Add state Reps. Erwin Cain of Como and James White of Hillister to the list of members backing Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, for speaker of the House.
Austin
Posted in
Economy
Arlene Wohlgemuth: The TT Interview
The former budget-slashing Texas House member and current executive director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation on how she reads the mood out there, what reductions in state spending should be on the table, whether cost-shifting to local school districts is a plausible option, why lawmakers should forget about new sources of revenue, the trouble with Medicaid and what members of the Republican near-supermajority in the Legislature must do to keep the confidence of voters — and get re-elected.
Posted in
Economy
Wohlgemuth on the State’s Budget Woes
The former Texas House member and current director of the Texas Public Policy Foundation on how lawmakers should address the state’s multibillion-dollar budget shortfall.
Posted in
Economy
“Grandiose Cuts” to Higher Education?
The session hasn’t started yet, but the battles have. In a heated exchange over possible cuts to higher education at a post-election debrief, Democratic consultant Matt Angle spars with Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign manager, Rob Johnson.
Posted in
Health care
The Opt-Out Option
A week after newly emboldened Republicans in the Texas Legislature floated a radical cost-saving proposal — withdrawing from the federal Medicaid program — health care experts, economists and think tanks are trying to determine just how possible it would be. The answer? It’s complicated. But it’s not stopping nearly a dozen other states, frantic over budget shortfalls and anticipating new costs from federal health care reform, from exploring something that was, until recently, unthinkable.
Posted in
Energy
On the Ball
For five years, the director of UT’s Frank Erwin Center has been on a crusade to save energy. Fans may not notice the changes, but athletics officials on campus and around Texas are paying heed — and going green themselves.
Posted in
Economy
TribBlog: The Most Important Legislators?
Who will be the most important legislators in Austin in 2011? UT Vice Chancellor Barry McBee has an answer.
Posted in
State Government
Removing the Roadblock
Last week’s election left the Republican Party, already in the majority, with an unprecedented advantage in the Texas House. But as Ben Philpott reports for KUT News and the Texas Tribune, even that new advantage isn’t enough to guarantee passage of key legislation.
Posted in
Demographics
TribBlog: Undocumented Students Rally for DREAM Act
In Austin, undocumented students spent the week risking deportation to speak publicly about their support of the DREAM Act.
Posted in
State Government
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 54
In this week’s TribCast, Evan, Ross, Elise and Ben look ahead to the next legislative session — the bills, the two-thirds rule and division in Republican ranks.
