The latest Rainy Day Fund news from The Texas Tribune.
Texas ended its fiscal year in September with a $2.6 billion surplus and lawmakers could enter the 2015 legislative session with $8 billion in its Rainy Day Fund, Comptroller Susan Combs reported Thursday. Full Story
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Texas voters addressed the state's fast growth and lingering drought Tuesday by approving a $2 billion water fund and eight other constitutional amendments in a low-turnout election. Full Story
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In his first major policy address as a gubernatorial candidate, Attorney General Greg Abbott proposed tighter constitutional limits on state spending and increased constraints on the Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
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Gubernatorial candidates Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott are throwing their support behind Proposition 6, the constitutional amendment that will fund projects designed to help the state meet its growing need for water. Full Story
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UPDATED: San Angelo's O.C. Fisher Reservoir, which after years of persistent drought is completely dry, served as the backdrop for Gov. Rick Perry's remarks Wednesday in support of a constitutional amendment to use $2 billion from the Rainy Day Fund toward water-planning initiatives. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers have passed legislation that – pending voter approval – would mean an estimated $1.2 billion annual boost for TxDOT. But it's not yet clear what details the agency will have ready to offer the public before next year's election. Full Story
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On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: State Rep. Van Taylor, R-Plano, who spent much of the session pushing for tighter budget constraints and tax cuts, discusses his budget philosophy this session. Full Story
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The regular Texas legislative session was notable for bipartisan coalitions and harmony. The special sessions have been notable for partisan battles and stalemates. To understand what's going on, just look at the voters. Full Story
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UPDATED: Key negotiators in the House and Senate finalized a deal on Saturday to boost funding for transportation, according to a lawmaker involved in the talks. Now backers of the plan will have to rally enough lawmakers to vote for it. Full Story
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With less than a week left in the current special session and lawmakers anxious to go home, negotiators reached an impasse over transportation funding, prompting the governor to threaten to call a third session if more time is needed. Full Story
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The House voted 108-25 for a measure that would boost funding for the Texas Department of Transportation without raising taxes or fees, but lawmakers said they expect the Senate to make changes to the proposal. Full Story
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Lawmakers are considering a creative and innovative proposal for highway funding, but it's the wrong way to go. Full Story
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With just days left in the special session, the House Appropriations Committee met Tuesday evening to take on two politically tricky tasks. Full Story
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Senators on Tuesday tentatively approved a resolution that aims to solve the state's transportation funding woes by diverting future revenue from the Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
Two days after Gov. Rick Perry added transportation funding to the special session agenda, the Senate Finance Committee debated a bill that would increase road dollars by slowing the flow of money into the state's Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
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A plan to fund Texas highway construction by diverting half of the money that currently feeds the state's Rainy Day Fund could find new life in a special session. Full Story
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In the final days of the session, Senate budget leaders came up with an ambitious proposal to find more money for road construction and maintenance. House leaders made it clear they weren't interested. Full Story
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The budget deal that took a step closer to passage Wednesday evening would spend $3.9 billion from the state's Rainy Day Fund. That would leave more in the fund than many lawmakers or Gov. Rick Perry had earlier proposed. Full Story
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State lawmakers would spend $3.2 billion for public education and $2 billion for water funding under plans being worked out by budget leaders, House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts said Tuesday. Full Story
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On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: As another round of deadlines in the Capitol approaches, several legislative priorities are still unresolved. Full Story
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