Abbott: Spending Limit Includes Rainy Day Fund
Spending from the state's Rainy Day Fund does, in fact, count against a constitutional limit on growth in the state budget, Attorney General Greg Abbott advised on Thursday. Full Story
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Drone Surveillance Measure Soars Through House
UPDATED: State Rep. Lance Gooden’s bill to prevent unmanned drones from capturing indiscriminate surveillance won approval in the lower chamber on Friday. Full Story
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![Micheal Cincienne of Absolute Aerospace and Texas A&M Corpus Christi, engineering student Adam Ersepke, and lab coordinator Jack Edward Esparza carry the University’s RS-16 unmanned aerial vehicle, otherwise known as a drone, back to the command center after a test flight over the Kennedy Ranch near Sarita, Texas on January 18, 2013.]()
Credit: Eddie Seal -
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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House Disclosure Bill Won't Get a Vote
UPDATED: Rep. Giovanni Capriglione's bill to require legislators to disclose their business contracts with government entities won't get a vote in the House — unless he can tack it onto an Ethics Commission reform bill. Full Story
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News App: Tracking the Status of House Bills
Most of the legislation filed this session by members of the Texas House never made it out of committee. This new app tells you the number of bills filed, referred to committee and left, forever, in committee after the deadline passed. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
A Waiting Game for UT's Regents
As time runs out on the legislative session, little action has occurred regarding the much-hyped "micromanagement" by University of Texas System regents. Meanwhile, other regent-watching groups are dealing with internal troubles. Full Story
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King Pulls Measure on Public Integrity Unit Oversight
State Rep. Phil King on Tuesday pulled an amendment that would transfer power over the state’s public integrity away from Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg. But King said he has the support to attach it to future bills. Full Story
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Bill Would End Environmental Compliance History Program
A program that gives the public information about the compliance history of facilities overseen by the state's environmental agency would end under a bill House lawmakers will consider this week. Full Story
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Agenda Texas: Deadline Week in the House
On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: Only about 20 percent of bills filed during a legislative session make it to the governor's desk — and the deadlines that kill off many of those bills are coming this week. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Big Tobacco Beats Small Tobacco on Tax Vote
Small cigarette manufacturers would face new state fees on their sales under a measure that passed the Texas House in a preliminary vote on Monday — a big win for Big Tobacco. Full Story
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TribuneFest: Is Cost Containment Possible?
At the Trib's April 25 symposium on health care at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. David Warner of the LBJ School of Public Affairs talked about the escalating cost of health care with Michelle Berger, president of the Travis County Medical Society; Jesus Garza, president and CEO of the Seton Healthcare Family; Dan McCoy, chief medical officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas; and Tom Suehs, former executive commissioner of Texas Health and Human Services. 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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Credit: Tamir Kalifa -
Interactive: Tracking Abortion Legislation
Abortion is usually a contentious issue in the Texas Legislature, but this session, lawmakers have had relatively few public debates on it. Use this Tribune interactive to track the progress of bills related to abortion. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Ben Philpott / Todd Wiseman -
Video: Campus Carry, School Marshal Bills Get Final House Approval
A handful of gun rights expansion bills debated over the weekend received final passage in the House Monday, including two measures that could impact how students of Texas colleges, universities and public schools see firearms carried and used on campus. Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemrmich -
The Playlist: Month of May
We have reached the "Month of May," which, in addition to being the final month of the Legislature's 83rd regular session, is the title of a song by Arcade Fire. It leads off our latest playlist inspired by the Texas political news of the week. 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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The Polling Center: Planned Parenthood and the Women’s Health “Equation”
The marginalization of Planned Parenthood probably makes the discussion of women’s health care less contentious — among Republicans, anyway. Full Story
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TribuneFest: The State of Women's Health
At the Trib's April 25 symposium on health care at the University of Texas at Austin, Emily Ramshaw talked about the state of women's health in Texas with state Reps. Sarah Davis, R-West University Place, and Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola; Amy Hagstrom Miller of Whole Woman's Health; and Joe Potter of UT-Austin's Population Research Center. Full Story
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Proposed Tax Break Has Some Singing Praises, Others Singing the Blues
A House bill would cut the tax on mixed beverage sales for clubs that prove they’re using the savings to present live music. Advocates for some Texas cities and counties say the proposal would rob their coffers of much-needed tax revenue. Full Story
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![Lindsey Sunflower serves drinks at The Parish, a popular music venue in Austin, Texas. State Rep. Mark Strama is pursuing a bill that would cut the tax on mixed beverages charged to bars if they prove they are using the savings to present live music.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa -
For Fire Departments, More to State Budget Than Numbers
Budget decisions revolve around numbers, but talking about money is just a way to talk about policy. Consider the case of volunteer fire departments. Full Story
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Credit: Noel Hankamer / Bill Ledbetter / Christopher Ebdon
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