month free fall, West Texas crude prices thudded to a milestone last month — one that could bring some tax relief to small-time producers in Texas, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar said this week. Full Story
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Texas Supreme Court Grapples With Billion-Dollar Tax Question
With billions of dollars at stake, the Texas Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a tax showdown whose outcome could shake up the next legislative session while providing a boost to struggling petroleum drillers. Full Story
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![Pipes used for fracking are shown in front of a Fasken OIl and Ranch drilling rig outside of Midland on Oct. 8, 2013.]()
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Billions At Stake for State in Tax Challenge
The Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear arguments in a case that could deliver a multibillion-dollar windfall to struggling oil and gas producers, threatening to take a major bite out of state revenue. Full Story
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![An oil driller had filed a lawsuit over sales tax refunds. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar's office warned that a Texas loss could have spurred up to $4.4 billion in refund filings for 2017 alone.]()
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Analysis: Hegar Could Change the Odds with Horse Racing Vote
The Texas Racing Commission's latest vote on a new form of gambling was a 4-4 tie. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar could break that deadlock this week, but he isn't saying how he might vote — or whether he will vote at all. Full Story
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Oil Driller's Lawsuit Could Cost Texas Billions in Tax Refunds
What is the definition of "tangible personal property?" The arcane question is at the center of a lawsuit that could reap energy companies a multibillion-dollar windfall and drain the state's budget surplus. Full Story
![An oil driller had filed a lawsuit over sales tax refunds. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar's office warned that a Texas loss could have spurred up to $4.4 billion in refund filings for 2017 alone.]()
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Analysis: The Death of Taxes on Illegal Drugs
Until the most recent legislative session, the state had a tax on illegal drugs, adding tax evasion to the list of things that could put buyers and sellers into jail. Those drugs remain illegal, but the transactions are now tax-free. Full Story
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![Sample tax stamps for controlled substances and "marihuana" available for sale until last year from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.]()
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After Dour Report, Hegar Says Moody's "Should Know Better"
Comptroller Glenn Hegar launched a torrent of criticism at Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday after the credit rating agency released a report suggesting a drilling slowdown could eat up a projected $4 billion budget surplus by December. Full Story
![Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar]()
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As Oil Prices Plunge, Hegar Asked if Budget Outlook is Too Rosy
While Comptroller Glenn Hegar tried to assure lawmakers that plummeting oil prices do not mean the Texas economy is headed for a nosedive, some worried Hegar was being overly optimistic. Full Story
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![Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar is interviewed by Texas Tribune CEO and Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith on Jan. 21, 2016.]()
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Video: A Conversation with Glenn Hegar
Full video of my 1/21 conversation with Glenn Hegar, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Topics discussed: oil prices, taxes, jobs and economic incentives. Full Story
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Analysis: For Texas Officeholders, Money is the Best Defense
Money is the armory of politics; a large-enough war chest can intimidate potential rivals. And other officeholders have taken note, collecting towers of money like medieval rulers erected castles. Full Story
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Analysis: Budget Battle Might Seem Boring, But Don't Doubt Its Impact
Some of the most important debates in government and politics are complicated — and boring. That gives the combatants some safety from voters who are preoccupied with battles that are easier to understand. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott is shown in November 2015 proposing reforms against "sanctuary cities" that he wants Texas lawmakers to consider in the 2017 legislative session.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Attorney General's Office: Abbott's Budget Vetoes Should Stand
Gov. Greg Abbott was well within his powers when he vetoed more than $200 million in funds approved by the Texas Legislature this year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office wrote in an opinion issued Monday. Full Story
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![Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) speak at a press conference in the Capitol about Sen. Cruz’s Terrorist Refugee Infiltration Prevention Act of 2015 (S. 2302), in Washington, D.C., Dec. 8, 2015.]()
Credit: Chris Maddaloni/ The Texas Tribune