The latest budget news from The Texas Tribune.
When an out-of-state retailer doesn't add Texas sales and use taxes to your bill, it's not because no taxes are owed — and it's not because the retailer is doing something illegal. Texas consumers fail to pay almost $1.8 billion annually. Full Story
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Lawmakers on Thursday chose $7 billion as an appropriate minimum balance for the Rainy Day Fund in a meeting that took just a few minutes but will have far-reaching consequences. Full Story
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Congress has proposed a national standard for sales taxes on the internet, an idea backed by trade groups for so-called brick-and-mortar retailers. But U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is a loud opponent of the legislation. Full Story
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Depending on your political leanings, the spending cap state lawmakers set this week was either too low, too high or just right. Regardless, the arcane measure could effectively block lawmakers from accessing billions of dollars in state revenue. Full Story
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State leaders including Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus have voted to set the state growth rate for the next two years at 11.68 percent, a move that will impact the budget lawmakers write in next year's session. Full Story
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Lawmakers this week will choose a number — a projected growth limit for the state government — that will frame their budget battles throughout the coming legislative session. Full Story
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With the support of 80 percent of Texas voters, Proposition 1 is expected to add billions to the state highway fund without raising taxes or fees. For lawmakers, state officials and local stakeholders, now the real work begins. Full Story
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Full video of my 10/23 TribLive conversation with state Rep. Travis Clardy, R-Nacogdoches, and state Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University. Full Story
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The open government track at the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival featured panel discussions on what legislators should disclose, open records, state budget transparency and "dark money" vs. donor privacy. Full Story
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The comptroller's office recently researched the accuracy of its two-year revenue estimates going back 40 years and five comptrollers. Comptroller Susan Combs' 2011 forecast has become an issue in this year's race to replace her. Full Story
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A coalition of conservative groups set forth a strict proposal for the state’s fiscal future, emphasizing hard spending caps to limit the size of government, with the release Tuesday of a budget report from the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Full Story
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The experts say the state has plenty of tax revenue coming in, thanks to a thriving economy. Even so, lawmakers are asking state agencies to propose budget cuts before next year's legislative session. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, State Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, a candidate for Texas comptroller in 2014, talked about the process of calculating available state revenue every two years and how he'll work to get a more accurate estimate. Full Story
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Lawmakers have a hard job when money is tight and they're writing state budgets. It's even harder when they have all the money they need. Full Story
At our 4/17 TribLive conversation, Mike Collier, the Democratic nominee for Texas comptroller in 2014, talked about how he'd produce a more accurate estimate of state revenue — and why it's important. Full Story
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Not everybody who is upset with property taxes wants them abolished. A new group that started in Houston wants to increase appraised values on commercial property. Full Story
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With expectations that state lawmakers will have a budget surplus of several billion dollars, lawmakers, activists and business groups are already discussing what to do with the money. Full Story
Replacing property taxes with sales taxes sounds simple, but would have huge consequences for the state's school districts and for other local governments. Full Story
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The former Houston mayor and past Democratic candidate for governor on his new book, a history of federal debt spending and the future of the Democratic Party in Texas. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Debra Medina, a candidate for Texas comptroller in 2014, talked about a possible shift away from property taxes and toward sales taxes — and the implications for the state budget. Full Story
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