Cutting the budget can be expensive. Something that appears to save money can, on further inspection, cost more. Family planning, for instance.
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
Economy
It’s Senate vs. Austerity in Fight Over Budget
The betting game has already begun on whether the budget battle between a more moderate Senate and a far stingier House will lead to a standoff — and a special session in the summer. The two budget committee chairmen refuse to say whether one body may have more sway than the other in the final outcome.
Posted in
Economy
Senate List of $5.5 Billion in Revenue Proposals Leaked
Texas senators scratching for new state revenue canceled a meeting to talk about their options today, but a copy of their list got loose — and it includes $5.5 billion in taxes, fees, asset sales and accounting tricks that could be used to ease their budget problems.
Posted in
Economy
Video: Senate Signals Big Changes In Store For HB 1
The Texas House sent its budget blueprint to the Senate this week. But many senators say those cuts are too deep, and they’re ready to make some drastic changes.
Posted in
Economy
Unexpectedly, a Lawmaker Finds Extra Money For Schools
A Texas lawmaker said the magic words Thursday morning to a panel of exhausted and nearly hopeless state budget writers: he has found a “new revenue source without raising taxes.”
Posted in
Economy
Dueling Rallies: Cut Spending or Save Programs?
Texans on all sides of the budget equation rallied at the Capitol Wednesday for vastly different priorities.
Posted in
Economy
Thousands Rally for Smaller Budget Cuts
Thousands of protesters chanted “They say, ‘Cut back.’ We say, ‘Fight back'” as they marched to the Capitol this afternoon to rally against proposed budget cuts.
Posted in
Economy
Pitts Talks, Gently, of Adding Money to Budget
Less than two days after approving a state budget that cuts $23 billion from current spending, Rep. Jim Pitts says House leaders are already talking among themselves about how much more money they’d be willing to spend.
Posted in
Economy
House Budget Shrinks Spending, Slashes Services
The Texas House started with a $164.5 billion budget and ended with the same total. But lawmakers spent the better part of a weekend making changes inside the budget for 2012-13 before giving it their approval, 98 to 49.
Posted in
Economy
Liveblog: House Debates HB 1
We liveblogged the full debate over HB 1, the House version of the general appropriations bills for the next biennium, which passed late Sunday night 98 to 49.