Economy

The governor has laid out his legislative priorities. In our latest "Under the Dome" episode, we look at the challenges lawmakers face in addressing the issues of property taxes and school finance.

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A new proposal to cut school property taxes in Texas perfectly outlines the political problem facing lawmakers: It's terribly expensive, and other taxes have to be raised to pay for it.

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The two beer industry groups struck a deal this week that could end a years-long political fight.

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The Senate panel's vote came despite fierce pushback from city and county leaders, who say a lower election threshold on increased property tax revenues could hamstring their budgets.

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A Texas Senate committee is moving rapidly to require voter approval for local property tax increases over 2.5 percent. But some want to see the Legislature's school finance bill before they vote on property taxes.

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As lawmakers debate costly investments in property tax reduction and public schools, they're eyeing the state savings account for a sizable withdrawal.

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The governor focused on bread-and-butter policy in a forum that has often featured a lot of red meat.

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The state has been waiting a year for the federal government to set rules for how $4.3 billion in disaster recovery grants can be spent.

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The property tax legislation unveiled by state leaders this week carries an implicit promise — that local school districts will get more state money — but doesn't say where that money might come from.

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A bill authored by state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, would make it a felony to threaten a romantic partner into taking on debt or financing expensive items like cars.

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Hurricane Harvey, school safety and teacher pensions all made the list of priorities likely to receive funding from the state's Economic Stabilization Fund.

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The partial federal shutdown could come to a head Friday, when tens of thousands of Texas federal workers will miss their paychecks. Meanwhile, officials also worry about small businesses who rely on federal contracts.

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Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Monday that the state will have $119.1 billion for lawmakers to use in putting together the state's 2020-21 budget.

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Most of what the state government does is spelled out in the budget Texas lawmakers write every two years. Lucky for them, most voters don't pay close attention to what's in that big stack of numbers.

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It can and it has. Last year, Texas lawmakers voted to override several local ordinances with new statewide measures — including relaxing regulations for ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft.

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Our series on the global implications of a new golden age for Permian Basin oil began with a very local story: How towns large and small are trying to deal with an explosion in drilling activity, population, traffic and other effects of the new boom.

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As American natural gas production soars, South Korea rushes to build tankers to move that energy to Asia’s top economies.

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The company will reportedly receive as much as $25 million from a state job-creation fund.

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As private developer Texas Central moves ahead with plans to build what could be the country's first high-speed rail line, a handful of state lawmakers hope to try next year to give the state more authority over the project. But they admit there may not be the legislative appetite.

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For Texas ports, the rise in oil and gas exports is a windfall. For some communities, it’s not so simple.

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