Voter ID Hearing Displays Partisan Split
from The Dallas Morning News
Democrats and Republicans on a House committee staked out their opposing arguments on voter ID legislation Monday as the panel heard from expert witnesses. House Elections Committee Chairman Todd Smith, R-Euless, tried to strike a bipartisan tone as the panel began a public hearing on the legislation, saying the nine lawmakers on the committee were all interested in preventing voter fraud in Texas. More

Conservative Activists: Use of Federal Aid Will Cost Texas Jobs
from The Dallas Morning News
Conservative activists, unable to persuade key lawmakers to shun stimulus money, say the Legislature’s acceptance of federal aid will cost Texas jobs. The stimulus package will increase government spending and “crowd out” private investment, denying Texas between 130,000 and 170,000 jobs, according to a study unveiled today by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank. More

Recession May Force Border Plan Cut
from The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The widening recession could put a damper on Gov. Rick Perry’s plans to spend more than $134 million to beef up security along the Texas-Mexico border, legislators said. Although a proposed state budget passed by the Texas Senate last week exceeds that request by nearly $3 million, lawmakers may have to scale it back based on revenue estimates due this month. More

Drillers to Get Highway Right of Way?
from The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
A compromise advancing through the state Legislature would allow drilling companies in the Barnett Shale to place pipelines along state highway rights of way as an alternative to routing them through residential neighborhoods. More

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Proposed Solar Panel Loan Program
from The Austin American-Statesman
State Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, says a solar power measure he has proposed is not only good policy, it's personal. He told a House Energy Resources subcommittee last week that the measure would create a loan system to help homeowners like him pay for pricey rooftop solar panels.The proposal would give cities and counties the power to create "emissions management districts" with bonding authority that could offer loans to homeowners for energy-efficiency projects, such as solar panels, solar water heaters or small wind turbines. More

2006 Governor's Race Lawsuit Back in Court
from The Austin American-Statesman
In the final weeks of the 2006 campaign for governor, Republican incumbent Rick Perry's campaign attacked Democratic challenger Chris Bell for accepting a seven-figure contribution from a Houston trial lawyer. But about that time, Perry operatives were trying to persuade the national Republican Governors Association to put as much as $2 million into his campaign, knowing that the group was about to get its own seven-figure contribution from a Texas donor. That donor would turn out to be Houston homebuilder Bob Perry. More

Texas 13th in Financial Happiness
from The Dallas Business Journal
Texas ranks 13th in a new “Happiness Index,” based on economic well-being in the U.S. The survey, from MainStreet.com, a personal finance site, found that the Midwest was one of the most financially content parts of the country. Nebraska ranked No. 1, followed by Iowa, Kansas, Hawaii and Louisiana. More

Feds Vow to End Scams Targeting Homeowners
from El Paso Times
Federal officials have announced a broad crackdown on companies that sell fraudulent help to homeowners struggling with mortgage debt and eviction notices. "We will shut down fraudulent companies more quickly than before," U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said at a news conference. "We will target companies that otherwise would have gone unnoticed under the radar." More

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