Texas House and Senate about $3 billion apart on public education spending
Two rival budget proposals offer a starting point for debate between the two chambers on public school funding and property tax relief. Full Story
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Edgar Walters
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Edgar Walters worked at the Tribune from 2013 to 2020, most recently covering health and human services. Before that, he had a political reporting fellowship with the Berliner Zeitung, a daily newspaper in Berlin. He is a graduate of the Plan II Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin, where he worked as an editor for The Daily Texan. When not in the newsroom or at the Capitol, he could be found on the volleyball court, standing 6 feet, 7 inches tall.
Past Contributions
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![State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, visits with Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, on the Senate floor on May 25, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House proposes massive increase for public school funding
The proposed budget would increase state funds for education by about 17 percent but cut funding for health and human services by about 3 percent. Full Story
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![House Speaker Dennis Bonnen presiding over his first votes as speaker of the house. Jan. 9, 2019. Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr. / The Texas Tribune -
Texas lawmakers indicate they may use rainy day fund for school security, hurricane recovery and teachers' pensions
Hurricane Harvey, school safety and teacher pensions all made the list of priorities likely to receive funding from the state's Economic Stabilization Fund. Full Story
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![Short meeting of the Legislative Budget Board to take stock of the health of the Texas economy for 2019 as likely incoming speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, greets Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Texas House names Dennis Bonnen new speaker on celebratory opening day
Bonnen’s unanimous election marks a new era of Texas House leadership for the first time in a decade. Meanwhile, the leader of the Texas Senate, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, was conspicuously absent on opening day. Full Story
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![State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, is sworn in as House speaker by U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. Looking on is Speaker Bonnen's wife Kimberly.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar gives lawmakers cautiously optimistic revenue estimate for 2019 session
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Monday that the state will have $119.1 billion for lawmakers to use in putting together the state's 2020-21 budget. Full Story
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![Comptroller Glenn Hegar discusses the Biennial Revenue Estimate for the 2020-21 biennium at the state Capitol on Jan. 7, 2019.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
How law enforcement can seize Texans' cash and property — without filing criminal charges
Police use asset forfeiture to seize cash, cars and other property that they suspect is part of criminal activity. As our December story explains, they don't have to get a conviction, but property owners have to prove they're not a criminal. Full Story
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What's the point of Texas' rainy day fund?
Texas' Economic Stabilization Fund holds more than $11 billion and is the largest in the country. There's a lot of disagreement over how and when to spend the money. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / The Texas Tribune -
Texas police made more than $50 million in 2017 from seizing people’s property. Not everyone was guilty of a crime.
Law enforcement leaders say civil asset forfeiture is a necessary tool for fighting crime, but several lawmakers see it as a violation of Americans’ civil liberties. Texas legislators are poised to take up the issue once again in 2019. Full Story
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With record $12.5 billion in Texas' savings account, lawmakers set $7.5 billion minimum balance
The decision means Texas can invest more of its massive rainy day fund — and signals lawmakers' confidence that the current balance is healthy. Full Story
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![State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, explains the benefits of Senate Bill 19 during a Saturday meeting of the Senate Finance Committee on July 22, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune -
The number of migrant children in Texas shelters rose again in November, reaching a new high under Trump
The number of unaccompanied minor children held in Texas shelters reached a new high in November, months after the administration of President Donald Trump ended its policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the border. Full Story
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![The nonprofit Southwest Key Programs, whose headquarters is in Austin, is housing nearly half the undocumented immigrant kids in federal custody.]()
Credit: Rachel Zein for The Texas Tribune