“Efficiency” is the buzzword heading into the 2011 legislative session. Lawmakers say they want to make sure the dollars spent on K-12 education are being spent as efficiently as possible — and that anything deemed inefficient could end up the chopping block. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports.
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
The Efficiency Experts
“Efficiency” is the buzzword heading into the 2011 legislative session. Lawmakers say they want to make sure the dollars spent on K-12 education are being spent as efficiently as possible — and that anything deemed inefficient could end up the chopping block. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports.
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Economy
Emerging Trouble for Incentive Funds
Governor Rick Perry’s office has asked a member of the Emerging Technology Fund’s advisory committee to consider resigning over a recent investigation by the Texas Rangers. This is just the latest dust up over this fund and the Texas Enterprise Fund. Ben Philpott of KUT and The Texas Tribune reports on what could happen to the funds in the next Legislative session.
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Economy
Incentives Under Fire
Gov. Rick Perry’s office has asked a member of the Emerging Technology Fund’s advisory committee to consider resigning over a recent investigation into a stock deal — the latest dustup involving state incentive funds. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports.
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Economy
There Will Be Blood
Ask House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, and he’ll tell you: The budget he and his fellow finance types will put forward in a few weeks confirms fears that carnage is looming. “We’re making huge cuts,” he told a Tea Party group last week.
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Economy
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 56
In this Thanksgiving week TribCast, Evan, Ross, Elise and Ben discuss speaker politics, the 2012 Senate race and the latest Texas job numbers.
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Economy
TribBlog: Pitts Sees Deep Cuts Ahead
State budget writers will propose eliminating agencies, cutting others to a quarter of their current size and mandating furloughs for state employees to balance the budget without raising taxes or using the state’s Rainy Day Fund, Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts told a hometown crowd.
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Economy
Holding Steady
Texas’ unemployment rate stabilized in October at 8.1 percent as the state added almost 48,000 jobs. That rate, the lowest we’ve seen in 2010, is 1.5 points below the national average. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on the numbers behind the gains.
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Economy
Holding Steady
Texas added almost 48,000 jobs from September to October this year according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Ben Philpott reports for KUT News and the Texas Tribune on the numbers below the job gains.
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Inside Intelligence
Inside Intelligence: The Budget Will Be Balanced By…
For this week’s installment of our non-scientific survey of political and policy insiders on issues of the moment, we focused on the budget. Specifically, we asked how big the shortfall is going to be, how the Legislature will close the gap and which areas of the budget are most likely to be cut.