Pay to PaveTexas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in our stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here.
Austin
Posted in
Economy
A Taxing Problem
It’s not hard to find strange bedfellows in the Texas Legislature when the bills start flying. Republicans and Democrats frequently cross the aisle to support legislation that they feel will help their constituents. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the same could be true as lawmakers try to figure out how to balance the state budget during the upcoming legislative session.
Posted in
Economy
A Taxing Problem
It’s not hard to find strange bedfellows in the Texas Legislature when the bills start flying. Republicans and Democrats frequently cross the aisle to support legislation that they feel will help their constituents. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the same could be true as lawmakers try to figure out how to balance the state budget.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Michele Deitch: The TT Interview
The jail conditions expert and professor at the University of Texas’ LBJ School of Public Affairs on why maintaining treatment programs that keep offenders in their communities and reducing some of the harsh, long-term jail sentences often doled out in Texas’ notoriously tough criminal justice system could be more cost-efficient and allow Texas to close prisons.
Posted in
State Government
Confidential Conflicts
Lobbyists are required by law to notify their clients if they represent two or more groups with clashing agendas. They are also required to notify the Texas Ethics Commission. Scores of lobbyists have done so in recent legislative sessions. What is not required is for the public or elected representatives to be informed.
Posted in
Energy
Running on Empty?
Gas is hovering just under $3 per gallon in Austin, far short of the record $4.10 per gallon reached a couple of years ago. But as Matt Largey of KUT News reports, that’s not stopping one group from creatively working to wean people off oil because they fear the world will eventually run out of it.
Posted inState Government
TribBlog: Hartnett Rides Again
State Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, will handle the legal details of the election contest between state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, and Republican Dan Neil, who is challenging the results of the election he lost in November.
Posted in
Economy
National Treasure
Texas lawmakers have vowed to cut their way to a balanced budget, in the face of a shortfall that could be as high as $25 billion. But their task pales compared to the federal government, which ran a deficit of almost $ 1.3 trillion last fiscal year. As KUT’s Matt Largey reports, a lot’s at stake for Austin when the next Congress gets down to business on the next federal budget.
Posted in
Economy
The Forever Business
Got a hole in your budget? Cut spending. Shake the couch for spare change. Raid your savings. Ask for a raise, if you think you can get away with it. And when all else fails, sell your assets, right? Not in Texas. The folks who handle the state’s real estate are focused not on the current budget mess, but on ambitious building plans they say will make long-term financial sense for taxpayers.
Posted in
State Government
Down for the Recount
After a recount affirming his loss to state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, former University of Texas lineman Dan Neil has asked that the Texas House settle the election’s outcome. What happens now?
