Our political reporting partner, the Texas Tribune, is live streaming the House floor as lawmakers debate several key pieces of budget legislation. The Trib's Thanh Tan is also live blogging the debate.
So what's going on? Lawmakers are trying to close the $4 billion budget gap that exists in the current biennium (2010-11) before they can move on to the next budget bill (2012-13) that will tackle a shortfall as high as $27 billion. Two pieces of legislation are front and center: House Bill 4, which includes $1.5 billion in spending cuts and $600 million for public education, and House Bill 275, which appropriates $3.1 billion from the Rainy Day Fund for the current fiscal year.
