The latest economy news from The Texas Tribune.
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. Full Story
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The two beer industry groups struck a deal this week that could end a years-long political fight. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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The governor focused on bread-and-butter policy in a forum that has often featured a lot of red meat. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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The company will reportedly receive as much as $25 million from a state job-creation fund. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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As more oil and gas facilities come online in the Coastal Bend, the city and port of Corpus — and a handful of private companies — are planning to build a bevy of seawater desalination plants. Full Story
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