House Members Prepare for Long Budget Debate
Texas House members are expected to debate well into the night Thursday as they take up the lower chamber's budget proposal, which includes 267 amendments. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman / Bob Daemmrich / Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Zerwas: House Medicaid Reform Bill Will Incorporate Williams' Plan
UPDATED: Rep. John Zerwas confirmed Wednesday that he will incorporate into his own Medicaid reform bill a proposal by Sen. Tommy Williams to use premium tax revenue to subsidize private health policies for the uninsured. Full Story
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![Senate Finance Chairman Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, holds a copy of the state budget on the Senate floor March 20, 2013.]()
Credit: Marjorie K Cotera -
Texas Unemployment Up Slightly in February
Texas added 80,600 new jobs in February, but the state's unemployment rate still increased slightly to 6.8 percent. Full Story
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Nutrition Benefits a Mixed Bag for Markets
About 50 Texas farmers markets take SNAP benefits, WIC benefits or both. The programs are not well utilized, but proponents say it's important to provide as many healthy food options as possible for Texans who use nutrition benefits. Full Story
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![Tiger Whitehead and his children Logic and Domnick, who used SNAP and the Sustainable Food Center Farmer's Market double dollars coupons, shops at the farmer's market at 2835 East MLK Blvd. in Austin on March 19, 2013.]()
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House Budget Spends More Than Senate's on Schools, Less on Medicaid
Both the House and Senate are proposing spending about $194 billion over the next two years. But there are key differences between the two plans. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Perry, Some Lawmakers Want Gold Back in Texas
Call it the Rick Perry gold rush: The governor wants to bring the state’s gold reserves back from a New York vault to Texas. Full Story
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Inside Intelligence: About the Senior Senator...
For this week's nonscientific survey of insiders in politics and government, we asked about exemptions from school property taxes and about the political future of U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Full Story
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Gallego to GOP: Sequester Hurts Border Security, Economy
U.S. Rep. Pete Gallego is taking his GOP colleagues to task on sequestration. In a letter, the freshman congressman tells border hawks they can’t be for the continued sequester and for increased border security at the same time. Full Story
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GOP Senator Challenging His Party on Debt, Taxes
State Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, is engaged in a long-term campaign to convince his fellow legislators that the state's bond debt is an urgent problem and that tax increases are part of a conservative solution. Full Story
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![Kevin Eltife in his office in 2013, when he was a state senator. Eltife now serves as a member of the University of Texas System Board of Regents.]()
Credit: Tamir Kalifa -
The Polling Center: California's Conservative Migration to Texas
The wave of migrants coming from California are coming for the economy, and it is not safe to assume this is a pack of West Coast liberals who want to change Texas politics. Full Story
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Interactive Map: Poverty Estimates by County
Use our interactive to determine which Texas counties have the lowest and highest rates of poverty, broken down by race — a tool designed with data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey. Full Story
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UT/TT Poll: Most Texans Say U.S. on Wrong Track
Texas voters remain concerned about the economy and immigration, according to the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. And three out of five Texas voters said the U.S. is on the wrong track. Full Story
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Texas Stretch of Keystone XL Pipeline Progressing
The 485-mile Oklahoma-to-Texas leg of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline is about half done and should be operational by late this year or early 2014, according to officials from TransCanada, the company building it. Full Story
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![Pipe sections in Illinois await crews to weld and bury them during construction in 2009. This segment of the $12 billion Keystone pipeline project has already been built; a proposed pipeline through Texas still awaits government permits.]()
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Perry Targets California Businesses, and Jerry Brown Isn't Impressed
Rick Perry wants to lure businesses from California to Texas. Jerry Brown wants to keep them in California. It's an entertaining partisan and cultural battle, but with substance at its core. Full Story
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Watson Has Tough Words for Combs, Tax Subsidy Programs
Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, criticized Republican Comptroller Susan Combs on Wednesday, saying she had a “cavalier” approach to doling out millions of dollars in tax incentives, including the award eventually granted to the promoters of F1 auto racing. Full Story
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Perry Calls for More Funds for I-69 Project
A planned interstate highway stretching from South Texas to Michigan remains decades away, but Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that lawmakers should find more money for the project and ones like it. Full Story
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![Traffic along US 77 between Driscoll and Kingsville, Texas. A 10-mile stretch of this road from Kingsville to Driscoll is right now a simple state highway with cross-traffic and stop lights. About $50 million is going to be used to upgrade it to interstate highway standards. 6/4/12]()
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Groups Bank on United Front in Gambling Push
Despite strong resistance inside and outside the Legislature, groups representing gambling interests hope that a collaborative approach can help them make a breakthrough this legislative session. Full Story
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In Radio Ads, Perry Reaches Out to California Businesses
On radio stations throughout much of California, Gov. Rick Perry is promoting the business climate in Texas and encouraging Californians to move. Full Story
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Good Times or Bad, the Budget Remains Tight
When money was tight two years ago, the state's top budget writers employed cutbacks and accounting tricks to balance the budget. Money is flowing again, but the budget folks are still finding it easy to say no. Full Story
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Ethics Commission Declines to Raise Legislators' Session Pay
There will be no pay raise for legislators this year. The Texas Ethics Commission, at the urging of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus, declined to raise the per diem payments lawmakers get when they're in session. Full Story
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Credit: Michael Stravato
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