The latest Texas Legislature news from The Texas Tribune.
Usually, the political establishment is more or less united, with major trade groups and major officeholders sticking with incumbents and, more importantly, sticking with one another. Not this year. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/a52d713e3a911c7cea08e2dffb3eaa42/BD%20INC%20Perry%20Straus%2001%202011)
E. Smith interviews Dan Patrick about John Carona, Root on the race to replace Ron Paul, Batheja on a nest of open House seats in Tarrant County, Aguilar on a border brawl over a congressional seat in El Paso, Tan on the fight over Planned Parenthood in West Texas, Aaronson maps the holes in the state's health care provider network, M. Smith on who might be the next Texas education commissioner, Ramshaw on social media sabotage, Hamilton and Ramshaw on the reaction to news of job insecurity for UT-Austin's president and Grissom on a knickers-twisting historical marker: The best of our best content from May 7 to 11, 2012. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TribWeek_1.jpg)
Full video of my May 10 TribLive conversation with state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Patrick5.jpg)
With the state government tightening its belt, there are now 10,200 fewer state government employees, according to our latest analysis of data collected by the state auditor’s office. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/EmploymentDataApp_1.jpg)
The endorsements just keep on rolling in... Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCA9070.jpg)
At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, talked about "turning things upside down" in the public education system. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Patrick5_1.jpg)
At Thursday morning's TribLive conversation, state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, discussed his extremely public feud with state Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/videos/Patrick2.jpg)
State Rep. Barbara Nash, R-Arlington, is running for re-election in a district that shares only 20 percent of the population with the district that originally elected her two years ago. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/NashPrimary.jpg)
The former lobbyist on how to regulate lobbying in Washington, why he thinks the system is essentially corrupt, when money in politics is a problem and when it's not, and why anyone should listen to someone like him. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Jack-Abromoff.jpg)
Rice University political scientist Mark P. Jones looks at the legislative voting records of candidates in a half-dozen GOP primaries, finding some significant differences in House races and negligible differences in two Senate contests. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/MarkJones-sized.jpg)
The quiet race for lieutenant governor isn't quiet any more, as two senators opened a fiery and very public email fight over gossip that could sink both of their chances to succeed Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/e31f5088f53332596c8eba137678342c/BD%20INC%20Carona-Patrick%202012)
House Speaker Joe Straus, who has been the frequent target of conservatives within his own Republican Party, is announcing endorsements from two anti-abortion groups today. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/TXTrib-StrausBebee-003.jpg)
Wendy Davis isn't the only reason for the political stirrings in Senate District 10. It's because she serves as a security vote that props up the Democrats and trips up the Republicans. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCB6335.jpg)
Big endorsements, little endorsements, new attack websites and other political news of the week. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/874f1b8bb5b40bace10f6499461665bd/DO%20NOT%20USE%20Obama%20Border%20Bridge%202012)
With the May 29 elections rapidly approaching, the candidates are out in force and so are the groups that want to share their views of the candidates with you. Here's a sampling of scorecards from some of the prominent interest groups. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/DataApp-Legislators.jpg)
Across Texas, city councils are beginning to take the regulation of payday and auto title lenders into their own hands. But lobbyists have also been active in opposing municipal ordinances. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/PayDayLoans.jpg)
A three-person HD-101 Democratic primary in Tarrant County features two former state representatives who can't stop swiping at each other and a fake string of emails that have been called "Machiavellian." Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Race-101.jpg)
Aaron Barraza isn't letting his youth stop him from trying to unseat state Rep. Marisa Marquez of El Paso in the Democratic primary for HD-77. Marquez says her record should earn her another term. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/HD77.jpg)
Central Texas got a new GOP-friendly state House district in the redistricting process. And as is the case in all newly created districts, candidates don’t just have to campaign — they also have to educate voters about the change. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/HD-136-GOP-Primary.jpg)
Last week, state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, released a television ad depicting his opponent, former Railroad commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones, as a literal puppet. Today, she struck back with an ad of her own. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/ames-jones.jpg)