At last Thursday’s TribLive conversation, I interviewed state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, about the maps they and their colleagues will draw for the state’s House, Senate and congressional districts.
Texas Senate
Posted in
State Government
TribLive: Seliger and Solomons on the Senate Map
At last Thursday’s TribLive, state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and state Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, the chairs of the Senate and House redistricting committees, respectively, talked about their approach to redrawing Texas Senate district lines.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Wentworth Temporarily Pulls Down Campus Carry Bill
After his bill received heated debate on the floor, Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, withdrew his campus carry bill today.
Posted in
Health care
Updated: Will Hospitals Be Taxed to Prop Up Medicaid?
Talk has resumed in the Senate — albeit quietly — about a so-called quality assurance fee, a revenue generator that would effectively tax hospitals to prop up the state’s cash-strapped Medicaid program.
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
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 in
Economy
Classrooms A Priority
Republican senators say the state’s budget shortfall will mean educations cuts, but they said schools should focus first on eliminating non-classroom expenses and keeping as many teachers as possible.
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
Guest Column: How About a “Pro-Life” Budget?
I believe people should understand the gravity of their decision — which is why it’s too bad there’s no sonogram provision for the Texas budget process.
Posted in
Health care
Stubbornness, Turf War Could Hold Up Abortion Sonogram
The biggest hurdle getting an abortion sonogram bill passed this session may be good old-fashioned stubbornness.
