Hopes Fading for New Limits for Tuition Growth
With the death of all legislation specifically aiming to re-regulate tuition costs at Texas' public universities, proponents of the idea see few avenues for implementing the idea this year. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
E-Verify Bill One Step Closer to Abbott's Desk
The Texas House on Monday gave tentative approval to a bill that would require state agencies and public universities to use the federal electronic employment system called E-Verify. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Funding Program Shields Nursing Homes From Lawsuits
Hundreds of Texas nursing homes have transferred their ownership to local government entities in order to secure more federal Medicaid funding. Critics of the arrangement say it shields negligent nursing homes from lawsuits. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
More Pay for Medicaid Doctors Lost in Budget Deal
The House-Senate budget conference committee adopted its compromise on health and human services funding Wednesday, pleasing fiscal conservatives and giving little cheer to advocates for the poor and disabled. Full Story
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![Sens. Lois Kolkhorst, Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, Jane Nelson, Charles Schwertner, Joan Huffman and Reps. Larry Gonzales, Sarah Davis, Sylvester Turner, John Otto and Trent Ashby make up the 2015 budget conference committee.]()
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House, Senate at Odds Over Provision That Would Block Bullet Train
House and Senate leaders are in the midst of intense negotiations over a budget rider that could kill a proposed $12 billion bullet train project connecting Dallas and Houston. Full Story
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The Brief: May 20, 2015
House and Senate negotiators are down to one final challenge: working out the timing on their complicated tax cut dance. Full Story
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Video: Health Care and the 84th Legislative Session
At our 5/4 symposium on health care, state Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton, the chairman of the House Public Health Committee, and state Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, the chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, talked about how the issue is playing out in the 84th session. Full Story
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Senate Announces Budget Negotiation Team
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has named the Senate lineup of budget negotiators who will meet with House counterparts and hash out a final version of the two-year state budget. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick after votes on first reading of SB #11 March 18th, 2015]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Contracting Overhaul Sails Through Senate
Amid an ongoing scandal over how the state awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to a private company, the Texas Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill that would overhaul the state’s contracting processes. Full Story
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![Senate Finance Committee Chairwoman Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, confers with Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, during a March 11, 2015, committee hearing on state contracting issues.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Senate Passes Patrick's Tax Cut Package
The Texas Senate on Wednesday approved Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s multibillion-dollar tax relief package to cut property and business margins taxes, tossing the ball into the House's court. Full Story
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![Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, lays out the property tax relief portion of Senate Bill 1 for final passage in the Senate on March 25, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Brief: March 25, 2015
GOP budget writers had help closing the books on the Medicaid program for the current fiscal year with help from an unlikely source — the Affordable Care Act. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
GOP Leaders Say They Won't Expand Medicaid
Leading Texas Republicans on Monday asked the Obama administration for greater flexibility to administer Medicaid — a move that has gotten little traction in the past — while reiterating that they would not participate in an expansion of the program under the Affordable Care Act. Full Story
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The Brief: March 2, 2015
The Tribune's Jay Root and Neena Satija filed a story over the weekend on the problem of deferred maintenance at state government buildings in multiple agencies. It makes for some grim reading. Full Story
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Revamped Cancer Agency Faces New Questions
A reinvented Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas says its darkest hour has passed, but the agency faces new conservative lawmakers unconvinced more money should be devoted to the agency. Full Story
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Senate Leaders Propose $4.6 Billion in Tax Breaks
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has announced a slate of bills he says will provide lasting tax relief to businesses and homeowners in Texas — to the tune of $4.6 billion. But there are signs he could face some opposition within his own party. Full Story
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![Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announces the filing of SB1 with a series of property and business tax cuts for Texans on Feb. 24, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Brief: Feb. 19, 2015
Senate budget writers on Wednesday lit into Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek, a former senator himself, in a hearing that concluded with another call for him to resign. Full Story
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![Health and Human Services Commission head Kyle Janek (l.) and state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, who called for his resignation on Jan. 15, 2015.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Roundup: Guns, Tolls and Emergency Preparedness
In the Roundup: Lawmakers listen to hours of testimony on two pieces of gun legislation, toll bill snafus affect thousands of Texans, and a Senate bill would better prepare the state to handle infectious disease emergencies. Full Story
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The Brief: Feb. 12, 2015
The debate over the expansion of rights to carry guns onto university campuses and openly with a permit moves from rallies outside the Capitol to legislative hearings inside the building today. Full Story
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![Almost forgotten in the midst of Texas Muslim Capitol Day, an open carry advocate displays his gun and the Israeli flag on Jan. 29, 2015.]()
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Senator Talks of "Lost Confidence" in Health Agency Watchdog
At the Senate Health and Human Services Committee's first meeting of the legislative session, Chairman Charles Schwertner shared some tough criticism of the Health and Human Services Commission's Office of Inspector General. Full Story
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![Sen. Charles Schwertner R-Georgetown, at a February Texas Tribune event.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Looking to Be Better Prepared for the Next Public Health Emergency
Lawmakers will consider ways to improve the state’s preparedness for public health emergencies. Dallas County officials identified shortfalls in the system last fall when the country's Ebola case was diagnosed. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by WFAA-TV