The latest Texas House of Representatives news from The Texas Tribune.
The controversial “sanctuary cities” bill failed to pass, but other immigration-related bills advanced and were signed by the governor. Explore this interactive to pinpoint the days lawmakers debated issues related to immigration. Full Story
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State Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, says that he won't be a candidate for Congress in the seat opened by Ron Paul's decision not to seek another term — but he might run for the state Senate. Full Story
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The Legislature passed several health-care related measures including the abortion sonogram bill, Medicaid cuts and a significant defunding of Planned Parenthood. Use this interactive to find what lawmakers said during the health care debates. Full Story
Texas bypassed the Obama administration's Department of Justice on Tuesday, opting to ask a panel of federal judges in Washington, D.C., to review the state's new maps for congressional, legislative and State Board of Education districts. Full Story
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It took a series of often rancorous debates this session to reach agreement on how to finance public education for 2012-2013. Use the Trib's latest interactive to track what lawmakers said about Texas education. Full Story
Use the visualization and transcript highlights provided below to find what lawmakers said during the tensest days of budget negotiations as lawmakers worked to cut $15 billion in spending for 2012-2013. Full Story
The Trib captured every debate, tirade and joke uttered into the mikes in the House and Senate during the 82nd legislative session in our online transcripts. Our latest data apps help you identify when important debates occurred by visualizing the frequency of keywords. Full Story
Bennett Ratliff, son of the former lieutenant governor and brother of the State Board of Education member, is jumping into the race to replace Rep. Jim Jackson, R-Carrollton, in the Texas House. Full Story
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That exhibition of musical chairs is contingent on the outcomes of several lawsuits filed against this or that piece of the new political maps drawn by the Legislature earlier this year. Full Story
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The legislative session is over, the new maps have been drawn, and candidates are starting to make their decisions about whether to run, and for what offices. Full Story
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It may be hard to believe now, but Gov. Rick Perry got his start in politics as a Democrat, representing Haskell in the Texas House from 1985-1991. It's a period likely to be scrutinized by his Republican opponents should he run for president. Full Story
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Aguilar on a change in law that affects applications for state-issued IDs, Galbraith on how the drought is taking its toll on wildlife, Hamilton on an outsider's attempt to lower the cost of higher ed, Murphy visualizes the partisanship of House members, Ramsey on who becomes Lite Guv if David Dewhurst takes another job, Ramshaw on life in the colonias and three stories about Rick Perry — Grissom on how his death penalty stance might play in a 2012 presidential race, Root on how he cemented his reputation as one of the state's most powerful governors and Tan on the growing demand for him to speak elsewhere: The best of our best content from July 4 to July 8, 2011. Full Story
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Mark P. Jones, chair of the political science department at Rice University, analyzed nearly 1,000 votes during the 2011 regular and special legislative sessions to rank members of the Texas House from most liberal to most conservative. Compare your state representative to the other 149 using our visualization. Full Story
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Who are the most liberal and conservative members of the Texas House? Mark Jones, chair of the political science department at Rice University, breaks it down with his 2011 analysis. Full Story
State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, talked Wednesday about the tough battle Democrats waged this session, why she believes the budget outcome is not the success portrayed by the GOP and how this session may affect the next. Full Story
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The House couldn't get the votes it needed to suspend the rules to take up the TSA anti-groping bill before the clock runs out today. Full Story
State Rep. Patricia Harless, R-Spring, explains why she voted against the budget measure SB 1 this afternoon, and why she thinks the Tea Party may have influenced legislators. Full Story
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Hey Texplainer: What happens to the bills that Perry doesn't sign or veto? Gov. Rick Perry has vetoed and signed a multitude of bills this year, but to date there have been 27 he allowed to become law by default. Full Story
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Lawmakers filed a whopping 5,796 bills during the 82nd legislative session and approved nearly a quarter of them. Use our updated data visualizations to take a closer look at how bills performed in the upper and lower chambers, how each political party and committee fared, and how many bills Gov. Rick Perry vetoed. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry is not shy when it comes to using his veto pen. Full Story
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