The Evening Brief: April 26, 2013
Your evening reading: House OKs budget bill after wide-ranging debate; Castro, Wolfowitz pen op-ed in support of gay marriage; lawyers defend Lehmberg Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
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. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Cash for Road Repair in Shale Areas Proves Elusive
Efforts by state lawmakers to find money to repair South and West Texas roads torn up amid a drilling boom appear to be stalling, according to some officials working on the matter. Officials warn about the hazards of not maintaining these roads. Full Story
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![A road in the Eagle Ford Shale area in South Texas. The natural gas drilling boom is straining the region's rural roads. More than 1,000 loaded trucks are needed to bring a single well into production.]()
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House Backs Bill Limiting Mail-In Ballot Collection
The Texas House on Thursday tentatively approved a measure that would make it a Class A misdemeanor for someone to collect and deposit 10 or more mail-in ballots from other voters during an election. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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Labor Bill Spurs Gender Discrimination Debate in House
A debate over equal-pay legislation in the Texas House on Thursday sparked a suggestion that a vote against the labor bill would be a vote against equality for men and women. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Video: Lottery Commission Bill Moving Forward
After an unexpected debate that spanned two days, House members passed House Bill 2197 - to continue the Texas Lottery Commission — with a key provision that could ultimately lead to its demise. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Lawmaker
Giving up 20 weeks of every other year to serve in the Texas Legislature is a lot easier if you don't have to worry about the paycheck you're missing at home. It is easier, in other words, if you're rich. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Perry Withdraws Texas Prison Board Nomination
Gov. Rick Perry withdrew his nomination of Annette Raggette of Austin to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice on Wednesday afternoon, citing conflict-of-interest concerns. Full Story
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![The Texas Tribune Festival 2012 Opening Session: A conversation with Gov. Rick Perry and Evan Smith, Sept. 21, 2012.]()
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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. Full Story
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Credit: Ana Belén Ramón -
TribLive: A Conversation About School Finance
On April 19, I talked with former House Public Education Committee chairmen Rob Eissler and Kent Grusendorf, former vice chairman Scott Hochberg and attorney David Thompson about the perennially unresolved question of how the state should fund public education. Full Story
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Perry's Rainy Day Policy Fueled by Credit Ratings
As lawmakers debate how much money to leave in the state's Rainy Day Fund, Gov. Rick Perry is relying on a very specific figure: 7.5 percent. Full Story
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The Love-Hate Relationship With Transparency
One Texan's transparency is another’s right to privacy, and people in politics generally find it easier to demand openness than to provide it. Full Story
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The Brief: April 24, 2013
Surprise votes in both chambers of the Legislature capped off a dramatic day at the Capitol on Tuesday. Full Story
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Credit: Ana Belén Ramón -
Senate Backs $5.7 Billion Plan for Roads, Water, Schools
After spending most of the day locked away in negotiations, the Senate unanimously approved a measure pulling $5.7 billion from the Rainy Day Fund for water and road projects and public education. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
House Committee Gives Tesla Motors a Chance
UPDATED: A bill that would allow Tesla Motors to circumvent the state's franchise dealer system and sell cars directly to Texans is advancing to the full House. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Senate Approves Bill Targeting Child Hunger
UPDATED: The one in four Texas children who are food insecure could be assured a free meal every school day — breakfast — if a bill approved by the Senate on Tuesday continues to advance. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
House Makes Switch on Texas Lottery Commission
UPDATED: After unexpectedly voting to end the Texas Lottery Commission earlier Tuesday, the Texas House reversed course Tuesday afternoon with a vote to continue the commission. Full Story
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!["Check your ticket" lottery machine in an Austin, TX gas station.]()
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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. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
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