TribBlog: Paxton Announces For Speaker
State Rep. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, is throwing his hat in the ring to be the next speaker of the House. Full Story
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Interactive: Senate Office Spending
State senators reduced the amount they spent on office expenses by $830,000 this year, or an average of nearly $26,000 per senator, an analysis by The Texas Tribune found. Full Story
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The Weekly TribCast: Episode 54
In this week's TribCast, Evan, Ross, Elise and Ben look ahead to the next legislative session — the bills, the two-thirds rule and division in Republican ranks. Full Story
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TribBlog: Straus to Chisum: "Have You No Shame?"
The speaker's race drama continues! House Speaker Joe Straus is hitting back — hard — at challenger state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, calling on Chisum to "stop the threatening letters, mean-spirited emails, and angry phone calls." Full Story
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![House Speaker Joe Straus and the man in the running to unseat him, state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa.]()
Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller/Bob Daemmrich -
TribBlog: Chisum Wants Straus Pledges [Updated]
"Republican to Republican, I have to ask the Speaker to 'Let our people go,'" said speaker candidate state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa. It's the latest salvo in an ongoing back-and-forth between the two speaker candidates. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
TribBlog: Hughes Leaves Team Straus [Updated]
The latest defection from Speaker Joe Straus' list of supporters is state Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, who claims the speaker's team is "using the redistricting process as retribution." Full Story
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The Most Unpopular Fraction
Whatever the size of their majority in the Texas House, Republicans in the Texas Senate have to contend with the rule requiring two-thirds of members to agree to bring a bill up for vote. That's 21 out of 31 — and there are only 19 Republicans in the upper chamber. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, some in the GOP want the rule changed. Full Story
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A Tsunami of GOP Bills
Monday was the first day that state lawmakers could file bills for the 2011 session. As Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the substance of the legislation is a reflection of conservative success on Election Day. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Crackdown Begins
Republican state lawmakers, buoyed by their party’s resounding victories on Election Day, have filed several bills ahead of the next legislative session that signal how far they're willing to go in tackling illegal immigration. State Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, filed a nine-bill bundle that included a proposal to require picture IDs at polling places. Full Story
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![Newly-elected state Rep. David Simpson at the head of the line to prefile bills on Nov. 8, 2010.]()
Credit: Elise Hu -
Search: Pre-Filed Bills
Following a biennial custom, Texas lawmakers filed hundreds of bills this week ahead of the 82nd legislative session. Use this database to search the bill captions, which contain a lay description of the legislation. Filter the results by a bill's primary author and subject. Full Story
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Credit: Elise Hu -
2010: Donna Howard Wins in a Squeaker
It appears state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, will keep her seat in the Texas House. After overseas ballots were counted Monday, the final vote tally gave Howard a 16-vote victory over Republican challenger Dan Neil. Full Story
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![State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, and her GOP challenger, Dan Neil.]()
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HuTube: First to File
It's the first day to prefile bills for the next legislative session, and lawmakers lined up early to get in their legislation. (Some lawmakers were more eager than others.) Our latest HuTube post has the action from inside the House clerk's office. Full Story
![Newly-elected state Rep. David Simpson at the head of the line to prefile bills on Nov. 8, 2010.]()
Credit: Elise Hu -
What 99 Means
When a party wins everything, as the GOP has in Texas this year, it gets almost everything its way. It also has everything to lose. Full Story
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No More Medicaid?
Some Republican lawmakers are proposing an unprecedented solution to the state’s massive budget shortfall: opting out of the federal Medicaid program. But experts say the rhetoric may be more of a middle finger to Washington than sound public policy. Full Story
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TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
Our wall-to-wall Election Day coverage — complete results up and down the ballot and county by county, the all-hands-on-deck Trib team on the Republican tsunami, my conversation with George W. Bush's media adviser and Rick Perry's pollster about what happened on Tuesday, Stiles and Ramsey on what 194 candidates spent per vote this election cycle, Hu on how the GOP rout will affect the substance of the next legislative session, Hamilton on the Texas Democratic Trust's unhappy end, Ramshaw and Stiles profile the new arrivals at the Capitol in January, M. Smith on what's next for Chet Edwards and Ramsey and me on six matters of politics and policy we're thinking about going forward — plus Thevenot and Butrymowicz on a possible solution to the high school dropout problem: The best of our best from Nov. 1 to 5, 2010. Full Story
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TribBlog: Straus on the Offensive
House Speaker Joe Straus is moving quickly to squelch any talk of a speaker's race. His office released two letters this afternoon — one from conservative leaders expressing support for him, and another that emphasizes his strengths as House leader. Full Story
![House Speaker Joe Straus and the man in the running to unseat him, state Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa.]()
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TribBlog: Ethics Reform a Nudge at Hodge?
Embattled former Dallas state Rep. Terri Hodge hasn't even finished serving her year in prison for lying on her tax returns. But her successor, freshman Democratic Rep. Eric Johnson, is already pledging to file legislation that would prohibit lawmakers who commit felonies from receiving state pension benefits. Full Story
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![Democrat Eric Johnson campaigns to replace incumbent Dallas Rep. Terri Hodge in House District 100. Hodge has pleaded guilty to lying on her tax return.]()
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TribBlog: Kuempel Dead [Updated]
State Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, died this morning of an apparent heart attack. He was taken to Austin's Brackenridge Hospital with heart problems; an aide in his Capitol office said his defibrillator went off and said he was taken to the hospital. Full Story
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On the Records: Mapping GOP Gains
Texas is — at least geographically — more red after Tuesday's GOP wave. Full Story
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The Speaker in a Squeaker?
Tuesday's elections gave Republicans a nearly two-thirds majority in the Texas House — and, with it, the power to do just about whatever they want in the next legislative session. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, the party faithful are battling over who should lead the lower chamber. Full Story
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