Ted Cruz unveiled a plan late Wednesday that calls for a "simple flat tax" of 10 percent and promises to grow the U.S. economy by nearly 14 percent a decade from now. The Republican U.S. senator from Texas rolled out the plan minutes before he took the stage at the third Republican presidential debate, where he touted his proposed flat tax as the “lowest personal rate any candidate up here has.”

Cruz excoriated moderators Wednesday night in easily his most animated moment on the debate stage since he launched his presidential campaign. Cruz criticized the moderators of CNBC’s GOP debate for not asking questions about “substantive issues people care about.” Following the debate, Jeb Bush’s campaign manager raised questions about what the U.S. senator has done for his constituents, stating “Where’s the accomplishments?” of Cruz’s three years in the Senate.

By filing a one-page form, some producers can have their oil wells reclassified as gas wells and potentially reap huge tax savings. More such requests are being granted, and the Texas budget might start feeling the pain, a trend that could renew scrutiny of Texas’ largest tax break for natural gas drilling.

Texas officials have asked an appeals court for permission to proceed with cutting payments to a therapy program for children with disabilities — the latest development in an ongoing lawsuit over the budget state lawmakers crafted this year. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission is seeking to override an order by state District Judge Tim Sulak in September that temporarily stopped health officials from implementing the cuts.

The Obama administration has warned state leaders that pushing Planned Parenthood out of the state’s Medicaid program could put Texas at odds with federal law. Federal officials alerted the state Medicaid director on Tuesday that removing Planned Parenthood from the program may violate federal law because it would limit access to healthcare for poor women from the qualified provider of their choice. On Saturday, Stuart Bowen Jr., head of the Office of Inspector General at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, told the Tribune the organization has not been terminated from that federal health care program and that it will take at least a month to determine whether it should be.

Hundreds of gas plants across the country — and as many as 180 in Texas — soon will have to alert the federal government if they discharge, produce or handle certain toxic chemicals like benzene or hydrogen sulfide. This decision was the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s response to a petition and subsequent lawsuit filed by a coalition of environmental and open government groups, including one from Texas.

After months of heated campaigning, Houston voters will have the final word next week on an embattled nondiscrimination ordinance, a big test for Texas LGBT rights activists. First passed by the Houston City Council in May 2014 after intense public debate, the ordinance, better known as HERO, makes it illegal to discriminate against someone based on 15 different “protected characteristics,” including sex, race, marital status, religion and pregnancy.

With more Republicans joining the cause — including six Texans — the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly, 313-118, on Tuesday to reauthorize the controversial Export-Import Bank of the United States.

With the Houston mayoral election fast approaching, attention is centering on which candidate will square off in an all-but-certain runoff with state Rep. Sylvester Turner. For most of the summer, the race for the top job in the nation’s fourth largest city seemed relatively static, with no dearth of candidates, cash and forums — but little drama to match. The mayoral contest, local Democratic strategist Keir Murray remarked, was "frozen in time."

Eleven years after a man's unexplained death in a Katy hospital sparked a lawsuit involving allegations of malpractice, deception and theft of a human heart, the bizarre case has made its way to the Texas Supreme Court, which will answer a simple yet macabre legal question: Does an autopsy fall under the definition of health care?

The University of Texas at Austin needs to consider race in admissions if it wants a diverse, representative student body, the school told the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday in a 70-page brief filed in advance of oral arguments in the case Fisher v. The University of Texas at Austin.

Processed meats such as bacon and hot dogs cause cancer in humans, according to the World Health Organization — but consumers shouldn't worry about it, according to Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. After the findings were released, he said they were “another example of politicized science that is not grounded in reality."

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott warned the Dallas County sheriff on Monday that her new and softer approach to dealing with undocumented immigrants who commit crimes here “will no longer be tolerated in Texas.”  Abbott wrote a letter to Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, a Democrat, in the wake of reports that she planned to free some of the immigrants processed through the Dallas County jail rather than hand them over to federal authorities as requested.

Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. Planned Parenthood was a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune in 2011. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Andrea Thompson of Plano and Brett Busby of Houston to a nine-member commission set up by the Legislature this year to review and make recommendations on the repeal of certain penal laws.

Abbott named Charles Eskridge of Houston to the 11-member Timothy Cole Exoneration Commission. The panel, which was established by the Legislature this year, will review and examine exonerations since 2010 in order to make recommendations on how to avoid future wrongful convictions.

Abbott named Debbra Ulmer of Pearland to the Texas Private Security Board for a term set to expire on Jan. 31, 2019.

GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz announced Monday that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was his pick for state campaign chairman. Later the same day, Rand Paul’s presidential campaign announced that state Sen. Don Huffines, R-Dallas, will serve as the Kentucky senator's Texas state chairman.

The Latino Victory Fund named U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, to serve alongside New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and the former mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, as the fund's first three honorary co-chairs.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas named Chad V. Seely its next general counsel last Friday. Seely has spent a decade at ERCOT, serving as assistant general counsel since 2011.

Lynn Stucky, a Denton veterinarian, announced Thursday he is entering the race for the open HD-64 seat in the Texas House. Stucky is the third candidate to enter the race for the seat held by state Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton, since 2000.

The Texas Alliance for Life PAC and the Texans for Life Coalition’s LIFE PAC both endorsed Justice Debra Lehrmann on Monday in her bid for re-election to the Texas Supreme Court. She has served on the court since 2010 and is facing a contested GOP primary contest. Her challenger, Michael Massengale, was endorsed Tuesday by the Texas Right to Life PAC.

Ahead of next week's election, Houston mayoral candidate Bill King announced Tuesday he has received endorsements from a number of local conservatives, including state Rep. Dennis Paul, R-Houston, former City Council member Pam Holm, Cheryl Dalton, former president of Daughters of Liberty, Deany Meinke, former president of the Texas Federation of Republican Women, and Mary Sage, former president of Magic Circle Republican Women’s Club.

GOP SD-24 candidate CJ Grisham was endorsed late last week by the Republican Liberty Caucus, a group working for limited government.

GOP SD-24 candidate Brent Mayes was endorsed late last week by the Concerned Women for America (CWA) Legislative Action Committee.

GOP HD-7 candidate David Watts was endorsed on Tuesday by Grassroots America - We the People PAC, one of the state’s most prominent grassroots conservative groups.

GOP HD-126 candidate Kevin Roberts this week won endorsements from the Concerned Women for America and the Texas Homeschool Coalition as well as a slew of conservative leaders that included Dave Welch of the Houston Area Pastor Council, Heidi Group founder Carol Everett, Jonathan Saenz of Texas Values, Cathie Adams of the Texas Eagle Forum, Mary Moss, founding member of Cy-Fair Republican Women and Claudette Martin, former president of Northwest Forest Republican Women.

GOP HD-130 candidate Tom Oliverson was endorsed Tuesday by the Texas Homeschool Coalition and Concerned Women of America.

State Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, has won the endorsement of the Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC for re-election in HD-150.

The Texas Alliance for Life gave its "Courageous Defense of Life" awards to 14 lawmakers. They are: Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels; Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown; Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana; Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth; Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi; Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland; Rep. Geanie Morrison, R-Victoria; Rep. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound; Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Spring; Rep. Drew Springer, R-Muenster; Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond; Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound; Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock; and Rep. Brooks Landgraf, R-Odessa.

Ray Sullivan, former chief of staff to Rick Perry and former co-chair of Perry’s presidential super PAC, will spearhead the expansion of the state-based lobbying firm Capitol Resources LLC into Texas.

David Anthony announced Wednesday that he’s stepping down as CEO of Raise Your Hands Texas in May 2016. He cited the need to spend more time with his 90-year-old father, who resides in Louisiana and is in declining health.

Disclosure: Raise Your Hand Texas is a corporate sponsor of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed here.