The latest Rick Perry news from The Texas Tribune.
Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that he refuses to get distracted by the suggestion that he should run for president in 2012. “I’ve got a legislative session that is substantially more important to the people of the state of Texas and to me,” he said. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6920fb4f32c3528a0cbfd3dff587bd66/BD%20INC%20Perry%20Salute%202011)
Gov. Rick Perry, speaking to reporters outside a ballroom at the Four Seasons Hotel, said legislative leaders were moving toward a budget deal that would avoid a special session. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/051911_PerryPodium.png)
Gov. Rick Perry told a press gaggle today that he will not be distracted by talk of a 2012 presidential bid. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/_KCB9179.jpg)
The House was expected to take up two controversial fiscal matters bill today, but from the start representatives were not sure the lower chamber was prepared to pass them. The apparent holdup? Whether some of the revenue measures amount to the "accounting gimmicks" that the governor warned against Tuesday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/gaggle006CMS.jpg)
Call it the Justin Timberlake Treatment: The Legislature has found itself boxed in as it searches for a way out of the budget divide. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/BudgetBox_1.png)
A bill allowing a chunk of funding for colleges and universities to be dedicated to "outcomes-based" funding passed through the House today and is headed to the Senate. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/4cda8c31846cd6b2d781f04e8a305d32/BD%20INC%20Dan%20Branch%202010)
Gov. Rick Perry has unsuccessfully tried to get a meeting with President Barack Obama, who will be visiting Texas today, to discuss the federal government's denial of a wildfire disaster declaration in Texas, as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/PerryX002CMS.jpg)
Hey, Texplainer: How does a special session work? And how is it different from the regular session? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Capsized8.jpg)
After hours of contentious and often emotional debate, the Texas House passed HB 12, the controversial "sanctuary cities" legislation. The measure was passed on a 100 to 47 vote just after midnight. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3c5a9aedcb2d7cdc6c0ec07eee7ca367/BD%20INC%20Solomons%2004%202011)
The state Senate today approved a conference committee report on the voter identification bill that includes changes that would allow citizens to use a new form of documentation to cast their ballots. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/80d6d5e2c22fefab4618cc4b4f4212a7/BD%20INC%20Fraser%202011)
It’s funny that you can win four statewide elections and still have people think you’re a goofball, in over your head. But maybe Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s fumbles leading to the Texas Senate’s budget vote give the lie to that. Maybe he’s goofy like a fox. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7d269101c869729bbc298c3b05ecc655/BD%20INC%20Dewhurst%2024%202011)
No time to follow all the happenings 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/capitol_with_statue__1.jpg)
Is it about security or racial profiling? Will U.S. citizens be targets of harassment? Will it stain Texas with the reputation Arizona thrust upon itself? The Texas House will likely entertain those and other sensitive questions when House Bill 12, commonly referred to as the “sanctuary cities” bill, hits the chamber's floor on Friday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ea89926d66ca79f69b0dbaed4b376989/BD%20INC%20Presidio%20Crossing%202011)
The governor told a press gaggle today that the Senate budget vote is a "step in right direction" — and that big-city police chiefs who oppose sanctuary city legislation must not have been listening last Election Day. Full Story
A bill to merge Texas' two state juvenile justice agencies is headed to the governor for a signature. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TYC-TJPC-Merger_split.jpg)
Sen. John Cornyn vowed to "raise Cain" if the federal government's decision not to give Texas extra financial assistance for battling the wildfires hinged on politics. But the feds say that Texas is already getting help. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/6ab253158c7e637354fc05fae609febe/BD%20INC%20Terlingua%20155%202011)
Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden tried, and failed, to get 20 state senators to vote with him on a proposed state budget Tuesday. On Wednesday, he's going to see if he can find 15. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCB8348.jpg)
An increasingly bitter disagreement over the future of the University of Texas at Austin between University of Texas System regents' chairman Gene Powell and state Sen. Judith Zaffirini is ratcheting up the ongoing debate surrounding higher education in Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/872b892efc80f060742fc9990dfab7e9/BD%20INC%20Zaffirini%20178%202011)
When it comes to acknowledging those responsible for bringing down Osama bin Laden — which politicians are understandably eager to do — there is a noticeable inconsistency in whom Texas' leaders are choosing to mention in their official statements. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/ThankBush-osama.JPG)
For a rare moment, Republicans in the lower chamber set aside their anti-Washington rhetoric and joined their Democratic colleagues to congratulate President Barack Obama for ordering the military action that led to the death of Osama bin Laden. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/20100809_ObamaTx_IMG_8685x.jpg)