State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte announced Wednesday that she will resign her seat in the Legislature to run for mayor of San Antonio. The Democrat's announcement complicated the mayoral aspirations of state Rep. Mike Villarreal who had previously announced his candidacy. It also set up a showdown between state Reps. Trey Martinez Fischer and José Menéndez to succeed Van de Putte in the Senate.

State Comptroller-elect Glenn Hegar will resign his Senate seat Dec. 5, a day prior to a special election to fill the vacancy. At the end of the filing period for Hegar's seat, three Republicans — state Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, Gary Gates and Charles Gregory III — and two Democrats — Cynthia Drabek and Christian E. Hawkins — had entered the race.

State leaders have agreed to bring back National Guard troops from border surge operations by early Spring of next year. The move was a signal of a shift in emphasis to using Department of Public Safety personnel who have arrest making authority.

Controversy flared again at the State Board of Education over the selection of social studies textbooks with the board ending up deadlocked on a preliminary vote after public testimony demonstrated concerns over perceived biases in the materials. The board is expected to take a final vote on Friday.

The special prosecutor pressing criminal charges against Gov. Rick Perry will not be disqualified from the case over questions around the oath of office he took. A judge ruled Tuesday that the prosecutor was properly sworn into office.

Lt. Gov.-elect Dan Patrick announced his staff hires for the upcoming session, highlighted by his bringing aboard two experienced Capitol hands — Mike Morrissey and Walter Fisher.

A leak of methyl mercaptan gas that killed four workers early Saturday at a LaPorte chemical plant has focused attention on plants' safety records across Texas. One finding is that releases are not uncommon, happening dozens of times in the past two years.