At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Reps. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth; Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford; and Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, talked about the coming race for lieutenant governor and whom they'd back in a Cruz-Perry presidential primary showdown.

Todd Staples has served as Texas' agriculture commissioner since 2007. Before that, he served as a state representative for House District 11 from 1997-2000 and as a state senator for Senate District 3 from 2001-2005. He has announced his intention to run for lieutenant governor in 2014. A former rancher and businessman, Staples graduated with honors from Texas A&M University with a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics.

This event was recorded before a live audience in Austin on May 2, 2013. Our TribLive events feature discussion with our honored guests followed by questions from the audience. For more information on Tribune events, please visit http://www.texastribune.org/events/.

At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples explained his strong reluctance to use money from the Rainy Day Fund to jump-start the state water plan.

At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples reaffirmed his intention to run for lieutenant governor in 2014 — regardless of what incumbent David Dewhurst does.

Some Texas lawmakers and stakeholders are taking issue with aspects of the federal immigration reform bill filed last week, with some questioning why the measure was crafted without mechanisms to avoid a future inflow of illegal migration.

The Texas agriculture commissioner on his book and campaign to highlight what he sees as a crisis on the border, his opinions on which immigration policies work and which don't, and why Americans shouldn't believe it when they are told the border is secure.