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 -
The Brief: April 16, 2015
For all the talk about undocumented immigrants qualifying for in-state tuition at Texas colleges and universities, it turns out that these students make up a very small portion of the college-going population. Full Story
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![Students arrive in caps & gowns to Texas Capitol on April 6th, 2015. The Senate sub-committee on border security will listen to testimony on SB #1819 relating to determination of resident status of students by public institutions of higher education]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Senators Approve Partial Consolidation of Health Agencies
The Texas Senate on Wednesday tentatively approved a measure to partially consolidate the state’s massive health and human services system. Full Story
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Video: Senate Budget Debate Presents a Contrast
The Texas Senate passed out a state budget plan Tuesday that spends $211 billion over the next two years. The budget debate on the Senate floor contrasted greatly with the marathon budget debate in the House two weeks ago. Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Texas Senate Approves $211 Billion Budget
Senators on Tuesday voted 30-1 to approve the state's two-year budget. It will now go to conference committee to be reconciled with the House version. 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: April 9, 2015
Republicans leery of granting more eminent domain authority acted to fast-track to nowhere a proposed high-speed rail line between Houston and Dallas. Full Story
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Senate Committee Moves $211.4 Billion Budget Forward
Senate Finance Chairwoman Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, said she expected the Senate version of the budget to be debated by the full Senate next week, “probably Tuesday.” Full Story
![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 -
Rules Hurt Family Violence Programs, Nelson Says
State regulations are unnecessarily holding up funds for shelters and programs that help victims of family violence, state Sen. Jane Nelson says. She wants to loosen the rules, even as she leads the charge to tighten other state contracting procedures. Full Story
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![Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, during a Health and Human Services committee hearing on Feb. 19, 2013.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
The Brief: April 1, 2015
It took more than 17 hours, but the House gave preliminary OK to a budget. Anticipated fights over vouchers and in-state tuition for undocumented students failed to materialize. Full Story
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![State Rep. John Otto, R-Dayton, carries literature laying out House Bill 1 as he prepares to discuss the appropriations bill on the House floor March 31, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
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's Property Tax Cut May Stall in House
The Texas Senate's notion of lowering property taxes for homeowners may lose steam when it reaches the House, where leaders appear more inclined to lower state sales taxes and avoid a collision with the spending cap. Full Story
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![Texas House Ways and Means Chairman Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, talks over amendments to border security legislation on March 1, 2015.]()
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
![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 23, 2015
As you read these words over your morning coffee, Ted Cruz is already a candidate for president. He announced about 11 p.m. Texas time via Twitter. Full Story
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![U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on the Republican stage election night Nov. 4, 2014.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Analysis: Killing a Tax Without Changing Taxpayers' Bills
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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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
The Brief: March 19, 2015
Lawmakers late Wednesday afternoon signaled that they will tap the brakes on plans to consolidate the state's health and human services agencies. Full Story
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![State Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo and Sen Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, at the final Sunset Advisory Commission meeting on Jan. 14, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Post-Scandal, Lawmakers Changing Gears on Health Agency
As the state’s largest health agency reels from a scandal over how it awarded contracts to private vendors, lawmakers on Wednesday said they are slowing down on their ambitious — and controversial — plan to restructure it. Full Story
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![Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, wraps up the Sunset Advisory Commission hearing on Jan. 14, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Property and Business Tax Cut Measures Head to Full Senate
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
![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 -
Senators Worry State Contracting is Too Decentralized
Senators learned at a hearing Wednesday that the current state contracting system is so fragmented that no one knows the total value of the state's current contracts. Full Story
![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 -
The Brief: March 11, 2015
State contracting has become one of the signature issues of the legislative session, but finding a fix won't be easy. Full Story
![Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, wraps up the Sunset Advisory Commission hearing on Jan. 14, 2015.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Lawmakers Vying to Bring More Transparency to State Contracting
Texas lawmakers consider different approaches to transforming the state's unwieldy, loophole-ridden system of contract oversight into something that can be properly tracked, analyzed and, when needed, restrained. Full Story
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