The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.
Two Texans, Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, are on the GOP's radar as potential 2016 presidential candidates. Use this interactive to see how they compare on issues like health care, abortion and immigration. Full Story
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In this edition of the Newsreel: Will lawmakers finish the budget? Will the governor call for a special session? And when this is over, who will be running for office in 2014? Full Story
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Full video of Ross Ramsey's 5/16 TribLive conversation about ethics in the Texas Legislature with former Assistant Travis County District Attorney Mindy Montford, campaign finance lawyer Randall "Buck" Wood, state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, and former state Rep. Ismael "Kino" Flores, D-Palmview. Full Story
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U.S. Reps. Kevin Brady and Pete Gallego are from different political parties, but they are united in trying to bring a little bipartisanship to the Texas delegation. They have scheduled a breakfast next week to discuss ways to forge a common agenda for the state. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, former Assistant Travis County District Attorney Mindy Montford talked about ethics investigations and the deterrent effect of prosecution. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, and ethics and campaign finance lawyer Randall "Buck" Wood talked to the Tribune's Ross Ramsey about transparency in political giving. Full Story
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In this session's ethics battles, watchdogs say there’s more contradiction than conviction. Full Story
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Advocacy groups and business owners urged lawmakers to crack down on companies that misclassify their employees for tax and immigration purposes. But in the final days of the session, the measures have run out of steam. Full Story
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UPDATED: A divisive measure requiring the disclosure of certain unreported political donors passed the House on a 95-52 vote on Tuesday with little of Monday's debate. The measure now heads to Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story
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A political scientist's analysis of Texas legislators' votes through April, and where those votes locate lawmakers on the partisan scale. Spoiler alert: The Republicans and the Democrats don't overlap much. Full Story
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Full video of my 5/9 TribLive conversation with first-term state Reps. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, and Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, state Reps. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth; Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford; and Steve Toth, R-The Woodlands, talked about the coming race for lieutenant governor and whom they'd back in a Cruz-Perry presidential primary showdown. Full Story
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The House on Wednesday tentatively approved a bill that would strengthen the state's rules on disclosures for political advertisements on radio and television and add requirements for political ads on social media websites. Full Story
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On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: President Obama's visit to Austin on Thursday as part of a new jobs tour has again put the state's economy in the spotlight. Full Story
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UPDATED: Rep. Giovanni Capriglione's bill to require legislators to disclose their business contracts with government entities won't get a vote in the House — unless he can tack it onto an Ethics Commission reform bill. Full Story
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has jumped into the immigration reform debate by filing several amendments to the legislation put forth by the “Gang of Eight.” His proposals call for additional fencing on the border and blocking a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Full Story
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Analysts and lawmakers say Mexico’s recent decision to change the access that U.S. law enforcement agencies have in that country should not be considered a slap in the face. But the strong ties between the two nations could be impacted. Full Story
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At the Trib's April 25 symposium on health care at the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. David Warner of the LBJ School of Public Affairs talked about the escalating cost of health care with Michelle Berger, president of the Travis County Medical Society; Jesus Garza, president and CEO of the Seton Healthcare Family; Dan McCoy, chief medical officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas; and Tom Suehs, former executive commissioner of Texas Health and Human Services. Full Story
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On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: Tea Party lawmakers helped kill a major water bill on Monday, but that's one of a small number of victories during a session many thought the more conservative wing of the GOP would flourish. Full Story
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Members of the National Rifle Association gathered in Houston on Friday at their annual convention to listen to a wide array of national figures — but it was Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz who got the warmest welcomes. Full Story
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