If the signatures of state representatives on the hundreds of amendments to HB1 are any indication, possession of legible handwriting is not a prereqisite for holding elective office.
Texas House of Representatives
Posted in
Economy
State Senators in Tricky Search for More Money
It’s not just that state Sen. Robert Duncan doesn’t like gambling. He doesn’t think he could get legalized casinos approved. But Duncan’s got a mission: Find $5 billion to $6 billion.
Posted in
Public Education
TribLive: Don’t Cut Public Ed, Thompson Says
At this morning’s TribLive conversation, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, the longest-serving woman, African American and Democrat in the Texas House, forcefully argued that state funding of public education should not be cut — unless school districts are made to tap into their own reserves.
Posted in
Economy
House Budget: All the Amendments
The House is scheduled to take up the full budget on Friday, and members filed more than 400 pages of amendments in advance of that debate. Here’s the full set, in searchable, electronic form.
Posted in
State Government
Bill Could Punish TSA Agents for Pat-Downs
TSA agents could be charged with misdemeanor crimes for intrusive pat-downs of Texas travelers, under a bill filed by Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, and co-authored by more than 40 other lawmakers.
Posted in
Economy
An Unexpectedly Important Bloc on Budget: Freshmen
Behold the mighty freshman Republicans of the Texas House of Representatives. They’re supposed to be quiet, to bow to their tenured colleagues, to stay out of the way. But here they are, quietly and deferentially exercising some clout on the only piece of legislation that absolutely has to pass: the state budget.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
M. Smith on the continuing controversy over Beaumont’s school administrators, Tan on the deepening divide over the consequences of the House budget, Hamilton on the latest in the fight over higher ed accountability, Grissom on young inmates in adult prisons, Aguilar on the voter ID end game, Tan and Hasson’s Rainy Day Fund infographic, Ramsey on the coming conflict over school district reserves, M. Smith and Aguilar on Laredo ISD’s missing Social Security numbers, Galbraith on environmental regulators bracing for budget cuts and Ramshaw on greater scrutiny of neonatal intensive care units: The best of our best content from March 21 to 25, 2011.
Posted inState Government
Live: The Texas House
We’re continuing to live stream the Texas House floor debate on the controversial voter ID debate. Click here for access to the stream on our 82nd Legislature page.
Posted in
State Government
Paul Burka: The TT Interview
The senior executive editor of Texas Monthly on the biennial list of the Best and Worst Legislators, now coming together for the 20th time, on how he decides who’s in and who’s out, and on how this crop of lawmakers is shaping up.
Posted in
State Government
Anglo Democratic Lawmakers: From Endangered to Protected Species?
Anglo Democrats — an endangered species when the political mapmakers were working in 2001 — might be a protected species this year. Many of them represent districts full of minority voters they say are protected from disruptive redistricting.
