A damning state audit released Thursday found the Texas Enterprise Fund — an economic incentive program long championed by Gov. Rick Perry — was riddled with weak oversight policies. One finding was that $170 million was awarded to recipients that never formally applied for the funds.

Perry's legal team asked for the governor to be excused from all future non-evidentiary hearings in advance of his trial on felony charges related to his veto of funding for the Public Integrity Unit. An Oct. 13 hearing conflicts with a Perry speaking engagement the next day in England. The special prosecutor in the case, Michael McCrum, opposed the request.

The head of the Public Integrity Unit confirmed that an investigation of GOP attorney general nominee Ken Paxton would not proceed until after the November elections. The complaint filed against Paxton keys off his being disciplined by the Texas State Securities Board for failing to register as a solicitor for a financial services firm.