On Friday, Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and Speaker Joe Straus ordered state agencies to submit plans for additional cuts of 10 percent as the agencies prepare their operating budgets for the next two years. Agencies were instructed to submit their base-line budget requests for the next biennium along with a “supplemental schedule” outlining how they would reduce the base-line requests by 5 percent each year. The plans will be submitted to the governor’s office and the Legislative Budget Board between August 2nd and 30th.
If you are planning to visit the Texas Capitol, getting inside will take a bit longer. Metal detectors have been installed at each entrance. For now, bags are being hand-checked by DPS officers but expect scanning devices to be installed soon. If you are a state employee or have a concealed handgun license, you can avoid the metal detectors and take the “express lane” as it is being called in the news media.