One Texan’s transparency is another’s right to privacy, and people in politics generally find it easier to demand openness than to provide it.
Texas Senate
Posted in
State Government
A Rumor of Peace
It’s a little funny to talk to people at the Capitol who have been steeled in a culture of political warfare about the outbreak of peace. Many differences remain, but those blood veins that were sticking out on everyone’s foreheads and necks in 2009 and 2011 have smoothed out. For the moment, Texas civics is downright civil.
Posted in
State Government
TribLive: A Conversation About the Texas Senate
Full video of my 4/11 TribLive conversation with state Sens. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston; Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio; and Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo.
Posted in
State Government
TribLive: Three Senators on the Latino Vote
At Thursday’s TribLive conversation, state Sens. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston; Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio; and Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, weighed in on outreach to Latino voters.
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State Government
TribLive: Three Senators on the “Kumbaya” Session
At Thursday’s TribLive conversation, state Sens. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston; Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio; and Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, talked about the sudden outbreak of peace and comity in the 83rd legislative session.
Posted in
Economy
GOP Senator Challenging His Party on Debt, Taxes
State Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, is engaged in a long-term campaign to convince his fellow legislators that the state’s bond debt is an urgent problem and that tax increases are part of a conservative solution.
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State Government
At 43 Hours, Senator Set Filibuster Record in ’77
Thirty-six years before U.S. Sen. Rand Paul held a nearly 13-hour filibuster, a Texas senator filibustered for 43 hours in the Texas Senate, setting a world record.
Posted inPolitics
Interactive: Sorting Lawmakers With the Texas Weekly Index
Going by the Texas Weekly Index, which is based on the results of contested statewide elections over the 2010 and 2012 political cycles, the state’s most conservative districts are in the Panhandle. Use this interactive to see charts that illustrate the political climate of each district.
Posted in
Public Education
TribuneFest: A Conversation with Aycock and Patrick
At the Trib’s February 25 symposium on public education at Rice University, I talked school finance, accountability, choice and other hot-button issues with state Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, the chairman of the House Public Education Committee, and state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, the chairman of the Senate Public Education Committee.
Posted inState Government
Charting the Budget
The first budgets from the House and Senate are out, marked by their authors as mere starting points. Here’s how they compare to each other, and to the current budget.
