Aaronson on the latest attack on Planned Parenthood, Aguilar previews the sanctuary cities debate, Grissom on a death row inmate’s unsuccessful appeal, Hamilton on the UT System’s faculty “productivity” data dump, Philpott on the prospect of lawsuits over education cuts, Ramsey on puppies and other distractions, Ramshaw on a tobacco fight, my interview with the presidents of UT-Austin and Texas A&M, M. Smith on a former State Board of Ed member who may have violated state ethics law, Stiles interactively displays the effects of House redistricting and Tan on the Senate budget end game: The best of our best content from May 2 to 6, 2011.
Economy
Get the latest on jobs, business, growth, and policy shaping the state’s economy with in-depth reporting from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Video: The Week in Texas Politics Recap, May 2 to May 6
No time to follow all the happenings of the Texas Legislature? We’ve made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome.
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Economy
House Sets Budget Negotiating Rules
The House is sending its five budget conferees — Reps. Jim Pitts, John Otto, Sylvester Turner, John Zerwas and Myra Crownover — off to negotiate with the Senate, but they want to tie their hands on certain issues, instructing them on what’s acceptable to add, subtract or leave alone when they talk with the other side.
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Economy
Video: Outside Groups, Ads Influence Senate Budget Debate
The Texas Senate passed a budget this week for the next biennium, but only after nearly suffering a meltdown. Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden has blamed some of the drama on the meddling of outside interest groups.
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Economy
Schools Consider Legal Action Over Budget Cuts
With school districts across the state passing belt-tightening budgets due to cuts expected at the Legislature, Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports that some districts are gearing up for legal challenges.
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Economy
Procedural Move Allows GOP to Pass Senate Budget
The $176 billion budget was approved along party lines, with all 19 Republicans voting for it and all 12 Democrats voting against.
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Economy
Full Video: TPPF’s Higher Ed Reform Panel
At a panel hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, UT president Bill Powers, TPPF senior fellow Ronbald Trowbridge and speaker of the A&M faculty senate Robert Strawser discussed the conservative think tank’s seven proposed reforms to higher education. Here is the full video.
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Economy
Senate Approves Budget Bill on Party-Line Vote
The Texas Senate voted 19-12 along party lines Wednesday to pass its own version of HB 1, the House’s budget for the next biennium. Not only did the Democrats lose their power to stop the bill under the traditional two-thirds rule, but they may have lost their chance for a Democrat to join the conference committee where five senators and five representatives will develop a compromise bill.
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Economy
Liveblog: Senate Passes Budget, 19-12
Over the vehement objections of Democrats, the Texas Senate today passed a state budget for the next biennium by a straight party-line vote of 19 to 12.
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Economy
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 78
In this week’s TribCast, Evan, Ross, Reeve and Ben discuss the Texas Senate, the budget being considered by the Texas Senate, and the influence of outside groups on the Texas Senate.