With some top state leaders warning that Texas’ dire fiscal situation will lead to the loss of several thousand state jobs, House budget writers will release their first draft budget today. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, big job cuts may be just the beginning.
Austin
Posted in
State Government
TribBlog: Michael Williams Will Resign to Run
Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams will resign this week, allowing him to work full time on a race for U.S. Senate — and to avoid a potentially bruising legislative fight over the future of his agency.
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Energy
EPA Presses On in Fight With Texas
The Environmental Protection Agency took public comment in Dallas on Friday on its new rules for greenhouse gas regulations. Because Texas has refused to establish a greenhouse gas permitting process, the EPA will directly issue permits to companies here — but as Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, federal officials say there won’t be a delay for companies wanting to them.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Capitol Insecurity
When Andrew Cuomo took office as governor of New York earlier this month, he ordered the removal of the security barricades limiting access to his state’s Capitol. “This Capitol has become a physical metaphor for the isolation and alienation of our people,” he said in his inauguration speech. He could easily have been talking about Texas.
Posted in
State Government
Dewhurst: I’ve Got My Plate Full
Minutes after learning of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s decision not to seek re-election, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst demurred when asked whether he would run for her seat.
Posted in
Economy
TribBlog: Pitts Says Expect Big Budget Cuts
Trib CEO Evan Smith spent the morning interviewing House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, at a TribLive event. And Pitts made some news. Here are a few headlines.
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Demographics
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 62
In our session kickoff edition of the TribCast, Ross, Elise, Ben and Reeve discuss the state’s budget morass, so-called “sanctuary city” legislation and their impressions of the newly sworn-in Texas Legislature.
Posted in
Guides
Texplainer: What’s an Emergency Item?
Ever hear something about Texas politics or policy and wonder what it is? Or read something that made you think, “I have no idea what that means”? We’re here to help. From questions about why Rick Perry is within his legal right to shoot a coyote while jogging to what the heck “chubbing” is, Texplainer will answer your burning questions. Today: “What’s a Legislative emergency item?”
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Youth Justice Merger?
The Sunset Advisory Commission today unanimously recommended consolidating the Texas Youth Commission and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission into one single youth justice division.
Posted in
Higher Education
Branch: Higher Ed Cuts Unavoidable
As state leaders grapple with a budget shortfall that could be as high as $27 billion, state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, who chaired the House Higher Education Committee in 2009, offers up some possible cuts to higher education.
