The latest 82nd Legislative Session news from The Texas Tribune.
Gov. Rick Perry delivered his sixth State of the State speech today, addressing a joint session of the Texas House and Senate, and selling the state's fiscal troubles as an opportunity to make government more efficient. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/PerryStateofState.jpg)
At the Texas Education Agency's first appearance before the Senate since the release of a budget that reduces school funding by $9.3 billion, senators called for a "full picture" of the state's spending on public education. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCB7840.jpg)
After three days of testimony and today's closing arguments, state Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, is expected to recommend a winner of the disputed HD-48 seat on Friday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCA7731.jpg)
The chairman of the House Public Education Committee on whether the Rainy Day Fund should be used, in part or in whole, to reduce the size of the budget shortfall. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Eissler1CMS.jpg)
For our latest TribLive conversation, I sat down with the chairman of the House Public Education Committee to talk about the coming cuts to public ed: how big they're likely to be, the prospect of tens of thousands of teacher and non-instructional-staff layoffs and whether new revenue sources are on the table. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/bade6d50c47913179ae56354f785a25a/TT%20Event%20Eissler%2002%202011)
The chairman of the House Public Education Committee on whether the cuts to public ed will be as bad as everyone says they'll be. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Eissler3.jpg)
The chairman of the House Public Education Committee on how many public school teachers, administrators and non-instructional staff members are at risk of being laid off as a result of the budget shortfall. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Eissler2CMS.jpg)
State Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston, has filed three bills aimed at regulating the practice of ticketing students for misbehavior in public schools. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/miseducation_1.jpg)
We asked three big thinkers in the Capitol community — Talmadge Heflin, Eva DeLuna Castro and Bill Hammond — to tell us what they'd do if they had the power to take on the budget shortfall themselves. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Threeway_Heflin_Castro_Hammond.jpg)
We must continue to fight to ensure that we implement cost-saving reforms that reflect Texas' commitment to prosperity and to economic growth. But our current budget shortfall isn't a time to be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/010709_hammon_bill_2.jpg)
We need a balanced approach that uses our reserves and adds revenue. And we have to start by casting aside wishful thinking; we are writing the 2012-13 budget, with higher costs and increased enrollment in education and health care services — not some past budget. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Castro.jpg)
More money is not the answer to our current woes. Just as anyone managing a household budget knows, when a family’s expenses grow beyond its income, the solution is to cut back — particularly if its spending habits resemble the state's. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Heflin.jpg)
With just 56 students, Marathon ISD is one of the state's smallest. But its fate is critical to the West Texas town's survival. And if what is happening here works, it could serve as a model for other towns looking to shield their way of life from the death knell of school closures. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/5c6af3502eba5bd114ad3eeae4fe128c/.marathon1)
Slashing funds for community-based mental health care will hurt taxpayers and degrade the quality of life for thousands of mentally ill Texans and their families, Harris County Jail officials told Texas budget writers today in written testimony for the Senate Finance Committee. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Overcrowded-Prisons.png)
In our TribLive conversation this morning, state Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, the chair of the House Public Education Committee, said he opposed a bill by state Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Houston, that would require school districts to check the immigration status of students enrolling in Texas public schools. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Screen_shot_2011-02-03_at_1.47.06_PM.png)
The long-awaited Daily Show segment on alleged anti-Semitism in the 2011 Speaker's race was, predictably, funny. And that John Oliver: such a punim! Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/CM_Capture_2_2.png)
In our TribLive conversation this morning, state Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, said he opposed a bill that would require school districts to check the immigration status of public school students. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7c74fcd62c915af10148178e6a581aed/TT%20Event%20Eissler%2003%202011)
House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler talked with Texas Tribune CEO and Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith this morning. Here is our liveblog. Full Story
At least half a dozen bills have been filed in the Texas House mandating the use of the federal electronic employment verification system known as E-Verify. But is the system so fraught with errors that it actually hinders employers who use it to check the eligibility of new hires? Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/E-Verify-Computer.jpg)
The Environmental Protection Agency is developing new drinking-water regulations for a toxic rocket-fuel ingredient found in 26 states — including Texas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/RocketEngine.jpg)