The latest Texas Senate news from The Texas Tribune.
In a wide-ranging interview, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst talked about the state budget, education, immigration, water, transportation, and his hopes and plans for the legislative session that began this week. Full Story
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Senators approved a new set of rules for the session on Wednesday that will allow a third of the Senate to continue to have the power to keep bills from coming up for a vote. Full Story
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Use these seating charts to locate where the 150 members of the House and the 31 members of the Texas Senate sit in their respective chambers. Full Story
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Texas legislators started their 83rd session with leaders who want to focus on water, infrastructure, budget transparency, education — and, perhaps, some tax relief. Full Story
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Pomp and circumstance filled the pink dome for the start of the 83rd Texas legislative session on Tuesday, and the Tribune cameras were there to capture the scenes. Full Story
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Legislators, journalists and others shared thousands of tweets and photos on Tuesday, the first day of the 83rd legislative session. Check out this selection of what they shared. Full Story
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The contentious rule that allows a minority of senators to block legislation is again under fire, but Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said the two-thirds rule will continue in the Senate for another session. Full Story
As 181 members of the Texas Legislature work during the 83rd session, use this application to navigate the Capitol and locate lawmakers' offices. Full Story
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The Legislature is back for the 83rd time, and we've refreshed our directory of statewide officials and legislators. Many of the old names are here, and so are the names of the numerous freshmen. Full Story
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House Speaker Joe Straus faces a challenge on the first day of the 83rd Texas Legislature, and the Senate gets another run at a rule that empowers political minorities and sometimes frustrates majorities. Full Story
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Here's a list of the Twitter handles of the 120 state lawmakers who do the communications thing 140 characters at a time. Full Story
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At our Hot Seat conversation at Trinity University in San Antonio, state Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, and state Sen.-elect Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, sparred about public education, health care and other issues in play in the upcoming 83rd session. Full Story
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Full video of my December 6 TribLive conversation with state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, the chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee. Full Story
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At this morning's TribLive conversation, state Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, the chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, discussed the prospect of tuition reregulation and whether the state is adequately funding higher ed. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst upset the normal order of things when he announced his committee leaders four months early. But he did the senators a political favor in the process. Full Story
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Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, fresh off a stinging loss to Ted Cruz in the race for the GOP nomination to the U.S. Senate, reshuffled the Senate committee chairs. Full Story
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Four new senators are coming from the Texas House, where their voting records can be analyzed. Compared to the people they're replacing, they're more conservative. Full Story
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It's a cringe-inducing moment in politics: To keep his seat in the Democrats' column, voters in Houston will have to cast one last vote for the late state Sen. Mario Gallegos Jr. Full Story
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This week in the Newsreel, we look at the two debates held this week and check out Senate committee assignments. Full Story
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After a crushing loss in his bid for U.S. Senate, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's influence in next year's legislative session remains a question mark. Thursday's committee assignments may reflect efforts to appease some critics. Full Story
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