The Weekly TribCast: Episode 63
In this week's TribCast, Ross, Elise, Ben and Reeve discuss budget numbers, Senate rules, the U.S. Senate race and the inaugural buzz heard around Austin. Full Story
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Michael Williams Sizes Up Senate Race
Michael Williams is leaving the Railroad Commission in April and preparing to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. In an interview today with the Trib's Ross Ramsey, he talked about the 2012 race and about his confidence that minorities don't face any special hurdles in Texas GOP primaries. Full Story
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TribBlog: LBB: State Must Improve Care For Disabled
The way Texas is currently providing care for people with disabilities — keeping all its state institutions in operation, despite increasing demand for community-based care — is not cost effective, and should be changed, according to an analysis released by the Legislative Budget Board on Wednesday. Full Story
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![Austin State-Supported Living Center employee Tamika Mays is shown with resident Rebecca Hadnot in 2011.]()
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TribBlog: The Drilling Grilling
More than 40 people crammed into the Texas Railroad Commission’s hearing today on what caused two water wells in Parker County to become contaminated by natural gas. Missing: the Environmental Protection Agency. Full Story
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TribBlog: Innocence Clinics Dodge Budget Bullet, for Now
Texas innocence clinics escaped unscathed from the first round of budget cut recommendations, but at the Capitol today, advocates said they aren't safe yet. Full Story
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Texplainer: Why the Skeleton Staffs at State Offices Today?
Hey, Texplainer: Why are Texas state agencies operating with a skeleton crew today? Well, it's a venerated Texas holiday, of course: Confederate Heroes' Day. How are you celebrating? Full Story
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TribBlog: Pitts Lays Out Budget [Updated]
House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, laid out the grim details of the proposed budget this morning — but said he still thinks lawmakers can be approve the budget during the regular legislative session. Full Story
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Texas Inaugurama
Gov. Rick Perry was sworn in Tuesday for an unprecedented third full term, predicting that historians will look back on this time as the "Texas century." Full Story
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Data App: Bill Tracker
Our latest data app aims to help Texans make sense of the legislative process, tracking bills as they move through the Legislature. Full Story
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A Stiff Cocktail of Budget Cuts
The Texas House has unveiled a $156.4 billion budget that's $31.1 billion smaller than the current two-year spending plan — a drop of 16.6 percent. The proposed budget came with $1.2 billion in recommendations for savings and new revenue from the Legislative Budget Board. Full Story
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Explainer: Bill Tracker App
Watch this tutorial to learn how to use our bill tracker app to explore legislation filed in the Texas House and Senate. Full Story
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Uncut: Perry's Inauguration Speech
Full, unedited video of Gov. Rick Perry's Tuesday inauguration speech. Full Story
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TribBlog: Sparking an Apology
They're sorry, folks. Spark Energy says it's sincerely sorry for causing such a literal roar at this morning's inauguration ceremony. Full Story
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![Spark Energy's banner that flew low above the Texas inauguration on Jan. 18, 2011.]()
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TribBlog: Scrounging for Cash
The Legislative Budget Board has begun distributing (to legislators — not to the public) its recommendations for how to save money and raise money to help balance the 2012-13 state budget. They plan to distribute copies of the budget itself (again, to lawmakers only) later tonight, and all of the documents will be available online to the public tomorrow morning. The details are still coming in, but here are some of the headlines from the LBB's Government Effectiveness and Efficiency Recommendations. Full Story
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TribBlog: Are Tax Holidays Over?
The Legislature's starting budget will apparently include proposals to cancel popular back-to-school sales tax holidays, cut discounts for retailers who remit sales taxes early, allow sales of liquor on Sundays to increase revenue from taxes on alcohol, cut the state's subsidy of dependent insurance premiums for state employees and lower the tax breaks for energy companies that take on certain high-cost gas drilling projects, sources say. Full Story
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On the Records: Inaugural Word Clouds
Texans heard from two familiar pols today: Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. We turned their prepared remarks into word clouds to help visualize the tone and rhetoric of their inaugural speeches at the Capitol. Full Story
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TribBlog: Rick Perry's Inauguration Speech
The full text of Gov. Rick Perry's inauguration speech, as written. Full Story
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TribBlog: David Dewhurst's Inauguration Speech
Here's the full text of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's inauguration speech, as written. Full Story
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TribBlog: Perry's Third Inauguration Liveblog
Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry is set to be sworn in for an unprecedented third term, and a good-sized crowd has turned out for the festivities (and free barbecue). Stay with us for updates from the speech and swearing-in at the Capitol. Full Story
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The Looming Cuts
With some top state leaders warning that Texas' dire fiscal situation will lead to the loss of several thousand state jobs, House budget writers will release their first draft budget today. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, big job cuts may be just the beginning. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman
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