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.
Economy
Get the latest on jobs, business, growth, and policy shaping the state’s economy with in-depth reporting from The Texas Tribune.
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Economy
A House Less Susceptible to Political Stampedes
In 2011, state lawmakers fresh from a Tea Party election surge were hypersensitive to the opinions of and instructions from conservative activists. But as Thursday’s House budget debate showed, this session isn’t quite the same.
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Economy
El Paso Power Plant Draws Opposition
Citing the need for more power to meet the demands of a burgeoning community, El Paso Electric plans to build a natural gas power plant. But a legislator has joined forces with a coalition of residents intent to fight the project.
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Economy
House Members Prepare for Long Budget Debate
Texas House members are expected to debate well into the night Thursday as they take up the lower chamber’s budget proposal, which includes 267 amendments.
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Economy
Zerwas: House Medicaid Reform Bill Will Incorporate Williams’ Plan
UPDATED: Rep. John Zerwas confirmed Wednesday that he will incorporate into his own Medicaid reform bill a proposal by Sen. Tommy Williams to use premium tax revenue to subsidize private health policies for the uninsured.
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Economy
Texas Unemployment Up Slightly in February
Texas added 80,600 new jobs in February, but the state’s unemployment rate still increased slightly to 6.8 percent.
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Economy
Nutrition Benefits a Mixed Bag for Markets
About 50 Texas farmers markets take SNAP benefits, WIC benefits or both. The programs are not well utilized, but proponents say it’s important to provide as many healthy food options as possible for Texans who use nutrition benefits.
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Economy
House Budget Spends More Than Senate’s on Schools, Less on Medicaid
Both the House and Senate are proposing spending about $194 billion over the next two years. But there are key differences between the two plans.
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Economy
Perry, Some Lawmakers Want Gold Back in Texas
Call it the Rick Perry gold rush: The governor wants to bring the state’s gold reserves back from a New York vault to Texas.
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Inside Intelligence
Inside Intelligence: About the Senior Senator…
For this week’s nonscientific survey of insiders in politics and government, we asked about exemptions from school property taxes and about the political future of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
