Rick Perry heads into another legislative session, and possibly a 2014 re-election campaign, without many of the trusted aides who helped turn him into a Texas powerhouse. Do they know something we don't know?

Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, criticized Republican Comptroller Susan Combs on Wednesday, saying she had a “cavalier” approach to doling out millions of dollars in tax incentives, including the award eventually granted to the promoters of F1 auto racing.

There will be no pay raise for legislators this year. The Texas Ethics Commission, at the urging of Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus, declined to raise the per diem payments lawmakers get when they're in session.

House Speaker Joe Straus says a new Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations will delve into the finances, compensation packages and public-private partnerships across state government

From Gov. James "Pa" Ferguson's impeachment to the Sharpstown scandal, Texas has weathered mighty ethics controversies. Despite reforms, the Legislature still faces criticism over lax disclosure rules and ties with lobbyists. 

For the seventh time since he became governor in 2000, Gov. Rick Perry will appear before a joint session of the Texas Senate and House on Tuesday to deliver his biennial State of the State speech. 

Ethics reformers are looking to overhaul the personal financial statements state lawmakers must file. The form doesn’t ask for much detail, hasn’t been updated in years and has led to confusion and varying interpretations about what must be revealed.

Thanks to his state pension — the subject of double-dipping controversy — and the sale of an interest in gas wells, Gov. Rick Perry got a pay bump in 2011, according to tax returns he provided to the Tribune.

Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, served 10 years in the Texas House before becoming the longest-serving member of the Texas Senate. Here's a photographic look back at the dean of the Senate's 40 years in elected office in Texas. 

Critics say the dean of the Texas Senate, John Whitmire, D-Houston, is a poster boy for a legislative culture in which real and perceived conflicts of interest are commonplace. Whitmire says he's proud of his four decades in office. 

Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, served 10 years in the Texas House before becoming the longest-serving member of the Texas Senate. Here's a photographic look back at the dean of the Senate's 40 years in elected office in Texas. 

State Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, says he’s found the perfect way for elected officials to put their money where there mouths are when it comes to exercising fiscal restraint: ban "double-dipping" by politicians.

In a joint appearance Wednesday, Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus seemed to agree that taxes would go down. Meanwhile, none would commit to restoring education cuts from last session.

Gov. Rick Perry warned Texas lawmakers not to start making grand plans for the multibillion-dollar budget surplus and the growing Rainy Day Fund.

Gov. Rick Perry's strikingly disastrous presidential bid, U.S. Sen.-elect Ted Cruz's surprisingly successful campaign and a Legislature full of fresh faces were among the top political stories of 2012. Jay Root and Ross Ramsey take a look back.