May 30, 2011 Sine Dead: Bizarre End to a Bizarre Session George Christian (the elder), one of the founders of the Texas Association of Taxpayers and former press secretary to President Johnson, used to say, “Just when you think you’ve seen it all, they rear back and show you something new.” This was such a…

Update on the State Budget: The Wheels May Not Be Coming Off, But They Sure Aren’t Moving Much House and Senate budget negotiators have started work to craft their competing versions of the 2011-13 state budget into a consensus bill that can achieve the support of a majority of members of both chambers. Each took…

Budget: Plan B Senate Passes Budget. The Senate yesterday passed their version of the state budget—House Bill 1—in a very unusual procedural move. Typically, a 2/3 vote is necessary to bring up a bill—a hurdle that would require at least 2 of the chamber’s 12 Democrats to support it. Instead, Lt. Governor Dewhurst recognized the…

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Senate Revenue List Unveiled Senator Robert Duncan unveiled his revised version of the Senate’s “fiscal matters” bill—the proposed package of new revenues to help the Senate fund a higher level of spending than that recently approved by the House. The list has been pared significantly from a leaked preliminary version. The draft committee substitute for…