The Brief: Jan. 28, 2014
In their first televised debate, the four GOP candidates for lieutenant governor seemed content to continue to frame the contest as a race to see who could claim the title of the most conservative. Full Story
The latest John Smithee news from The Texas Tribune.
In their first televised debate, the four GOP candidates for lieutenant governor seemed content to continue to frame the contest as a race to see who could claim the title of the most conservative. Full Story
The Austin American-Statesman's Jonathan Tilove had a must-read in the Sunday paper, reporting some fascinating details in what he described as a "cat-and-mouse game" between Battleground Texas and James O'Keefe's Project Veritas. Full Story
The story of Steve Stockman is rapidly turning from that of a Tea Party-fueled challenge to the GOP establishment to a headline ripped from a milk carton — as in, no one seems to know where the Clear Lake congressman is. Full Story
The fallout continues from the Sunday story in The Dallas Morning News on discrepancies in Wendy Davis' accounting of her early life. Full Story
The focus on Tuesday returns to District Judge John Dietz's courtroom, where the next chapter in the legal challenge to the state's school finance system commences. Full Story
Wendy Davis' life story is once again under scrutiny, this time after a Sunday piece by The Dallas Morning News' Wayne Slater. Full Story
Texas will continue to be the big winner in the redistribution of the nation's population westward and southward. And with that go the political spoils. Full Story
Land commissioner candidate George P. Bush has some pointed words for fellow Republicans who denigrate Hispanics. Full Story
The campaigns of Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott don't agree on much, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that even the announcement of campaign contributions has become a source of disagreement. Full Story
Washington, D.C., is abuzz over the latest perceived thumb to the eye delivered by Ted Cruz to the House leadership. Full Story
Wendy Davis has now laid out the first major policy initiative of her gubernatorial campaign. The policy area — education — was not surprising, but the extensive press coverage focused on a big unanswered question: How to pay for it? Full Story
The Public Utility Commission's proposed changes to the electric market gained a powerful detractor in recent days: the Texas Oil and Gas Association, the state's oldest and largest petroleum organization. Full Story
The Tribune's Morgan Smith has a must-read piece on what's next for the education reform group funded by tort reform champions that left a big imprint on policy debates during last year's legislative session. Full Story
The challenge to Texas' law placing further restrictions on abortion facilities took another step toward a widely expected hearing by the U.S. Supreme Court with oral arguments before a three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit in New Orleans. Full Story
Health care navigators are back on the agenda with a hearing Friday morning in Austin on new proposed state rules by the state's insurance department. Full Story
Over objections from some Democrats and from the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, the Texas Legislature voted to revamp the state's windstorm insurance program, disposing of a prickly issue that could have forced a second special session. Full Story
State legislators say they've reached a compromise on reform of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, potentially averting a second special session this summer. Full Story
Lawmakers and consumer groups say special interests need to butt out of the battle over the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. Full Story
The bill has pitted Republican Gov. Rick Perry and trial lawyer Steve Mostyn, the largest Democratic donor in Texas, against one another, and it is a key reason that lawmakers are in a special legislative session. Full Story
The marathon negotiations over the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association failed to produce a bill, probably prompting a special session later this summer over that issue. Full Story