Gov. Rick Perry is warning state legislators that it could be a long, hot summer in Austin if they don’t pass his top priorities: funding water and transportation projects and cutting business taxes.
Politics
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Politics
Agenda Texas: The Influence of Presidential Libraries
On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: The George W. Bush Presidential Center is Texas’ third presidential library. Will the accumulation of all that policy history give the state a boost on the national political scene?
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Criminal Justice
House Backs $875 Million Budget Bill After Hot Debate
A debate in the Texas House on a supplemental budget bill Friday veered into debates on the Travis County district attorney’s drunken driving charge and the murder of two Kaufman County prosecutors.
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Politics
Senate Backs Limits on Subsidies for Event Trust Funds
Promoters say tax subsidies are needed to lure events that otherwise wouldn’t be held in Texas. Critics say the practice is corporate welfare. The Texas Senate on Thursday backed legislation that keeps the subsidies going but with new restrictions and oversight.
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Politics
South Texas Irrigation District Running Dry
If current drought conditions persist, farmers in Willacy and Hidalgo counties who receive water from the Delta Lake Irrigation District in South Texas will have to look for other options in June.
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Politics
The Brief: April 25, 2013
The national spotlight turned to Dallas on Wednesday as a cavalcade of political stars began to descend on the city for the dedication of a new presidential library.
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Politics
Disclosure Bill Clears House Committee
Politically active nonprofits would be required to disclose their donors under a bill that passed handily out of a House committee Wednesday.
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Politics
House Approves Continuation of Lottery Commission
Despite voting a second time in favor of continuing the Texas Lottery Commission on Wednesday, the majority of House members made clear that they would like to study how to wind down the agency.
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Politics
Agenda Texas: Defending the “Texas Miracle”
On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: Erica Grieder, author of the new book Big, Hot, Cheap, and Right: What America Can Learn from the Strange Genius of Texas, on why she’s defending the “Texas miracle.”
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Bidness As Usual
Campaign Finance Loophole Targeted
Politically active nonprofits, which are playing an increasingly important role in state elections, would no longer be able to hide the identity of their major donors under a bill making its way through the Texas Legislature.