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Ross Ramsey co-founded The Texas Tribune in 2009 and served as its executive editor until his retirement in 2022. He wrote regular columns on politics, government and public policy. Before joining the Tribune, he was editor and co-owner of Texas Weekly. He did a 28-month stint in government with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Before that, he reported for the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Times Herald, as a Dallas-based freelancer for regional and national magazines and newspapers, and for radio stations in Denton and Dallas.
The latest fight over local control in the Texas Legislature is a rerun: Conservative lawmakers want to bar local governments from hiring lobbyists to represent them in Austin. And their effort has more support than before. Full Story
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Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy wants to build 10 electric plants in Texas, for use when demand peaks or other plants falter. And it’s the first time a price tag has been attached to a remedy since last month’s deadly storm. Full Story
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Texas has seen more mass shootings in the last two years than proven incidents of voter fraud, but legislators are more focused on election law than on gun violence. Full Story
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Fixing immigration and ending hate crimes was hard enough without elected policymakers in Austin and Washington D.C., stoking nativist and racial fears. Full Story
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Speculation that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick might want to be governor someday underestimates his current advantages over the current occupant of that office, Gov. Greg Abbott. Full Story
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One way to check the political mood when the Texas Legislature is meeting is to watch the state's top three leaders — and how their Wednesday breakfasts are going. Full Story
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An unusual appearance by the lieutenant governor at a Senate hearing looked like a tough session for one of Gov. Greg Abbott's appointees — and raised speculation about political tension between the state's top two elected officials. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers expected to be sweating over a very tight budget right now, after strong early signs that the pandemic would stall the economy. But an improved economy and a huge infusion of federal aid is erasing those fears. Full Story
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It's going to be expensive to make sure the state's electricity stays on during winter storms like the one that blacked out most of Texas last month, and the money will come, one way or another, from average Texans. Full Story
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A proposed remodeling of the state’s electricity grid from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller might be more than it seems. It reads like a campaign’s position paper. Full Story
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