TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

From the five-day rollout of the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll: Rick Perry would beat Greg Abbott 3-1 in a Republican primary for governor held today; Texans don’t want a lot of new gun laws but would overwhelmingly support mental health and criminal background checks on all gun sales; the federal government is on the wrong track and immigration and border security top state problem lists; Texans’ position on abortion hasn't changed, but they would support a “fetal pain” ban on abortions after 20 weeks; a surcharge based on water use beats a tap fee as a way to finance infrastructure projects; and Republicans and Democrats utterly disagree on whether Texas should have to get federal permission to change its election laws under the Voting Rights Act.

As GOP governors across the country negotiate deals to draw down federal Medicaid dollars, long-resistant Texas Republicans are beginning to consider changes to the health program that might allow the state to tap into the funds. 

Mexico's ruling party says the country's oil monopoly will stay under state control. But on Sunday, the party adopted a platform to allow for private investment in the oil giant, drawing interest among Texas companies.

Texas legislators accidentally increased the penalty for theft of a penny to a state jail felony in 2011. Now, a lawmaker hopes to fix the statute, which was aimed at copper thieves.

State Sen. Ken Paxton has filed a bill that would enact a business tax credit scholarship program touted by state Sen. Dan Patrick and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst at a December media conference.

After months of planning, state Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, and Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, filed bills on Tuesday to overhaul the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and rein in rate hikes on coastal residents.

The amount of water used in hydraulic fracturing has stirred concerns around Texas, especially as the drought wears on. Aware that they are under the spotlight, drillers are testing out recycling and other water-saving techniques.

Use our interactive to determine which Texas counties have the lowest and highest rates of poverty, broken down by race — a tool designed with data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey.

Full video of our conversation with state Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, the chairman of the House Public Education Committee.

Lobbyists Andrea and Dean McWilliams are big entertainers, and they don't mind sharing details of their big soirees with society magazines. But they haven't disclosed much of it to the Texas Ethics Commission.