The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry is set to be sworn in for an unprecedented third term, and a good-sized crowd has turned out for the festivities (and free barbecue). Stay with us for updates from the speech and swearing-in at the Capitol. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/inaug1.JPG)
With some top state leaders warning that Texas’ dire fiscal situation will lead to the loss of several thousand state jobs, House budget writers will release their first draft budget today. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, big job cuts may be just the beginning. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TexasGovJobs.jpg)
Gov. Rick Perry says he and California Gov. Jerry Brown have been comparing notes on the budget, Medicaid, and the federal government. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Screen_shot_2011-01-17_at_7.43.47_PM.png)
Gov. Rick Perry says the state has to live within its means and that "there's nothing new" about that. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Screen_shot_2011-01-17_at_7.31.41_PM.png)
With some top state leaders warning that Texas' dire fiscal situation will lead to the loss of several thousand state jobs, House budget writers will release their first draft budget today. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, big job cuts may be just the beginning. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry says cities shouldn't require police officers to do immigration checks but shouldn't prevent it, either. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/011611_Perry.jpg)
As be begins his second decade as governor, Rick Perry's plan is to deal with the basics: to make sure the state is on a smooth economic path, to pass a balanced state budget, to coax the federal government into loosening its purse strings and tightening its security on the Mexican border. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/PerryAndRoss.jpg)
Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams will resign this week, allowing him to work full time on a race for U.S. Senate — and to avoid a potentially bruising legislative fight over the future of his agency. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/CM_Capture_1_______.png)
The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee on the Tea Partiers and other hyperconservative types who oppose him in his district. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/PittsExplainsItAll_1.jpg)
The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee on what lawmakers should do with the Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/PittsJazzHands.jpg)
Gov. Rick Perry’s focus on sanctuary cities — cities that don't allow their police officers to enforce federal immigration laws — could offer him safe passage through the contentious immigration debate. But it will be tricky. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/f9ba9744b69347f5d2cef978537257c9/BD%20INC%20Perry%2006%202011)
Despite the budget crisis, thousands of Texas teachers know their jobs are safe. They possess a "continuing contract" — the public education equivalent of tenure. Many of the most senior educators are employed under these contracts, which may complicate the efforts of some districts to cut personnel costs. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/PublicSchoolTeacher.jpg)
For our latest TribLive conversation, I interviewed the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee about the budget shortfall, the possibility of new revenue sources, whether Joe Straus will retaliate against members who opposed him and whether Tea Party threats should be taken seriously. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/9d97b31d86f61c5cda9ba4507fcbb631/TT%20Event%20Pitts%2005%202011)
The Environmental Protection Agency took public comment in Dallas on Friday on its new rules for greenhouse gas regulations. Because Texas has refused to establish a greenhouse gas permitting process, the EPA will directly issue permits to companies here — but as Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports, federal officials say there won’t be a delay for companies wanting to them. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TT-Audio.png)
The Waxahachie Republican talks about the size of the budget shortfall, the possibility of new revenue sources and why he'd support legalized gambling. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/ca400ea20b5805bd1aaba8688810eaa4/BD%20INC%20Jim%20Pitts%202010)
The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee on why he'd back legalized gambling as a source of revenue for the state's coffers. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/PittsYes.jpg)
If the lieutenant governor's job comes open in 2014, Comptroller Susan Combs is interested. But that's a long way off, she says, and everything has to line up just right. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b8ed19150a7fd85f8c8821b2c9d6480e/BD%20INC%20Combs%2003%20CMS%202011)
No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our all-new weekly recaps of the action under the dome. Take a look back at the top political news from Jan. 10 to Jan. 14. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Screen_shot_2011-01-10_at_5.57.06_PM_1.png)
On the heels of Kay Bailey Hutchison's announcement that she won't run for another term in the U.S. Senate and rampant speculation that David Dewhurst will run for her seat, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson today walked up to the edge of saying he plans to run for lieutenant governor in 2014. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Jerry_Patterson.JPG)
When Andrew Cuomo took office as governor of New York earlier this month, he ordered the removal of the security barricades limiting access to his state’s Capitol. “This Capitol has become a physical metaphor for the isolation and alienation of our people,” he said in his inauguration speech. He could easily have been talking about Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/cbm_7280.jpg)