The latest budget news from The Texas Tribune.
The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday backed a $209.8 billion two-year budget that would leave $8.4 billion on the table, along with billions more in the state’s savings account. The budget plan now goes to the full House. Full Story
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A little-noticed bill filed on deadline by the chairman of the House's tax-writing committee could hold the session's biggest tax cut, but only if the House and Senate decide to cut taxes on sales instead of property. Full Story
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Senate legislation that cuts property and business margins taxes also includes a clause that would outlaw taxes on real estate transactions. Texas has no such tax. Full Story
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The Senate Finance Committee voted Tuesday to send proposals cutting property taxes and business taxes to the full Senate, though some senators questioned whether the property tax cuts could be better spent in other ways. Full Story
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This week, we published Undrinkable, our series on why tens of thousands along the Texas border don’t have ready access to safe, clean drinking water, so we start this week’s playlist of the week’s news with “Something in the Water” by Prince. Full Story
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Texas House budget writers put the final touches Thursday on a two-year budget that offers a different approach to boosting funding for transportation from the Senate. Full Story
At our 3/12 conversation, Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings reacted to the possibility of the Legislature engineering a cut in property taxes. Full Story
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In the first episode of Budgetline, an occasional TribCast series on the Texas budget, Ross and Aman start where state officials started — with the revenue estimate. It sounds simple, but it's a complicated stew of economics, politics and risky forecasting. Full Story
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On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Ross, Neena and Patrick about Rep. Jonathan Stickland's "Former Fetus" sign, Gov. Rick Perry's presidential ambitions and the Trib's Undrinkable water quality project. Full Story
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As lawmakers debate what kinds of tax cuts they like best, and voters point at property taxes as their favorite, a national conservative group is starting a grassroots campaign to promote repeal of the state's business margins tax. Full Story
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Texas legislators have an unfamiliar problem: They have more money available to spend than their self-imposed limits will allow. And it's enough to start debates even where there is broad agreement. Full Story
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Senate leaders on Tuesday rolled out more legislation that would change how the state sets its limit on spending for each budget biennium, and let lawmakers pass tax cuts that don't count toward the cap. Full Story
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On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics with host Jason Whitely, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey, talk turns to spending caps and constitutional amendments. Full Story
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Lawmakers want to send voters a tax cut but fear spending the money the cut requires without asking voters for permission. Full Story
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Senate leaders joined Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to announce a plan to allow lawmakers to cut property taxes and pay down the state's debt without busting the state’s politically charged spending cap. Full Story
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As a key Senate committee prepares to hear public testimony on tax cut proposals Wednesday, senators expressed strong interest in repealing the state's unpopular margins tax on businesses, which has raised $4.7 billion annually. Full Story
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As state officials rush to announce tax cuts, a former mayor now in the Senate is pleading for a little restraint and a return to pay-as-you-go government. Full Story
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The Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday voted 8-1 in favor of a proposal to dedicate some of the sales tax collected on automobile sales to improving roads — but not before several lawmakers expressed reservations. Full Story
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Comptroller Glenn Hegar is urging lawmakers to consider allowing his office to invest a portion of the Rainy Day Fund more aggressively, arguing that a greater return is worth the greater risk with the savings account. Full Story
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At our 2/12 conversation, state Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, talked about the prospect of property and business tax relief. Full Story
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