Precious days are dwindling away in the first-called special session of the state legislature, leading to speculation that one of the most divisive issues of the regular and special session, the “sanctuary cities” legislation, may not make the deadline.

An Everybody-in-the-Pool effort on what's left to do in the special session, Ramshaw on a doozy of a congressional race shaping up, Aguilar on the debate over sanctuary cities and other immigration proposals, M. Smith on the state's used-up Rainy Day Fund, Grissom on efforts to kick the special interests out of an insurance fight, Dehn and Tan on whether the special session helps or hurts the governor's national ambitions, Galbraith and KUT Radio team up for a series on the long-term outlook for Central Texas water, Aaronson on government attempts to balance openness and privacy with data releases, yours truly on Amazon's run at a sales tax break, and Hamilton on an ethnic gap in higher education: The best of our best from June 20 to 24, 2011.

Not every crowd is an adoring crowd. Gov. Rick Perry got a reality check in San Antonio this week.

A decision on the whether to advance the state’s pending “sanctuary cities” legislation will not be made until Monday, leaving less time for lawmakers to consider the bills before Wednesday’s special session deadline.

Tearful testimony from students brought to the country illegally and a new ICE directive that stresses discretionary enforcement has raised more concerns over the state's pending "sanctuary cities" legislation.

The Tribune counts down to the end of the special session with updates on where the major issues added to the agenda by Gov. Rick Perry stand. 

The controversial Secure Communities initiative, aimed at deporting criminal aliens but criticized for removing mostly minor offenders of lesser crimes, may undergo considerable changes, according to the director of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

One of the most emotional and controversial issues of the year centered around the sanctuary cities bil. Senate Democrats managed to block SB 9 during the regular session, but it's found a new life in the special session. Behind the scenes, some question whether the Democrats are now reaping what they sowed when one of their members pushed the Legislature into overtime. 

Texas peace officers will be allowed to inquire into the immigration status of any person arrested or legally detained under legislation passed by the Texas Senate early Wednesday morning.

Less than a week after Gov. Rick Perry added the measure to the special session agenda, the contentious “sanctuary cities” bill is one step closer to what lawmakers see as its inevitable passage.

In this week's TribCast, Evan, Reeve, Ben and Emily harp on health care, speculate about the special session and respond to The Reponse.

Republican lawmakers in Texas, unfazed by state governments across the country opting out of a controversial immigration enforcement program, are instead seeking to expand it here.

Three contentious and broad-based immigration and homeland security issues have been rolled into one bill filed today by a Republican state senator.

The Trib's multimedia team highlights some of the most memorable — and surprising — moments from the 82nd Legislative Session. Our lawmakers sure do love to make a statement, complete with finger pointing, yelling and props. (Some video courtesy the Texas House, the Texas Senate and legetv.org.)

The system is meant to kill legislation: That’s the old line often heard around the Capitol. As the session's end slams the coffin door on a slew of bills, more than a few lawmakers are taking solace in the fact that their dead bills have lots of company.

Your lawmakers, after 140 days in Austin, didn't finish their budget work for 2012-13 during the legislative session that ended Monday, and Gov. Rick Perry called them back for another crack at it, starting this morning.

At this morning's TribLive conversation, I interviewed three veteran lawmakers — state Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Lake Dallas, state Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, and state Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands — about how they and their GOP colleagues fared this session.

At this morning's TribLive conversation, I asked Sen. Tommy Williams, R-The Woodlands, if sanctuary cities legislation could still be approved in the 82nd Legislative Session.