The Lower Colorado River Authority, a major supplier of water for Central Texas, warned today that the drought gripping the state is likely to continue for months and urged its customers to conserve water. Full Story
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As of Wednesday afternoon, two powerful budget figures differed on the status of the budget process. Full Story
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The Senate today approved a measure that would reform the way law enforcement officers conduct identification lineups, a measure that criminal justice advocates hope will mean fewer wrongful convictions in the future. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: confusion over fiscal bills trips up House; Senate approves eyewitness ID bill; is sanctuary cities stuck? Full Story
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The Texas Senate today passed a bill that would finally compensate Anthony Graves for the 18 years he spent behind bars convicted of grisly murders he did not commit. Full Story
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The House was expected to take up two controversial fiscal matters bill today, but from the start representatives were not sure the lower chamber was prepared to pass them. The apparent holdup? Whether some of the revenue measures amount to the "accounting gimmicks" that the governor warned against Tuesday. Full Story
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After a public display of harmony last week, controversy continues to surround UT System Board of Regents. Does a request made by regent Alex Cranberg amount to the kind of micromanaging criticized by the system's chancellor? Cranberg insists it is no such thing. Full Story
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They won’t give names, nor will they engage in a game of hypothetical vote counting, but Senate Democrats will say the coalition forming against the state’s proposed sanctuary cities bill isn’t what observers would expect. Full Story
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A special session looms large, but attention shifted briefly Tuesday to another familiar topic: Rick Perry for president. Full Story
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The legislative session ends in less than two weeks, and lawmakers won't take up a bill to redraw the state's congressional districts until later this week. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports on how the delay could affect how the new lines are drawn. Full Story
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Texas medical schools feel like the scorned children of the state’s education budget. Lost amid the pleas of parents to restore funding for public education, and the demands of college students to preserve financial aid, the state’s health care institutions say few seem to understand the drastic situation they face. Full Story
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If the House doesn't pass legislation that adds $2.6 billion to state revenue with a mix of delayed payments, increased penalties, government efficiencies and the like, the state budget won't balance and a special session will probably be required, House and Senate leaders said today. Full Story
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The House gave preliminary approval today to a bill that will give more flexibility to an operator at a planned West Texas disposal site for low-level radioactive waste. An effort to curb the company's potential profits failed. Full Story
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The Texas House gave a final OK today to the "pork chopper" bill and sent it off to the governor's office. The bill would allow licensed hunters to hire helicopters and contract with landowners to shoot feral hogs and coyotes on their property from the sky. Full Story
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Lawmakers working on a final version of the state's two-year budget have agreed to close down a Texas prison for the first time in the state's history, according to a report from the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Full Story
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The Texas Senate approved new political districts that protect all of the Republicans and all but one of the Democratic incumbents in that body and, after a delay, gave tentative approval to a House map already approved by the House. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading: Combs finds $1.2 billion for the budget; Senate redistricting map advances; Davis amendments killed Full Story
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Comptroller Susan Combs added $1.2 billion to her estimate of state revenues, making that much more money available to budget writers who are scrambling for cash. She said the state's income is up. Full Story
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Call it the Justin Timberlake Treatment: The Legislature has found itself boxed in as it searches for a way out of the budget divide. Full Story
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The House and Senate made big progress on budget negotiations Monday, but maybe not enough to avoid a special session. Full Story
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