For Fire Departments, More to State Budget Than Numbers
Budget decisions revolve around numbers, but talking about money is just a way to talk about policy. Consider the case of volunteer fire departments. Full Story
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Public, Private Hospitals to Negotiate Financing With Dewhurst
UPDATED: Officials from more than a dozen hospital systems will gather at the Capitol with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on Friday to try to iron out a solution to how they are reimbursed for uncompensated care. Full Story
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House OKs R&D Tax Credit
A $250 million franchise and sales tax exemption for business research and development won tentative approval from the House on Wednesday. A similar exemption expired in 2006. Full Story
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House Votes to Reduce Reliance on Budget Diversions
House members on Wednesday passed two bills that take aim at the practice of budget diversions, in which fees collected for specific purposes are used in another manner. The measures now go to the Senate. Full Story
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Guest Column: Let Voters Decide on Rainy Day Spending
The best way to finance Texas' pressing water and transportation needs — and to supplement spending on public education — is to let voters decide whether to use the state's Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
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Video: What's Next for Water Infrastructure Funding
The day after the leading measure to fund state water projects stumbled in the House, legislators shifted their focus to a bill that some members hope will also include money for education. Full Story
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The Polling Center: Public Opinion Creates Rough Sailing for Water Policy
The rough seas that sank the Texas House's attempt to fund the state water plan on Monday night with a $2 billion draw on the Rainy Day Fund highlighted the limits of consensus on both how to pay for water development and whether it's a top priority. Full Story
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State's Shale Boom Has Major Impact on Budget
Besides boosting the economies of remote towns, the shale boom has big implications for the Texas economy and budget. Already, taxes on oil and gas production have soared above the comptroller’s estimates. Full Story
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![A worker waits to load a piece of pipe, or casing, that will be lowered into the well at a Chesapeake Energy drill site in Dimmit County on the Eagle Ford Shale.]()
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Agenda Texas: Perry Joins the Fight
On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: With just four weeks left in the legislative session, Gov. Rick Perry has jumped into the fight over spending billions on water, transportation and business tax cuts. Full Story
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![The Texas Tribune Festival 2012 Opening Session: A Conversation with Gov. Rick Perry and Evan Smith, Sept. 21, 2012.]()
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Plenty to Spend, and Plenty of Anxiety About It
Two years ago, lawmakers couldn't find the money they needed to run the government they had promised their voters. Now they have the money — and a completely different set of political problems. Full Story
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Video: Perry Talks About Priorities for Rest of Session
With less than a month remaining in the legislative session, Gov. Rick Perry met with the Texas House GOP Caucus and talked to reporters about his support for a bill that would draw $2 billion from the Rainy Day Fund for water infrastructure needs. Full Story
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Debate Over Water Bill Could Spur Bigger Fight
A bill that would draw $2 billion for water projects from the Rainy Day Fund is set to hit the House floor Monday afternoon. The debate could turn to focus on what it means to be a fiscal conservative in the Tea Party era. Full Story
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Perry Willing to Call Special Session
Gov. Rick Perry is warning state legislators that it could be a long, hot summer in Austin if they don’t pass his top priorities: funding water and transportation projects and cutting business taxes. Full Story
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House Backs $875 Million Budget Bill After Hot Debate
A debate in the Texas House on a supplemental budget bill Friday veered into debates on the Travis County district attorney's drunken driving charge and the murder of two Kaufman County prosecutors. Full Story
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Cash for Road Repair in Shale Areas Proves Elusive
Efforts by state lawmakers to find money to repair South and West Texas roads torn up amid a drilling boom appear to be stalling, according to some officials working on the matter. Officials warn about the hazards of not maintaining these roads. Full Story
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![A road in the Eagle Ford Shale area in South Texas. The natural gas drilling boom is straining the region's rural roads. More than 1,000 loaded trucks are needed to bring a single well into production.]()
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House Approves Continuation of Lottery Commission
Despite voting a second time in favor of continuing the Texas Lottery Commission on Wednesday, the majority of House members made clear that they would like to study how to wind down the agency. Full Story
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Perry's Rainy Day Policy Fueled by Credit Ratings
As lawmakers debate how much money to leave in the state's Rainy Day Fund, Gov. Rick Perry is relying on a very specific figure: 7.5 percent. Full Story
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Senate Backs $5.7 Billion Plan for Roads, Water, Schools
After spending most of the day locked away in negotiations, the Senate unanimously approved a measure pulling $5.7 billion from the Rainy Day Fund for water and road projects and public education. Full Story
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House Makes Switch on Texas Lottery Commission
UPDATED: After unexpectedly voting to end the Texas Lottery Commission earlier Tuesday, the Texas House reversed course Tuesday afternoon with a vote to continue the commission. Full Story
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Senate OKs Electric Rebates From Fund to Assist Poor
All but 10 percent of a nearly $1 billion state fund intended to assist the poor with utility payments would be rebated to electric customers under a measure that preliminarily passed the Texas Senate on Monday. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich
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