The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.
After several reassurances from House members about what a border security bill is not intended to do, the House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety voted out the sweeping measure on Wednesday. Full Story
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As the state tallies the tax dollars spent on former Gov. Rick Perry's security while he was running for president, a lawmaker wants future elected officials to reimburse Texas for out-of-state trips that don't involve official business. Full Story
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Signs identifying some state lawmakers as former fetuses are generating controversy at the Capitol. Full Story
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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's public face to Capitol Hill, press secretary Catherine Frazier, is heading home to Houston to join his political operation. Full Story
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Texas House leaders unveiled a plan Tuesday to shore up the state's chronically underfunded retirement system for employees that requires workers to pay more into the system, but gives them a pay raise to offset the cost. Full Story
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A bill that would ban texting while driving passed its first legislative hurdle Tuesday when lawmakers voted it out of the House Transportation Committee. Full Story
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State Rep. Sarah Davis on Tuesday warned that proposed changes to a women's health program — intended to gut funding for Planned Parenthood clinics — would put women's lives in danger. Full Story
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A bill before a Texas Senate committee is bringing into focus the simmering debate over local control in the state. It's a charge that has been backed by Gov. Greg Abbott and state legislators who see cities overstepping their authority. Full Story
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Speaking to a firefighters group on Tuesday gave U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz a chance to show how he might expand his following beyond a passionate conservative base in a general election. The reception he got was chilly. Full Story
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Efforts to ban longtime politicians from double-dipping their salaries and their pensions — as former Gov. Rick Perry started doing in 2011 — went nowhere two years ago. But this year the idea is picking up steam. Full Story
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Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush is stepping up to help raise money for a super PAC supporting his dad's likely 2016 presidential campaign. Full Story
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A controversial immigration proposal scheduled for a public hearing Monday was postponed after a border Democrat argued that Republicans did not give the public sufficient notice about the meeting. Full Story
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Researchers have found that the water supply in Vinton is making people sick, but local politics have gotten in the way of a solution to connect to nearby El Paso's utilities. This is part two of our five-story Undrinkable series on border communities that lack reliable, clean water. Full Story
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If you listen to the early speculation about the 2016 presidential race, you won't hear Rick Perry's name mentioned much among national analysts. But Perry is taking on a strategy in Iowa that has proved successful in recent Republican contests. Full Story
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On this week's edition of WFAA-TV's Inside Texas Politics with host Jason Whitely, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy and Tribune Executive Editor Ross Ramsey, talk turns to spending caps and constitutional amendments. Full Story
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State Republican leaders selected Texas Republican Party treasurer Tom Mechler as the party’s new chairman Saturday, replacing Steve Munisteri, who is leaving to join U.S. Sen. Rand Paul's likely 2016 presidential campaign. Full Story
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When they attend the Iowa Ag Summit on Saturday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and former Gov. Rick Perry will almost certainly be asked about their criticism of the Renewable Fuel Standard, an issue that packs a political punch in the Hawkeye State. Full Story
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For all the legislative debate about border security and immigration, it's been nine years since anyone comprehensively studied the economic impact of undocumented Texans. A border lawmaker wants to fill that information vacuum. Full Story
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GOP lawmakers, in their effort to put Planned Parenthood out of business, could change how they fund a cancer screening program for poor women. But private clinics unaffiliated with Planned Parenthood say they'd take a hit, too. Full Story
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Attorneys for the state of Texas say the Obama administration started granting work permits to undocumented immigrants before it said it would, and misled a federal judge about it. They're demanding more details. Full Story
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