UPDATED: The Supreme Court’s ruling that penalties under the Affordable Care Act qualify as taxes has opened the door to another constitutional challenge, Houston physician and Republican donor Steve Hotze said Tuesday. And he's filing suit. 

Top elected officials wouldn't decide who gets state commercialization grants under a bill that got an early OK in the House. The bill is aimed at alleviating concerns that friends of Rick Perry have been getting preferential treatment.

As gun control discussions heat up at the state and federal level, it's open season on firearm manufacturers' business. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is hoping to bag Beretta USA — currently based in Maryland — and bring it to Texas.

Gov. Rick Perry would beat Attorney General Greg Abbott in a Republican race for governor held today, but a win in that race — if it actually comes to pass — isn't clearly in the hands of either candidate.

At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson explained why he's intent on running for lieutenant governor in 2014 — regardless of whether incumbent David Dewhurst runs.

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.

At this morning's TribLive conversation, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst talked about the ongoing investigation into allegations that a longtime campaign aide stole hundreds of thousands of dollars — or more —from his political accounts.

At this morning's TribLive conversation, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst talked about what he learned in his unsuccessful bid for U.S. Senate.

At this morning's TribLive conversation, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst talked about whether public education funding in Texas is sufficient and where additional money might come from.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst filled out his committee assignments late Friday afternoon, supplementing the chairmanship shuffle he announced late last year. 

In the wake of the Connecticut school shooting, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst called Friday for the state to consider funding specialized firearms training for school employees.

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.

Texas legislators started their 83rd session with leaders who want to focus on water, infrastructure, budget transparency, education — and, perhaps, some tax relief.

Legislators, journalists and others shared thousands of tweets and photos on Tuesday, the first day of the 83rd legislative session. Check out this selection of what they shared.

Criminal prosecutors are investigating allegations that Kenneth "Buddy" Barfield, a top aide to Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from Dewhurst's campaign accounts.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Dan Patrick gave the first details of what they promised would be a wide-ranging set of proposals for public education policy during the upcoming legislative session.

No surprise in Texas' U.S. Senate race: Ted Cruz is headed to Washington. The Tea Party Republican — an underdog in the primary — sailed to victory in Tuesday night's general election against Democrat Paul Sadler.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst upset the normal order of things when he announced his committee leaders four months early. But he did the senators a political favor in the process.