Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick were sworn in as governor and lieutenant governor on Tuesday. It marked the first time since 1991 that Texas has welcomed a new occupant in both offices. The men's speeches reflected their different temperaments. Patrick was more improvised and emotional in claiming a mandate to take conservatism to the next level, while Abbott was more aspirational in tone, using the his biography to argue Texas is "where the improbable becomes the possible."

Senate Republicans this week took out a decades-old requirement that two-thirds of the chamber must agree to bring up legislation for debate. A supermajority of three-fifths will still be required, but the Republican caucus has enough members to meet the new threshold without needing to entice any Democrats to join them. Several Democrats spoke against the measure, with one — Rodney Ellis — predicting the day would be "one that we will look back on with regret."

In one of his first moves as governor, Abbott has tapped Stuart Bowen Jr., the special inspector general who oversaw the reconstruction of Iraq, to be the chief watchdog at the state's embattled Health and Human Services Commission. He succeeds Doug Wilson, who was fired in December after a controversy arose over the selection of 21st Century Technologies Inc. to receive a $110 million Medicaid fraud software contract.  

A Tribune analysis found that nearly half of the the $23.8 million spent from 2002 to part of January 2015 on tuition, conferences and other educational programs for state employees went to TxDOT staffers. Furthermore, a significant chunk of the TxDOT spending — $2.7 million — paid for employee education at a private university.

Texas' new solicitor general, Scott Keller, represented the state this week in oral arguments at the U.S. Supreme Court in a big case aimed at interpreting the scope of the 1968 law aimed at preventing racial discrimination in housing. The case is a key early test for new Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Legal costs are starting to add up for both sides in the case over Gov. Rick Perry's threat to veto funding for a state unit that investigates public corruption. Taxpayers have paid special prosecutors almost $110,000 for their work on the case so far. Meanwhile, Perry has dipped into his campaign chest to spend more than $1 million on his legal defense since August.