A pair of House committee hearings are attracting a lot of interest at the State Capitol this afternoon.
The House Appropriations Committee is expected to take up debate on whether to tap the state's Rainy Day Fund to help fill the budgetary shortfall facing Texas for the current fiscal year. Thanh Tan of KUT's political reporting partner, the Texas Tribune, tells us the committee room is packed.
Meanwhile, down the hall, the House Select Committee on Elections is hearing from both sides in the disputed House District 48 election from last November. A Special Master's report concluded that Democratic incumbent Donna Howard beat Republican Dan Neil by four votes. But KUT's Ben Philpott Tweeted from the hearing room, "Dan Neil's lawyer says Neil lost by 4 votes according to Special Master report. He's got 5 'illegal' Howard votes to show committee today."
We'll have more on both stories this afternoon during All Things Considered, starting at 4:00 p.m. and on kut.org.
