Straus Picks Lead Budget Negotiators
The House on Monday sent five members to negotiate a budget with the Senate, with instructions to avoid anything that looks like it would expand the state's Medicaid program. Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Aaronson tracks the latest on Medicaid expansion, Aguilar on lawmakers’ openness to driving permits for non-citizens, Batheja on surprising support for higher state spending, Root and Galbraith on the state’s search for answers after the West explosion, M. Smith covers the debate over high school standards, Grissom finds a shadow payroll at the Capitol, Hamilton on the man with a plan at UT, Rocha spots a special deal for lawmakers accused of crimes, KUT’s Philpott on obstacles to road funding and Ramshaw on the privileges of legislative membership: The best of our best for the week of April 15-19, 2013. Full Story
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Perry Stuns Lawmakers by Urging House to Bust Spending Cap
UPDATE: Gov. Rick Perry told House Republicans in a private meeting this week that he could support a budget that breaks the state's constitutional spending cap, according to several attendees. But many are still wary of doing so. Full Story
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House Budget Writers Support $500 Million More for Schools
The House Appropriations Committee unanimously approved an $874.9 million supplemental budget bill Thursday that includes $500 million more for schools and covers bills for last year's wildfires. Full Story
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Polling Center: Education Wasn't a Silver Bullet for Democrats
A couple of Democrats won election in 2012 talking about education, but that doesn't mean the issue was a silver bullet for the minority party. Lots of others talked about it and lost, and the two who won were victorious in districts favorable to them. Full Story
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![Chris Perkins is a partner at the Republican polling firm Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research.]()
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Agenda Texas: Bond Rating Battle
On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: Texas lawmakers are poised to spend billions out of the state's Rainy Day Fund, but some say tapping the fund will lower the state's bond rating. So what's the truth? Full Story
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Agenda Texas: The Politics of Transportation Funding
On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: Lawmakers want to spend billions to repair the state's crumbling roads, but that's putting some Republican leaders in a bind. Full Story
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Guest Column: Use the Rainy Day Fund for Education
The Rainy Day Fund has been used for public education before and should be used for it now — to reverse drastic cuts made in education spending during the 2011 legislative session. Full Story
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Guest Column: We Don't Need the Rainy Day Money Yet
It's proper to use the state's Rainy Day Fund for a $2 billion water plan, but it isn't necessary until 2015, and using it now would force lawmakers to bust the constitutional cap on budget growth. Full Story
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Guest Column: Use the Rainy Day Fund Before We Go Dry
Using the Rainy Day Fund now will help address the state's water needs and keep general state spending on water down for decades to come. Full Story
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Guest Column: Texas Should Leave the Rainy Day Fund Alone
The state's Rainy Day Fund should be kept as insurance against real financial downturns. If the state needs money for water programs, it should get that money by cutting other programs that are less important. Full Story
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Perry Calls for $1.6 Billion in Business Tax Cuts
Gov. Rick Perry unveiled a four-point, $1.6 billion business tax relief plan Monday that includes an across-the-board rate reduction of the business franchise tax. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
At Capitol, Tea Party Slams State Transportation Plans
Three days after the governor raised the possibility of new revenue streams — including the issuing of 100-year bonds — to fund transportation, members of Texas Tea Parties warned legislators against caving on conservative principles. Full Story
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Perry Backs Dedicated Car Sales Taxes for Highway Fund
Gov. Rick Perry on Friday said he likes the idea of dedicating a portion of future car sales taxes to road projects and also said he's open to spending up to $6 billion of the Rainy Day Fund on infrastructure projects. 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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Erica Grieder: The TT Interview
Erica Grieder, a senior editor at Texas Monthly and the author of a new book on the "Texas Model," on the state's successes, its critics and whether the model needs any tweaks. Full Story
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Polling Center: Education Cuts Mattered at the Ballot Box, if Not in the Polls
Polls might show a low interest in public education cuts made by lawmakers in 2011, but some of the candidates who ran in 2012 found a very receptive electorate. Full Story
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Senate Sets Up Debate on Rainy Day Fund Spending
The full Texas Senate will consider a plan to spend about half of the projected $11.8 billion balance in the state's Rainy Day Fund for transportation and water projects, though Democrats plan to push for money for schools as well. Full Story
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![Senate Finance Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, holds a copy of the state budget on the Senate floor March 20, 2013.]()
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The Three-Party System
The House debate on the budget flushed out a new coalition in a Legislature split between traditional and populist Republicans, and Democrats. The losers? The populist Republicans, many of them freshmen. Full Story
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![Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, has left the House, and would-be successors are lining up.]()
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Roadblocks Emerge for Transportation Funding
With less than two months left in the legislative session, some lawmakers are lowering expectations on what can get done related to funding for roads. Full Story
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The Playlist: We Can Work It Out
This week's news-inspired playlist is entirely dedicated to Thursday's budget debate in the Texas House. To set the stage, we begin with Stevie Wonder singing "We Can Work It Out." Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich
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