As federal pandemic aid ends and sales tax revenues cool, analysts say it could constrain the Texas Legislature in coming years. But they don’t see an immediate budget crisis on the horizon.
Chris Essig
Chris Essig is the data visuals editor at The Texas Tribune. Based in Austin, he leads a team of developers who build charts, maintain public databases and analyze data to help reporters hold elected officials accountable. Chris has been a newsroom developer for 10 years and has worked in several local newsrooms. As a native of the Midwest, Chris received his journalism degree from Eastern Illinois University and spent six years in Iowa working at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids and at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier in Waterloo.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2025
How couriers changed the playing field of the Texas Lottery
Lottery couriers have gained newfound scrutiny in Texas after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick raised questions about the use of a courier to sell an $83.5 million jackpot ticket.
Posted in
Demographics
These four Texas counties are among the fastest growing in the country
Texas’ population growth has slowed, but the state’s major urban areas are still adding hundreds of thousands of residents.
Posted in
Graphics and data reporting
Here are the biggest stories from our data visuals team in 2024
The Tribune’s data journalists helped visualize everything from voter participation and extreme weather to gaps in the state’s border wall. Here are some of the highlights.
Posted in
Graphics and data reporting
Texas’ uneven population boom is creating ghost towns in many rural counties
Local leaders and rural revitalization experts say Texas’ smallest towns can survive — despite a shift to urban and suburban counties — but it will take investments.
Posted in
T-Squared
Meet our newest journalists: Sandra Santos, Julie Chang and Rob Reid
Santos is our evening news editor, Chang our health and human services editor and Reid our education data developer.
Posted in
Graphics and data reporting
Search the newly updated Government Salaries Explorer
The Texas Tribune’s database of Texas state employees’ compensation is updated to represent salaries as of July 1.
Posted in
Graphics and data reporting
Search the newly updated Government Salaries Explorer
The Texas Tribune’s database of Texas state employees’ compensation is updated to represent salaries as of April 1.
Posted in
Graphics and data reporting
Search the newly updated Government Salaries Explorer
The Texas Tribune’s database of Texas state employees’ compensation is updated to represent salaries as of January 1.
Posted in
Graphics and data reporting
Here are the top stories from our data visuals team in 2023
The Texas Tribune’s data visuals team helped contextualize many of the state’s major stories this year. Here’s a look at some of our most memorable work.