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• The Week in Texas Politics Recap: March 28—April 1

  By Justin Dehn April 1, 2011

  No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome. Full Story 

• Video: Lawmakers React to Budget Bills; Look Ahead to HB1 Battle

  By Justin Dehn and Thanh Tan March 31, 2011

  State Reps. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, and Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, react to the passage of HB4 and HB275, and preview of the upcoming battle over HB1, the House's bare-bones general appropriations plan for the next biennium. Full Story 

• TribLive: Don't Cut Public Ed, Thompson Says

  By Evan Smith March 31, 2011

  At this morning's TribLive conversation, state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, the longest-serving woman, African American and Democrat in the Texas House, forcefully argued that state funding of public education should not be cut — unless school districts are made to tap into their own reserves. Full Story 

• VIDEO: GOP Freshman Lawmakers Discuss Tea Party Influence, Budget Clout

  By Justin Dehn and Thanh Tan March 31, 2011

  Thirty new GOP state lawmakers took office this year, promising their constituents they'd cut the fat out of government. As the House prepares to vote on a slew of budget bills on Thursday and Friday, this freshman bloc is showing some clout. Full Story 

• Jack Pratt: The TT Interview

  By Justin Dehn March 29, 2011

  Jack Pratt, chairman of the Texas Gaming Association, has tried for years to convince Texas lawmakers to let voters decide whether to allow casinos in the state. He's back again, proposing a combination of casinos, "racinos" (racetracks with slot machines), and Indian casinos that he and his economists say would bring more than $1.2 billion into the state treasury every year. We asked Pratt about the new proposal, the political environment, and the odds. Full Story 

• AUDIO SLIDESHOW: Touring the Texas Prison Museum

  By Caleb Bryant Miller March 28, 2011

  Former "Walls Unit" warden Jim Willett narrates a photographic tour of the Texas Prison Museum, where he is the executive director. Full Story 

• John Silber: The TT Interview

  By Reeve Hamilton March 25, 2011

  The outspoken former UT dean and Boston University president on higher education's past, present and future — including his opinion of U.S. News & World Report rankings, and Howard Zinn and online degree programs. Full Story 

• House, Senate Budget Battle Looming

  By Justin Dehn and Thanh Tan March 25, 2011

  This week, we saw signs Senate budget writers may be willing to spend more than their counterparts in the House. Meanwhile, a new analysis of the House budget's possible effects on Texas jobs raised eyebrows. Full Story 

• The Week in Texas Politics Recap: March 21 to March 25

  By Justin Dehn March 25, 2011

  No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome. Full Story 

• Amendments, Emotion Dominate Texas Voter ID Debate

  By Justin Dehn March 23, 2011

  House Democrats unsuccessfully fired off a half-dozen points of order challenging several provisions in the voter ID bill all in an effort to halt or alter the controversial legislation. Republicans expressed exasperation at the Democrats' attempts to stall the legislation. Full Story 

• Classrooms A Priority

  By Justin Dehn March 23, 2011

  Republican senators say the state's budget shortfall will mean educations cuts, but they said schools should focus first on eliminating non-classroom expenses and keeping as many teachers as possible. Full Story 

• Marc Mauer: The TT Interview

  By Brandi Grissom March 23, 2011

  The Tribune sat down recently with national criminal justice expert Marc Mauer, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based reform advocacy group The Sentencing Project, to get his advice about how Texas can continue on its so-called 'right on crime' path even as lawmakers slice millions from the state budget. Mauer, who was in Austin for the Barbara Jordan Symposium at the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs, talked about how other states have handled controversial prison closings, how others have reduced criminal justice costs and how the Right On Crime Movement — with support from conservative leaders like Grover Norquist and Newt Gingrich — might give lawmakers the political freedom to be more than tough when it comes to crime. Full Story