The Texas House Wednesday moved a step closer to changing end-of-course writing assessments for high school students that critics say are overly burdensome and prevent too many students from graduating. Full Story
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The state's two top elected officials — along with a handful of other policymakers — appeared before a crowd of charter school supporters Wednesday to call for more of the publicly funded, privately managed schools. Full Story
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Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush made an impassioned appeal in Houston Wednesday to the Hispanic evangelicals whose support he hopes will make him a unique GOP presidential prospect. Full Story
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On this week's TribCast, Emily chats with Ross, Aman and Alexa about a resurgence of anti-abortion legislation, the House-Senate fight over tax cuts and the voter ID courtroom battle. Full Story
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Lawmakers from both chambers gathered Wednesday to lend support to a range of bills that would limit the loan size and number of installments offered by payday and auto title lenders. Full Story
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Tax cuts and politics ethics legislation have this in common: When lawmakers have to vote in public view, they're often forced to set aside their private opinions. Full Story
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Rick Perry and Marcus Luttrell, the Navy SEAL who escaped a 2005 Taliban ambush in Afghanistan, are drawing attention to their unusual relationship as the now-former governor prepares to launch his second presidential campaign. Full Story
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A hefty slice of Americans support local control over hydraulic fracturing, according to new University of Texas at Austin survey. Full Story
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The budget conference committee will hash out a compromise of the chamber’s respective 2016-17 budget plans. Committee members include two Democrats who rank as the most experienced budget negotiators on the panel. Full Story
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After months of little movement in the Texas Legislature on proposals to further restrict abortion, the pace is picking up as a flurry of bills moves to the House and Senate floors. Full Story
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Despite appearances, the House and Senate aren't too far apart on border security funding, says the lone border lawmaker on the budget conference committee. One sticking point is funding for state trooper pay. Full Story
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Gone are accusations of gamesmanship as lawmakers get to work finding common ground on the session's border security bill. Full Story
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Texas health officials recently changed doctor reimbursement rates to make it easier for low-income women to obtain intrauterine devices. Advocates say the payoff for the state, which has one of the highest teen birth rates in the U.S., could be big. Full Story
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A plan to give public schools A through F grades cleared a Texas House panel Tuesday night — but not without other changes in accountability standards reducing the role student assessments play in measuring public school performance. Full Story
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The Senate voted in often odd coalitions to reveal more about the money members make, prohibit themselves from immediately becoming lobbyists, post their financial statements online and even subject themselves and other elected officials to drug testing. Full Story
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Any candidate seeking elected office in Texas would be required to take a drug test when he or she files to run, under a proposal that the state Senate approved Tuesday. Full Story
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Two hours before his scheduled execution, Robert Lynn Pruett received a stay so more DNA tests can be conducted on evidence from the 1999 murder of a Texas prison guard. Full Story
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Members of a House committee used "Twitter language" as they discussed legislation Tuesday to designate three official social media "hashtags" for the state, including the widely used #txlege. Lawmakers voted "hashtag yes" on the measures. Full Story
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In this episode of Budgetline, Aman and Ross sit down with Senate Finance Chairwoman Jane Nelson, who voted against her first state budget in 1993 as a freshman senator and is now in charge of writing that most essential piece of legislation. Full Story
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A Republican-appointed federal appellate judge on Tuesday questioned why the Texas Legislature had not addressed concerns that its four-year-old voter ID law discriminated against minority voters. Full Story
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