Past Contributions

• Speed Incentives, Toll Lanes Get Senate Attention

  By Aman Batheja March 27, 2013

  The Senate Transportation Committee heard testimony Wednesday on two bills addressing criticisms stemming from the proliferation of toll roads and toll lane projects around the state. Full Story 

• House Budget Spends More Than Senate's on Schools, Less on Medicaid

  By Aman Batheja March 27, 2013

  Both the House and Senate are proposing spending about $194 billion over the next two years. But there are key differences between the two plans. Full Story 

• Perry, Some Lawmakers Want Gold Back in Texas

  By Emily Ramshaw and Aman Batheja March 21, 2013

  Call it the Rick Perry gold rush: The governor wants to bring the state’s gold reserves back from a New York vault to Texas. Full Story 

• House Committee Backs Budget That Includes More School Funding

  By Aman Batheja March 21, 2013

  The $193.8 billion budget approved by the House Appropriations Committee includes an extra $2.5 billion for public education. The bill is smaller than the Senate budget by about $1.7 billion. Full Story 

• Senate Votes to Approve $195.5 Billion Budget

  By Aman Batheja March 20, 2013

  The Texas Senate approved a $195.5 billion budget Wednesday that even supporters called an intermediate step toward a final spending plan for the next two years. Full Story 

• Budget Votes to Set Stage for Future Negotiations

  By Aman Batheja March 20, 2013

  The $195.5 billion budget that senators will vote on Wednesday includes $1.4 billion extra for education and pay raises for most state employees. A House committee is expected to vote Thursday on its version of the budget. Full Story 

• GOP Senator Challenging His Party on Debt, Taxes

  By Aman Batheja March 15, 2013

  State Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, is engaged in a long-term campaign to convince his fellow legislators that the state's bond debt is an urgent problem and that tax increases are part of a conservative solution. Full Story 

• LBB Right on Rainy Day Fund, Lawmakers Admit

  By Aman Batheja March 15, 2013

  House and Senate leaders have come to the same painful conclusion: spending from the Rainy Day Fund is subject to the constitutional spending limit. They disagree on what to do now. Full Story 

• At 43 Hours, Senator Set Filibuster Record in '77

  By Justin Dehn, Aman Batheja and Alana Rocha March 14, 2013

  Thirty-six years before U.S. Sen. Rand Paul held a nearly 13-hour filibuster, a Texas senator filibustered for 43 hours in the Texas Senate, setting a world record. Full Story 

• Visualization: The Lobbyist Revolving Door

  By Ryan Murphy and Aman Batheja March 14, 2013

  Since relinquishing their seats in January, 11 former House members and one former state senator have registered as lobbyists with the Texas Ethics Commission — and several of them are working for clients in industries they regulated in the Legislature. Full Story