Eric Bearse's client list may be the best evidence yet that there’s harmony between Attorney General Greg Abbott, who's rumored to have designs on the governor’s mansion, and Gov. Rick Perry, the man who currently occupies it. Full Story
Soon after their replacements were sworn in last month, eight former House members registered as lobbyists with the Texas Ethics Commission. Full Story
Rick Perry wants to lure businesses from California to Texas. Jerry Brown wants to keep them in California. It's an entertaining partisan and cultural battle, but with substance at its core. Full Story
A battle over Texas coal is heating up, as the Sierra Club is launching a targeted effort to close down 1970s-era coal plants owned by power-generation giant Luminant. It will be one of the club's biggest anti-coal campaigns in the nation. Full Story
In this edition of the Texas Weekly Newsreel: The state's school finance system is ruled unconstitutional, committee hearings kick off at the Capitol and California Gov. Jerry Brown dukes it out with Rick Perry. Full Story
An indignant and defensive Ken Anderson brought a dramatic end to a week of emotional testimony in the unusual court examination of whether he should face criminal charges for his 1987 prosecution of Michael Morton. Full Story
M. Smith on the decision that Texas school funding is unconstitutional, E. Smith’s TribLive conversation with House Speaker Joe Straus, Rocha and Dehn’s look at how Texas got its current ethics laws, Ramshaw peeks into the lobby’s bag of gifts for lawmakers, Batheja finds state lawmakers who lobby other government entities, KUT’s Philpott on federal health care in Texas, Murphy reveals the geography of House committee assignments, Hamilton on a Caribbean medical school that wants to operate in Texas, Grissom at a court of inquiry on a murder prosecutor’s conduct, Aguilar on a decision that allows an open-pit coal mine to operate on the state’s Mexican border and Aaronson’s report on legislative inquiries about the state’s cancer prevention agency: The best of our best for the week of Feb. 4, 2012. Full Story
Your evening reading: Secret Service launches investigation after Bushes' email hacked; Anderson court of inquiry concludes; Moody's issues warning over school finance case Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry on Friday set a March 2 special runoff election to fill the open seat created by the death of the late state Sen. Mario Gallegos. The race is between state Rep. Carol Alvarado and former Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia. Full Story
CSCOPE, the controversial statewide curriculum delivery system, will undergo a review process and ensure better transparency, the chairman of the Senate Education Committee announced Friday. Full Story
Apprehensions on the Texas-Mexico border by federal agents are often cited as proof that border security is either working or not working. The former director of Immigration and Naturalization Services says those statistics have holes but should still be considered in the debate. Full Story
While members of the Texas Legislature can no longer act as lobbyists before state agencies, plenty of lawmakers still manage to lobby local governments. Others find work that critics would classify as lobbying by another name. Full Story
Several Texas cities have plans to implement potable reuse projects, which put treated wastewater through extra chemical and biological processes before it eventually becomes part of the drinking supply. Full Story
A day of legal theater in the Ken Anderson court of inquiry ended with a reversal-of-course by John Bradley. The firebrand ex-prosecutor backed away from previous damning statements he made about his former boss. Full Story
In a state capital where moving from the Legislature to the lobby — and, sometimes, the other way — is unremarkable, it’s also common to find the relatives of lawmakers lobbying the state government. Full Story
Your evening reading: Perry heading to California for business tour; Morton sees "road to accountability" in inquiry; Poe to help lead GOP immigration caucus Full Story
Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, and Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, both filed legislation on Thursday that would require personal financial statements submitted to the Texas Ethics Commission to be made available online. Full Story
Three members of the House are pushing legislation that would end the Texas Driver Responsibility Program — a program they say has been ineffective. Full Story