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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The Brief: March 27, 2013
The bizarre tale of a prison gang's plot to murder a Texas state senator has quickly come to an end. Full Story
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The Evening Brief: March 26, 2013
Your evening reading: graduation requirements dominate education debate in House; state leaders reaffirm opposition to gay marriage; state representative booked into jail on barratry charges Full Story
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![Rep. Ken King R-Canadian, speaks with Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock R-Killeen, as Rep. Gene Wu D-Houston speaks on one of the 165 amendments for HB5 on March 26th, 2013]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Reynolds Booked Into Montgomery County Jail
State Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, walked into the Montgomery County Jail on Tuesday morning to be booked on two counts of barratry. In a statement released Monday night, he maintained his innocence. Full Story
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![Booking photo for State Rep. Ron Reynolds on two counts of barratry into the Montgomery County Jail March 26, 2013.]()
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Legislators Take Up Windstorm Insurance Reform Bills
Legislators, coastal residents and insurance leaders agree it will take a dynamic approach to reform the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. The Senate Business and Commerce Committee discussed four TWIA bills Tuesday. Full Story
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Hot Seat: A Conversation with Fraser and King
At last Friday's Hot Seat conversation at Abilene Christian University, state Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, and state Rep. Susan King, R-Abilene, talked about public education, health care, water, the state budget and other issues in play in the 83rd session. Full Story
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Lawmaker Hopes to Boost Hispanic Civic Engagement
In an attempt to increase civic participation among the state's growing Hispanic population, state Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, has filed a bill to make legislative information from the state House available on the internet in Spanish. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Transparency Bills Draw Strange Bedfellows
This session’s effort to make state government more transparent and ethical — spearheaded by some of the Legislature’s most conservative members and its most liberal ones — has attracted the strangest of bedfellows. Full Story
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Agenda Texas: Water Bill Hits the House Floor
On today's Agenda Texas from KUT News: Bills are flying out of committee and onto the House and Senate floor. This week the House will take up legislation that would fund the state's water plan with $2 billion from the Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
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Arrest Warrant Issued for Reynolds Over Alleged Barratry Scheme
Nearly a month after the Harris County DA dropped barratry charges against Rep. Ron Reynolds, the Montgomery County DA has issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with an alleged quarter-million-dollar kickback scheme. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
Bill Could Reduce Number of Abortion Facilities
A bill advancing through the state Legislature could drastically decrease the number of legal abortion facilities in the state. Full Story
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![A nurse explains to a patient the effects of taking the abortion pill at Whole Woman's Health Surgical Center in San Antonio, Tuesday, March 19, 2013. Proposed state legislation would create greater restrictions on abortion facilities. Only five of the existing facilities offering abortions would meet the standards.]()
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Texas Weekly Newsreel: Term Limits, DNA Testing, Armed Teachers
This week in the Newsreel: The flap between University of Texas regents and UT-Austin President Bill Powers rages on, Attorney General Greg Abbott calls for pre-trial DNA testing for capital cases and legislators are talking of arming teachers in public schools. Full Story
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Video: State Lawmakers Again Attempting to Declare Sovereignty
Some Texas lawmakers are renewing an effort to make Texas’ stance on Washington policies official through resolutions reaffirming the state’s sovereignty. Full Story
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TribLive: A Conversation with Three Freshmen
Full video of Ross Ramsey's 3/21 TribLive conversation with three first-term lawmakers: state Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, and state Reps. Scott Turner, R-Frisco, and Gene Wu, D-Houston. Full Story
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Sequester Cuts Could Hit Special Ed, Poor Students
The automatic federal spending cuts known as the sequester could hit special education and programs for low-income students hardest. And state lawmakers are unlikely to come up with cash to fill the federal hole. Full Story
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![Stacy Ford taking her daughter, Aurora, who is 11 years old and has Down Syndrome, to school on Tuesday, March 19, 2013.]()
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An Insurance Regulator With 10 Weeks to Go
Eleanor Kitzman, the state's insurance commissioner, will be out of a job at the end of the session if she's not reappointed by Gov. Rick Perry and approved by the Texas Senate. Full Story
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Democratic Strategist Has Big Wins, Little Patience
After successfully leading the bruising campaigns for two state senators and a state representative, Terrysa Guerra, an unassuming Democratic strategist, has emerged as a secret weapon for her party. Full Story
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Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
The Brief: March 22, 2013
He's been out of office for months, but one of Ron Paul's pet issues — gold — may be gaining traction in the Texas Legislature. Full Story
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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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House Committee Backs Budget That Includes More School Funding
The $193.8 billion budget approved by the House Appropriations Committee includes an extra $2.5 billion for public education. The bill is smaller than the Senate budget by about $1.7 billion. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich
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