The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has released its best bets for how to meet the 5 percent budget reduction requested by Gov. Rick Perry and other state leaders.
State Government
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Posted in
Economy
The Last Time Around
How will lawmakers deal with a budget shortfall of at least $11 billion — and maybe several billion more — in the next legislative session? In all likelihood, by doing what they did in 2003, when things were almost this bad.
Posted inState Government
Budget Cuts, Then and Now
Texas lawmakers are expecting to find a hole in the state budget — anywhere from $11 billion to $17 billion, maybe even more — when they return to Austin a year from now. That’s the worst forecast since 2003, when they responded to a $10 billion shortfall with reductions in major programs and hikes in various fees. The Texas Tribune’s Julian Aguilar reports on how cuts back then could guide the Legislature’s work in 2011.
Posted in
Health care
This Might Hurt: A Dose of Politics
Immunization advocates want to expand our vaccination database, but the well-educated, middle-class parents who oppose them are organized and driven — and could force lawmakers to take sides in the tussle between personal freedom and public health.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
On the Records: Case Open, File Closed
Getting a look at correspondence, documents, reports, etc. related to death row inmate Hank Skinner’s case is proving more difficult than I imagined.
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State Government
TribBlog: Terri Hodge’s Farewell Letter
On the same day she publicly announced that she would drop her reelection bid and plead guilty in federal court to making false statements on an income tax return, State Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, wrote a letter to her House colleagues to say good-bye and apologize.
Posted inState Government
Ads Infinitum: Perry’s “1993”
Gov. Rick Perry’s latest TV spot marks the first appearance of “liberal Barney Frank” in Texas’s GOP primary race ad wars.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: February 9, 2010
Just before the Democratic debate began, Farouk Shami’s campaign manager said their strategy was “a secret.” Sadly for them, it was still a secret even after the debate was over.