The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.
Talk has resumed in the Senate — albeit quietly — about a so-called quality assurance fee, a revenue generator that would effectively tax hospitals to prop up the state’s cash-strapped Medicaid program. Full Story
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These maps visualize the number of years members of the U.S. House of Representatives have served, with darker shades representing longer seniority. Full Story
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Lawmakers and lobbyists continue to spar over the accuracy of a recent Legislative Budget Board analysis of the effect House Bill 1 could have on jobs in the state of Texas. Full Story
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The Houston builder and Health Care Compact Alliance vice chair on how an interstate compact could fix health care in Texas — and give the state some semblance of local control over what he calls an unsustainable health care system. Full Story
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After running a gantlet of concerned legislators, Gene Powell, the chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents, took steps last week to assuage concerns over his direction of the system. Full Story
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Grissom on threats to re-entry programs for criminals, Hamilton on the tempest over the direction of UT, E. Smith's interview with Joe Straus, Stiles and Chang's new lobbying app, M. Smith and Weber on where state officeholders send their children to school, Aaronson on allowing new nuclear power plants, Aguilar on how Hispanic Republicans are handling immigration issues, Ramshaw talks abortion with Planned Parennthood's Cecile Richards, Tan and Dehn on tapping the Rainy Day Fund and Galbraith on San Antonio and its water: The best of our best content from March 14 to 18, 2011. Full Story
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The president of Planned Parenthood and daughter of the late Democratic Gov. Ann Richards on Republican lawmakers’ efforts to defund her organization, a Texas attorney general’s opinion she says will keep low-income women from preventative care, and how her mother would’ve handled all of this. Full Story
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Top officials at the University of Texas System said in an interview Wednesday that they are moving quickly to allay the concerns regarding the direction of UT, starting with the reassignment of Rick O'Donnell. Full Story
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The recent hiring of Rick O’Donnell as a special adviser to the board of regents at the University of Texas System has some observers — worried about the implications for the University of Texas at Austin — playing connect the dots. Full Story
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Prominent University of Texas alumnus Gordon Appleman says recent changes at the UT System Board of Regents "seemed important enough to where I ought to do something rather than sit by and watch it happen." Full Story
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At the Tribune's New Day Rising symposium on Feb. 28, four public policy experts talked about criminal justice, education, health care and other issues and the impact of the coming Hispanic majority. Full Story
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This week's TribCast features Evan, Reeve, Ben and Emily discussing the holdup with abortion sonogram legislation, cuts to public education, and bickering in higher education. Full Story
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High school and college students from across Texas came to the Capitol today to talk sex ed with lawmakers. Full Story
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Ramshaw and Stiles on the tepid growth of Big D during the last decade, Hamilton talks immigration with state Rep. Leo Berman, M. Smith on Texas education's Race to the Top efforts and more: The best of our best content from Feb. 28 to March 4, 2011. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers, out to protect their interests this session, appear to be ratcheting up their rhetoric. Politics as usual or a serious lapse in civil discourse? Full Story
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State Rep. John Zerwas, R-Simonton, is no fan of "Obamacare." But he told his House colleages this afternoon that if they don't set up a health insurance exchange — one of the tenets of reform — by 2014, the federal government will do it for them. Full Story
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The growth of the state’s Hispanic population and the rise of immigration as a political issue put Texas Republicans in a tight spot — especially the ones with statewide aspirations. Full Story
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The best of our best content from Feb. 21 to 25, 2011. Full Story
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For our latest TribLive event, I talked about federal health care reform with state Rep. John Zerwas, R-Simonton, Anne Dunkelberg of the Center for Public Policy Priorities and Tom Banning of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians. Full Story
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At Wednesday's TribLive conversation about health care, state Rep. John Zerwas, R-Simonton, and Anne Dunkelberg of the Center for Public Policy Priorities talked about what they like and don't like about federal health care reform. Full Story
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