The latest budget news from The Texas Tribune.
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
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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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Full video of my 1/23 TribLive conversation with U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, the chairman of the House Budget Committee. Full Story
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Texas ended its fiscal year in September with a $2.6 billion surplus and lawmakers could enter the 2015 legislative session with $8 billion in its Rainy Day Fund, Comptroller Susan Combs reported Thursday. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, a 2014 candidate for comptroller, explained his 83rd session vote against the state budget. Full Story
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The state's proposal to convert some paved roads back to gravel has invisible counterparts in other areas of the state budget. But it's apparently safer to talk about transportation problems. Full Story
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Most state lawmakers have been focusing on transportation funding these days. But several of them have their eyes on a different prize: convincing voters to support putting dollars aside for water projects. Full Story
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On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: State Rep. Van Taylor, R-Plano, who spent much of the session pushing for tighter budget constraints and tax cuts, discusses his budget philosophy this session. Full Story
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Texas legislators might eventually get the transportation funding bill the governor asked them for, but it's not the stuff parades are made of: They've already blown two chances. Full Story
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The state's abortion and health care policies intersect in the budget — even though that might not always be part of the debate — and the budget is where the impact of decisions on abortion and Medicaid will be revealed. Full Story
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State Comptroller Susan Combs says her office doesn't have the resources to update a 2006 study of the economic impact of Texas' undocumented immigrant population. Full Story
The feud between Senate Finance Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, and Senate Education Chairman Dan Patrick, R-Houston, grew more heated Friday. Full Story
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When a fellow senator voted against the state budget because certain programs weren't funded, he forgot to mention that he was directly responsible for those funding decisions. Full Story
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Texas voters favor banning abortions after 20 weeks of a pregnancy, but they remain split on the permissibility of abortions in the state, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
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