Wendy Davis has now laid out the first major policy initiative of her gubernatorial campaign. The policy area — education — was not surprising, but the extensive press coverage focused on a big unanswered question: How to pay for it?
John Smithee
Posted in
Health care
The Brief: Jan. 9, 2014
The Public Utility Commission’s proposed changes to the electric market gained a powerful detractor in recent days: the Texas Oil and Gas Association, the state’s oldest and largest petroleum organization.
Posted in
Politics
The Brief: Jan. 8, 2014
The Tribune’s Morgan Smith has a must-read piece on what’s next for the education reform group funded by tort reform champions that left a big imprint on policy debates during last year’s legislative session.
Posted in
Health care
The Brief: Jan. 7, 2014
The challenge to Texas’ law placing further restrictions on abortion facilities took another step toward a widely expected hearing by the U.S. Supreme Court with oral arguments before a three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit in New Orleans.
Posted in
Health care
The Brief: Dec. 20, 2013
Health care navigators are back on the agenda with a hearing Friday morning in Austin on new proposed state rules by the state’s insurance department.
Posted in
State Government
Lawmakers Approve Windstorm Insurance Fix
Over objections from some Democrats and from the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, the Texas Legislature voted to revamp the state’s windstorm insurance program, disposing of a prickly issue that could have forced a second special session.
Posted in
State Government
Windstorm Insurance Deal Ready for Final Vote
State legislators say they’ve reached a compromise on reform of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, potentially averting a second special session this summer.
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State Government
Lawmakers: Get Lobbyists Out of Windstorm Fight
Lawmakers and consumer groups say special interests need to butt out of the battle over the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association.
Posted in
State Government
House Tentatively Passes Windstorm Insurance Bill
The bill has pitted Republican Gov. Rick Perry and trial lawyer Steve Mostyn, the largest Democratic donor in Texas, against one another, and it is a key reason that lawmakers are in a special legislative session.
Posted in
State Government
Updated: Windstorm Negotiations Fail
The marathon negotiations over the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association failed to produce a bill, probably prompting a special session later this summer over that issue.