Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden tried, and failed, to get 20 state senators to vote with him on a proposed state budget Tuesday. On Wednesday, he’s going to see if he can find 15.
Economy
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Economy
Liveblog: Senate Debates Budget Bill
The Texas Tribune is liveblogging the Senate’s debate over its substitute for House Bill 1, the proposed budget for the next biennium.
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Economy
In Hunt for Revenue, It’s Big Tobacco vs. Little
It’s big tobacco vs. little in the effort to smoke out new revenue for the Texas budget. Large tobacco companies, which fork over half a billion dollars to the state every year as part of a 1998 lawsuit settlement, want small cigarette manufacturers to pay their share.
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Economy
Senators Still Searching for Budget Support
Sen. Steve Ogden is still looking for 20 fellow senators willing to start the debate on the state budget and with less than a month left in the legislative session, the pressure is on.
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Economy
Why the House Is Unlikely to Agree to the Senate Budget
It might not matter, in the end, whether the Senate wants to use some of the Rainy Day Fund to balance the budget. The House isn’t likely to go along unless the proposition is delivered on a tea cart pushed by Gov. Rick Perry and third-party conservative groups who have been hounding lawmakers to hold the line.
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Economy
Senate Debates “Non-Tax Revenue”
The Texas Senate, digging publicly for money while it battles quietly over a proposed budget, approved a “non-tax revenue” bill that would make $4.3 billion available for spending over the next two years.
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Economy
Senate Budget Debate Stalls Over Vote Count
Waiting for the Senate budget debate? Get comfortable. Plans to bring the Senate’s substitute for the House’s budget, HB 1, up for a vote on the floor on Thursday have for now been pushed back to Friday or later, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said.
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Economy
Dewhurst Makes Budget Pitch to Senators
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, trying to build enough support to bring the budget up for consideration this week, appealed in writing to state senators, supporting the plan and a provision that would allow the state to spend $3 billion from the Rainy Day Fund.
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Guides
Texplainer: What Does It Cost to Fight Texas Wildfires?
As the wildfires have worsened, costs have mounted at a rate of over $1 million per day. The state will pay the majority, though local governments and the feds will also pay a share.
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Economy
Perry: “No Faith” In LBB; Leave Rainy Day Fund Alone
Gov. Rick Perry says he is unswayed by estimates that the state’s Rainy Day Fund may end up being more flush than previously anticipated and blasted the Legislature’s budget office as an unreliable source of numbers.