The Texas Senate and House have released their first drafts of the state's next two-year budget. Use this interactive to explore how state spending has grown since 2004.

Both the House and Senate proposed base budgets Monday that will not restore large cuts made to public education in 2011. 

Momentum is growing for Texas lawmakers to commit large amounts of money to address the state's long-term infrastructure needs, particularly water and transportation.

In a wide-ranging interview, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst talked about the state budget, education, immigration, water, transportation, and his hopes and plans for the legislative session that began this week.

Senators approved a new set of rules for the session on Wednesday that will allow a third of the Senate to continue to have the power to keep bills from coming up for a vote. 

The contentious rule that allows a minority of senators to block legislation is again under fire, but Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said the two-thirds rule will continue in the Senate for another session.

A day before the start of the 2013 legislative session, Texas Comptroller Susan Combs delivered much-improved budget news compared with two years ago. Lawmakers will have $101.4 billion for their next two-year budget.

An upcoming expansion of the Panama Canal will boost Texas exports but not do as much for imports, according to a report commissioned by the Texas Department of Transportation.  

Drought, oil and gas production, fast lanes and toll lanes made headlines in 2012 in the Tribune. Here's a look back at the year's biggest stories on energy and the environment and transportation.

Does Texas need a constitutional cap on spending growth to protect it from the whims of future lawmakers or save it from the current ones? Supporters of the proposal are at odds.

TIFIA, a popular transportation-focused federal loan program, has $17 billion ready to dole out and Texas is jumping at the chance to tap billions of dollars in credit.

Despite organized efforts to unseat him, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus said Wednesday he is confident his colleagues will re-elect him to the post so he can focus the 2013 legislative session on “serious issues” for a fast-growing state.

Business leaders and state senators agreed Tuesday that lawmakers should add some accountability mechanisms to the state's network of business incentive programs.

Two legislative committees are set to hold hearings on state programs designed to encourage businesses to invest here, about a week after a New York Times series brought increased attention to Texas' approach to such incentives.

Just like in 2008, Tarrant County voters favored Mitt Romney and President Obama in the same proportion as Texas voters did overall.