Jockeying continued all week between the House and Senate leadership over the form of tax relief this session. Negotiations on the issue were being closely followed because the impasse could trigger a special session if it is not resolved. The latest word on Thursday, though, was that a deal could be struck before week's end.

The Senate referred the House's border security bill for a hearing early next week, a signal that the two chambers have forged a deal on passing legislation on the topic declared a legislative priority by Abbott earlier this year.

Facing a midnight deadline in the House to take initial votes on that chamber's bills, Democrats dragged their feet, working to delay a vote on a bill forbidding the use of state or local funds to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation this week approving a measure that would ensure that some high school seniors who fail to pass state exams can seek an alternate route to graduation.

Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday boosted University of Texas System Regent Wallace Hall's efforts to dig into admissions at UT-Austin by siding with Hall in a dispute over whether regents can have access to confidential student records. Even after that ruling, though, Hall was told that he can't see confidential student information related to admissions.

The controversy over the secret videorecording project of lawmakers by the American Phoenix Foundation escalated further on Sunday after the disclosure that a copy of the footage had been shared with Breitbart Texas. As the week unfolded, Texas Rangers had become involved as the videographers were confronted more and more frequently by Capitol reporters and lobbyists.