Any candidate seeking elected office in Texas would be required to take a drug test when he or she files to run, under a proposal that the state Senate approved Tuesday.
84th Legislative Session
Posted inState Government
Budgetline: Jane Nelson, From Renegade to Ringleader
In this episode of Budgetline, Aman and Ross sit down with Senate Finance Chairwoman Jane Nelson, who voted against her first state budget in 1993 as a freshman senator and is now in charge of writing that most essential piece of legislation.
Posted in
Economy
House Passes $4.9B Tax Cut Plan That Includes Sales Tax Cut
The Texas House tentatively approved a $4.9 billion tax relief plan Tuesday that includes a cut to the state’s sales tax, marking a clear line in the sand against the Senate, which favors property tax cuts.
Posted inState Government
A Look at the Priority Bills for Straus and Patrick
Here’s an updated breakdown of House Bills 1-20 and Senate Bills 1-20, showing where House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick are placing their priorities for the 84th legislative session.
Posted in
Politics
Analysis: Legislative Overtime? Look to the Federal Courts
If the Texas Legislature has to come back for special sessions after its current session ends, it might not be because state lawmakers left something unresolved. It might trace back to election lawsuits pending in federal courts.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Inside Texas Politics: Breakfast Blowup
On this week’s edition of WFAA-TV’s Inside Texas Politics, host Jason Whitely, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey talk about last week’s “breakfast blowup.”
Posted in
Politics
The Playlist: Canary in a Coal Mine
How the House and Senate resolve their budget differences could offer clues about toxicity levels between the chambers for the balance of the session, so here’s The Police, playing “Canary in a Coal Mine.”
Posted in
State Government
Texas House GOP Caucus Endorses Sales Tax Cuts
With the Texas House set to vote on tax cuts, almost all of the Republicans in that chamber — 90 of 98 — signed a letter released Saturday endorsing sales tax cuts over the property tax cuts favored by the Texas Senate.
Posted in
Energy
Video: The Future of Energy
On 4/24, I talked about the future of energy policy in Texas with SMU’s Bruce Bullock; state Rep. Drew Darby, R-San Angelo; former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Antonio Garza; and state Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas.
Posted inState Government
Budgetline: The Cemetery at the End of the Budget
In this episode of Budgetline, an occasional TribCast series on the Texas budget, Aman and Ross explore the place at the end of the budget where unfunded items go. While it’s charitably referred to as “the wish list,” budget watchers say it more often serves as “the cemetery,” or “where dreams go to die.”