The latest budget news from The Texas Tribune.
State budget leaders adopted unified proposals for several areas of the budget on Monday morning but said they are still working on the two largest pieces: education and health and human services. Full Story
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In the latest Texas Weekly Newsreel: With less than three weeks left in the legislative session, the deadlines are coming fast and furious, raising the stakes and prompting whispers of a special session if things don't get finished. Full Story
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Greg Abbott’s letter doesn’t have any new information in it, but the timing takes away what some — probably those further from the budget conversations than closer — saw as a possible solution for the Legislature’s financial logjam. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Reps. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth; Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford; and Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, explained their objection to dipping into the Rainy Day Fund to jump-start the state water plan. Full Story
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Spending from the state's Rainy Day Fund does, in fact, count against a constitutional limit on growth in the state budget, Attorney General Greg Abbott advised on Thursday. Full Story
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The betting here is that state finance is the closing drama of the session and that in spite of the sharper debates here at the end, that everybody goes home singing Kumbaya. Full Story
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The legislative session is in its last month and most bills will die. But setbacks for the big stuff — water, transportation and the like — are usually temporary. Full Story
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Budget decisions revolve around numbers, but talking about money is just a way to talk about policy. Consider the case of volunteer fire departments. Full Story
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UPDATED: Officials from more than a dozen hospital systems will gather at the Capitol with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on Friday to try to iron out a solution to how they are reimbursed for uncompensated care. Full Story
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A $250 million franchise and sales tax exemption for business research and development won tentative approval from the House on Wednesday. A similar exemption expired in 2006. Full Story
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House members on Wednesday passed two bills that take aim at the practice of budget diversions, in which fees collected for specific purposes are used in another manner. The measures now go to the Senate. Full Story
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The best way to finance Texas' pressing water and transportation needs — and to supplement spending on public education — is to let voters decide whether to use the state's Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
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The day after the leading measure to fund state water projects stumbled in the House, legislators shifted their focus to a bill that some members hope will also include money for education. Full Story
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The rough seas that sank the Texas House's attempt to fund the state water plan on Monday night with a $2 billion draw on the Rainy Day Fund highlighted the limits of consensus on both how to pay for water development and whether it's a top priority. Full Story
Besides boosting the economies of remote towns, the shale boom has big implications for the Texas economy and budget. Already, taxes on oil and gas production have soared above the comptroller’s estimates. Full Story
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On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: With just four weeks left in the legislative session, Gov. Rick Perry has jumped into the fight over spending billions on water, transportation and business tax cuts. Full Story
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Two years ago, lawmakers couldn't find the money they needed to run the government they had promised their voters. Now they have the money — and a completely different set of political problems. Full Story
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With less than a month remaining in the legislative session, Gov. Rick Perry met with the Texas House GOP Caucus and talked to reporters about his support for a bill that would draw $2 billion from the Rainy Day Fund for water infrastructure needs. Full Story
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A bill that would draw $2 billion for water projects from the Rainy Day Fund is set to hit the House floor Monday afternoon. The debate could turn to focus on what it means to be a fiscal conservative in the Tea Party era. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry is warning state legislators that it could be a long, hot summer in Austin if they don’t pass his top priorities: funding water and transportation projects and cutting business taxes. Full Story
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