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Texas Legislature

The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.

  • TribBlog: The Bill Mill

    By Kate Galbraith

    The Texas Legislature begins its biennial session today. If 2009 is a guide, lawmakers here are likely to introduce — and pass — more bills this year than virtually any other state. Full Story 

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    Credit: Todd Wiseman

  • Data App: Capitol Maps

    By Matt Stiles and Christopher Chang

    As the 181 members of the Texas Legislature convene in Austin for the 82nd session, use our interactive and printable guide to find their offices and navigate the maze that is the Texas Capitol. Search by member name, or browse using the floor plan by clicking the tab for each floor in the Capitol and Capitol Extension. Full Story 

    The first floor of the Texas Capitol.
    Credit: Texas Tribune

  • TribBlog: The Comptroller's Big Reveal

    By Ross Ramsey

    The state will have $77.3 billion in general revenue during the next two-year budget cycle, Comptroller Susan Combs said this morning. The comptroller estimated the Rainy Day Fund will have $9.4 billion in it at the end of the 2012-2013 biennium and that the size of the current deficit is $4.3 billion. Full Story 

    Comptroller Susan Combs giving a biennial revenue estimate in Austin on Jan. 10, 2011.
    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Counting Straws

    By Ross Ramsey

    The House Republican Caucus will meet today to debate whether it should choose a favorite in the race for speaker of the House among the three candidates: the incumbent, Joe Straus of San Antonio, and Warren Chisum of Pampa and Ken Paxton of McKinney. But the vote's not binding. So why do it? Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman/Bob Daemmrich

  • Inside Intelligence: The House Republican Caucus Will...

    By Ross Ramsey

    For the year's first installment of our nonscientific survey of political and policy insiders on issues of the moment, we asked whether Joe Straus would win another term as speaker, whether the next speaker should share power with the Democrats when doling out committee chairmanships and other assignments and whether the Republican Caucus is the right forum for picking the leader of the House. Full Story 

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  • A Conversation With Three Incoming House Members

    By Evan Smith

    For our first TribLive conversation of 2011, I interviewed Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock; Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs; and Paul Workman, R-Austin, about the Speaker's race, the budget shortfall, immigration, the Tea Party and how they and other newbies will navigate the 82nd legislative session. Full Story 

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    Credit: Bob Daemmrich

  • Misdemeanor Misbehavior?

    By Morgan Smith

    The Texas criminal justice system is increasingly the destination for mischief-makers, some as young as 6, in the state’s public schools, according to a new study, which sheds light on what is a rapidly growing part of school budgets: campus security. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Patrick Wades Into Caucus Controversy

    By Evan Smith

    A speaker preference vote in the House Republican Caucus is "simply the right thing to do," state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, said Friday night, wading into a roiling controversy that has pit Republican against Republican in the aftermath of November's election. Full Story 

    State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston.
    Credit: Candidate photo

  • Green House

    By Ross Ramsey

    The biggest caucus in the Texas House is the Republicans', now with 101 members. Next? The Democrats', at 49. And then there’s the freshman class — one of the biggest in years — with 38 members. All but six are Republicans, and many of them replaced Democrats. They face some challenges. Full Story 

    Members of the freshmen class of 2011 at their new member orientation in December 2010.
    Credit: Justin Dehn

  • Mental Breakdown

    By Erika Aguilar, KUT News

    Mental health providers are bracing themselves for brutal budget cuts. Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • Discharged?

    By Emily Ramshaw

    Advocates for shuttering Texas' institutions for people with disabilities say they have a big plus in their column this session: the state’s giant budget crunch. Full Story 

    Austin State-Supported Living Center employee Tamika Mays is shown with resident Rebecca Hadnot in 2011.
    Credit: Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Proposed Immigration Laws Create Unlikely Alliances

    By Julián Aguilar

    Proposing state enforcement of immigration laws can produce strange bedfellows. "Who would imagine that after 28 years of law enforcement the ACLU would be talking so nicely about me,” Sheriff Richard Wiles joked after being introduced as a common-sense sheriff by ACLU of Texas Executive Director Terri Burke for his opposition to proposed legislation patterned on Arizona’s. Full Story 

    An estimated 25,000 demonstrators attended a rally in Dallas to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform on May 1, 2010.
    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • On the Records: The Bills So Far

    By Matt Stiles

    A new word cloud visualizes the bills filed so far according to their Texas Legislative Council assigned categories. After education, which accounts for more than a quarter of the bills, the top categories are elections, criminal procedure, vehicles and traffic, and taxation. Full Story 

    House and Senate bills filed from 11/8-1/4.
    Credit: Graphic by Wordle.net

  • The Revenue Guesstimate

    By Ross Ramsey

    Lawmakers are waiting for Comptroller Susan Combs to forecast exactly how much money the state will collect between now and August 2013 so they can write a two-year budget that spends no more than that. It's not exactly like opening the envelopes at the Oscars, but the Capitol community will be hanging on her every word. If history is a guide, her estimate of revenues will be closer to the bull's eye than the Legislature's estimate of spending. But this is a dark art; accuracy can be elusive. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman/Bob Daemmrich