The budget proposals released by lawmakers this week show an interest in revamping school testing and the state’s economic incentive programs.
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
Dire Budget Estimate Fit With Prevailing Politics
The two-year-old revenue forecast used to justify massive cuts in the current state budget was wrong — and not by a little bit. But the conservative Legislature elected in 2010 wasn’t complaining.
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Economy
Combs Says Texas Lawmakers Will Have $101.4 Billion for Budget
A day before the start of the 2013 legislative session, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs delivered much-improved budget news compared with two years ago. Lawmakers will have $101.4 billion for their next two-year budget.
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Economy
School Finance Trial Will Influence Session, With or Without a Final Decision
A final decision in the school finance trial against the state involving more than two-thirds of its districts and charter schools likely won’t happen until after the lights go out in the 83rd Legislature. But that doesn’t mean what’s happening inside of the courtroom now won’t have an impact on policy under the pink dome.
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Economy
Spending-Limits Bill Serves as a Great Excuse
Some state lawmakers don’t trust themselves not to spend more money than they really think they should spend. They want a law that would tie their own hands.
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Economy
School Finance Lawsuits Give Lawmakers an Out
The courts aren’t expected to finish their work on school finance until after the regular legislative session, giving lawmakers an excuse for leaving some expensive work incomplete for now.
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Economy
Gains in Texas Budget a Source of Hot Debate
Does Texas need a constitutional cap on spending growth to protect it from the whims of future lawmakers or save it from the current ones? Supporters of the proposal are at odds.
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Economy
Tax Incentives Could Prove Divisive For GOP
Republican leaders like to say government should just get out of the way and let the private sector do work its unfettered magic. But during the session, they may have a hard time squaring their stated philosophy with their support for tax giveaways to private industry.
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Economy
What if Government Officials Were Scrutinized Like Football Coaches?
Imagine a government as accountable to voters for its performance as football coaches are to the ire of fans and boosters.
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Economy
TribLive: Seliger on the Cost of a College Education
At this morning’s TribLive conversation, state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, the chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, discussed the prospect of tuition reregulation and whether the state is adequately funding higher ed.
