It’s renewable energy lobby week at the Capitol, and as Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, the budget shortfall — though sure to dampen hopes for some legislation — isn’t keeping advocates from pushing for a number of energy programs.
Austin
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Virginia Tech Surivior Opposes Guns on College Campuses
Virginia Tech shooting survivor Colin Goddard lobbies against proposed legislation that would allow handguns on college campuses.
Posted in
State Government
Neil Remains Hopeful Despite Long Wait [Updated]
The 82nd legislative session will be about halfway over by the time lawmakers on a specially appointed committee decide whether Republican Dan Neil or incumbent state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, won the disputed HD-48 seat.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Chief Justice to Legislature: Remember the Neediest
In his biennial State of the Judiciary address on Wednesday, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson urged the Legislature to protect legal aid funding — and renewed his call for the reform of judicial elections.
Posted inState Government
Zerwas: Use Most of Rainy Day Fund or I’ll Get Spanked
State Rep. John Zerwas, R-Simonton, said on Wednesday that all but $1 bllion of the Rainy Day Fund should be tapped to reduce the size of the budget shortfall.
Posted in
Public Education
Budget Cuts Have Some Calling for STAAR Delay
Texas school districts are bracing for budget cuts and layoffs in the coming months. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the cuts have some worried about 2012, when the state will roll out STAAR, a new testing system.
Posted in
Guides
Texplainer: Can Wisconsin Happen Here?
Gov. Scott Walker should come to Texas, where much of what he’s seeking already exists. The right to bargain collectively isn’t allowed among state employees, and no public employee in Texas may legally go on strike.
Posted in
Public Education
Budget Cuts Have Some Calling for STAAR Delay
Texas school districts are bracing for budget cuts and layoffs in the coming months. And as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, education advocates are particularly concerned about the state’s roll out of STAAR, a new testing system, in 2012.
Posted in
Demographics
Hundreds Rally Against Immigration Bills
Hundreds of Texans descended on the state Capitol on Tuesday to draw attention to dozens of bills they say would hinder economic development, stymie education and — above all — encourage racial profiling in the Lone Star State.
Posted in
Politics
Senate Committee Targets Payday Lending
If a set of bills filed by Sens. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, and Royce West, D-Dallas, passes this session, consumers who take out short-term, high-interest loans could be protected from exorbitant interest rate charges.
