New Homes Get Smaller as Builders Rethink Their Approach
from The Los Angeles Times via The Austin-American Statesman
The Terraces subdivision contains rows of 2,000-plus-square-foot homes appointed with sunken tubs, granite countertops and tile floors. But as the economy has contracted, so have the homes. The Yuma development soon will be dotted with new 1,700-square-foot houses on narrower lots that retail for more than $100,000 less than their predecessors. More

Senate Passes Tax Break for Small Businesses, DPS Reform
from The Dallas Morning News
Up against a midnight deadline for passing legislation, the Senate on Wednesday approved a big tax break for small businesses and cleared the way for modernization of the troubled Texas Department of Public Safety. Working over scores of bills through the day, senators sought to complete their legislative priorities and resurrect measures that were victims of the partisan fight over voter ID legislation in the House. More

Austin Home Prices Up, Still Dropping Elsewhere
from The Austin Business Journal
Though the rate of decline is slowing in some regions, home prices continue to drop nationwide. But in Austin, home prices actually increased in March compared with the same month last year, according to research from First American CoreLogic. According to First American CoreLogic’s Home Price Index, 33 states saw home prices decline at a faster rate in March. However in the major Texas cities, including the Austin-Round Rock metro area, prices increased. More

House Delivers Blow to Effort for Local Decisions on Taxes for Road Projects
from The Dallas Morning News
A House vote Wednesday may dash North Texas leaders' hopes to come out of the 2009 Legislature with authority for counties to seek voter approval for higher taxes to pay for road projects. The House voted 84-59 to urge rejection of any compromise with the Senate that would include the local-option tax proposal, a controversial measure that has emerged as one of the divisive transportation issues of the session. More

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Turner Construction Honored for Comerica HQ Renovation
from The Dallas Business Journal
The Dallas office of Turner Construction Co. has been honored as the recipient of the national Excellence in Construction Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors for the company’s efforts in refurbishing Comerica’s new corporate headquarters in downtown Dallas. More

Perry, Legislators Try to Get Session Back on Track
from The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Gov. Rick Perry met with the Legislature’s top two leaders in an attempt to resurrect stalled legislation providing windstorm insurance coverage for Gulf Coast residents, a move that could avoid a special legislative session. Perry has sent strong signals that he will call lawmakers back to work if they fail to pass the bill in the current 140-day regular session that ends on June 1. The measure is one of hundreds that died without action at midnight Tuesday after five days of partisan gridlock in the House of Representatives. More

Texas Manufacturers are Optimistic
from The San Antonio Business Journal
Executives working in Texas’ manufacturing sector believe business could improve later in the year, despite the fact that activity in the manufacturing sector remains weak at the moment and did not improve between the months of April and May. More

Texas House Runs Out Clock on Voter ID Bill, Federal Stimulus Money for Unemployment
from The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
A controversial voter-identification bill perished along with possibly hundreds of other bills this morning in a partisan dispute in the state House of Representatives. As a critical midnight deadline passed, Republicans also succeeded in blocking legislation to allow the state to accept $555 million in federal stimulus money rejected by Gov. Rick Perry. Democrats brought up the bill about 15 minutes before midnight, but Republicans ran out the clock with an amendment by Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford). More

Senator Says Veto Override Bill Faces Perry-Dewhurst Conspiracy
from The Dallas Morning News
A Republican senator says Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst are conspiring to kill a constitutional amendment that would allow the Legislature to meet when necessary to override a governor's vetoes. Sen. Jeff Wentworth, speaking with unusual candor against powerhouses in the Capitol, said Dewhurst betrayed a trust as the Senate's presiding officer to deal fairly and address bills that have the support of two-thirds of the 31-member Senate. Wentworth (R-San Antonio) said he had collected the signatures of 26 Senate supporters for the constitutional proposal, but Dewhurst told him that at the behest of the governor, he would not call up the bill for debate. More

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