Senators Hope to Revive Plan to Fund Roads
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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The 83rd Lege's Regular Session: What Happened and What Didn't
Lawmakers raced to get several bills passed before the 83rd Legislature's regular session ended. And with Monday's announcement of a special session, their work isn't done. Here's a look at the deals reached and the measures that fell short in the regular session. Full Story
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House Rejected Late Senate Proposal for Roads Money
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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![Part of the elevated section of Chisholm Trail Parkway that is under construction near downtown Fort Worth TX.]()
Credit: Mark Graham -
Newsreel: Final Days for Legislature
This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: Only a few days remain in the 83rd legislative session, and everything is up in the air — including whether lawmakers will come back for more when the session ends on Monday. Full Story
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TribLive: Branch and TMF on Transportation
At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Reps. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, and Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, talked about why the Legislature has made so little progress on transportation funding — and what happens now. Full Story
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Infrastructure Constraints Loom as Texas Grows
Texas’ drought and water-supply problems have captured headlines. But with the state’s rapid population growth projected to continue, other infrastructure problems also loom, including clogged roads and a strained power grid. Full Story
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Credit: Mark Graham -
Hope Remains for Partial Victory on Road Cash
With less than two weeks before the end of the 83rd legislative session, efforts to find more funding for the Texas Department of Transportation are sputtering. Full Story
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Agenda Texas: The Final Fortnight
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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Newsreel: Deadlines, Tax Cuts, Special Session
In the latest Texas Weekly Newsreel: With less than three weeks left in the legislative session, the deadlines are coming fast and furious, raising the stakes and prompting whispers of a special session if things don't get finished. Full Story
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Bill to Increase Vehicle Registration Fee Dies in House
A bill that would have increased vehicle registration fees to generate money for transportation projects met its demise in the Texas House on Thursday. Full Story
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![Rep. Drew Darby discusses the upcoming 83rd Texas legislative session at The Texas Tribune Festival 2012.]()
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Can They Put Humpty Together Again?
The betting here is that state finance is the closing drama of the session and that in spite of the sharper debates here at the end, that everybody goes home singing Kumbaya. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman / Guillermo Esteves -
Agenda Texas: Revisiting the Texas Miracle
On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: President Obama's visit to Austin on Thursday as part of a new jobs tour has again put the state's economy in the spotlight. Full Story
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Agenda Texas: What's Left to Do?
On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: Water, transportation and education were priorities at the beginning of this year's legislative session, but how much progress has been made on each? Full Story
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If the Legislature's in Town, Bills Aren't Dead
The legislative session is in its last month and most bills will die. But setbacks for the big stuff — water, transportation and the like — are usually temporary. Full Story
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Texas Weekly Newsreel: Money, Explosions and Deadlines
In the latest Newsreel: The House fights over whether and how to tap the Rainy Day Fund, lawmakers hold hearings on the explosion in West and Gov. Rick Perry says there is plenty of time left in this session to get things done. Full Story
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Guest Column: Let Voters Decide on Rainy Day Spending
The best way to finance Texas' pressing water and transportation needs — and to supplement spending on public education — is to let voters decide whether to use the state's Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
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Plenty to Spend, and Plenty of Anxiety About It
Two years ago, lawmakers couldn't find the money they needed to run the government they had promised their voters. Now they have the money — and a completely different set of political problems. Full Story
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Perry Willing to Call Special Session
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. Full Story
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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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Inside Intelligence: About That Road Money...
For this week’s nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about transportation and, more specifically, how to pay for expansion and maintenance of the state’s transportation infrastructure. Full Story
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