WEEKLY REPORT
November 11, 2011
Nearly all states cut Medicaid payments as stimulus runs out
Fourteen states and the District of Columbia cut Medicaid physician pay for fiscal year 2011, down from 20 states in fiscal 2010. But continuing state budget deficits could lead to more new fee cuts than those already adopted for fiscal 2012, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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Government by Lawsuit Gives Cover to Texas Lawmakers
Judges have been telling legislators what to do since we set up government to replace knife fights and bar brawls. It’s a logical way to get things done: elect people to represent you, and set up a system of redress to keep them in check.
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Children’s Health Program Opened To Low-Income State Employees
At least six states have opened their Children’s Health Insurance Programs to the kids of low-income state employees, an option that was prohibited until the passage of the 2010 health law.
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‘Obamacare’ contains money for Texas prisoners’ health care
State officials looking for ways to cut the skyrocketing costs of providing health care for Texas convicts are now looking to an unlikely source: the federal health care law signed last year by President Barack Obama.
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Empire Building
The Koch brothers have bankrolled a broad attack on progressive government programs. Their grandfather’s history in Texas helps explain why.
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Oil and gas agency changes gun policy
Texas Railroad Commission employees may now carry concealed firearms on duty, the three members of the commission decided unanimously Tuesday.
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Most state amendments pass bond; bond, water measures fail
Texas voters approved constitutional amendments Tuesday that will allow new cooperation between cities and counties, give the governor more power to issue pardons and enable the state to borrow more money for student loans.
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Budget, tax issues loom for Legislature
Schools, highways and taxes three weighty issues that have long bedeviled Texas leaders will dominate the 2013 legislative session, veteran legislators told business leaders Tuesday.
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Blog: Sales tax receipts grow by 16 percent in October
Comptroller Susan Combs said Wednesday that state sales tax receipts last month were $1.87 billion, a 15.9 percent increase over collections in October 2010.
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Opinion: Texas Youth Commission made a bad hire
Psychologist Walter Quijano has become notorious for testifying as a prosecution witness in Texas capital murder trials that black defendants are more likely to commit future violence than other ethnic groups. Now it turns out that he has also been on the payroll of the Texas Youth Commission for years, evaluating youthful offenders at TYC facilities in East Texas.
(View complete article here.)
Poor history curriculum threatens Texas’ future
Instead of working to further education, the Texas State Board of Education has made curriculum decisions that contribute to historical illiteracy and pick taxpayer pockets, a report issued this month by the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Board asserts.
(View complete article here.)
Texas lawmakers push for tax reform in 2013
Legislative leaders warned Tuesday of a bleak future for Texas roads, water supplies and other basic needs if steps aren’t taken to ensure the state has the money to maintain them.
(View complete article here.)
With voting maps in flux, Senate races still shaping up
Competitive races for the Texas Senate are popping up around the state, and two of the hottest will determine who will represent most of Tarrant County in the Capitol’s upper chamber.
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Poverty rates up in most U.S. states, cities
Mississippi and New Mexico had the highest poverty rates, with more than one out of every five people in each state living in poverty. Mississippi’s poverty rate led, at 22.4 percent, followed by New Mexico at 20.4 percent.
(View complete article here.)
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