Guest Column: The Case for Joe Straus
Larson: The conservative House has a conservative speaker, and there's no reason to change leaders. Full Story
The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
Larson: The conservative House has a conservative speaker, and there's no reason to change leaders. Full Story
Full video of my 11/15 TribLive conversation with state Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, a declared candidate for speaker of the Texas House. Full Story
The letters dribbling into House Speaker Joe Straus' mailbox raise questions about the House's redistricting last session, but that's just a way for his rivals to raise questions about his leadership. Full Story
At Thursday morning's TribLive conversation, state Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, a declared candidate for Speaker of the Texas House, talked about the challenges and opportunities in taking on the current occupant of the job, Joe Straus. Full Story
Some critics of House Speaker Joe Straus say he’s too moderate to run the Texas House. But Bryan Hughes, the man some hope will unseat Straus, has worked as a trial lawyer, a profession not associated with conservative causes. Full Story
Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on Tuesday expressed support for a bill that would require welfare applicants to take drug tests. Critics of the bill say it needlessly targets the poor. Full Story
In a preview of the impending 83rd legislative session, lawmakers filed more than 250 bills on Monday. The proposals would affect just about everything from public school testing to health insurance and how we buy milk. Full Story
Bill filing for the 83rd legislative session kicked off on Monday, and lawmakers filed more than 250 bills on the first day alone. The Tribune has retooled last session's bill tracker and put it to work, pulling in all the legislation that's been filed so far for 2013. Full Story
With the general election in the rearview mirror, all eyes are on the next political contest on the Texas horizon — the House speaker’s race. The Tribune called all 150 members of the Texas House to find out who has their vote. Full Story
A petition calling for Texas to "peacefully" withdraw from the United States of America was filed on a White House website Friday. It already has enough signatures to warrant an official response. Full Story
The state's top two legislative leaders reflect the split in the Texas and national GOP — between populist conservatives on one hand, and mainline, old-school Republicans on the other. Full Story
With 43 legislators in the freshman class and 24 more who were new after the 2010 elections, the 150-member Texas House has a lot of new blood — and a lot of inexperienced officeholders. Full Story
State Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola and a candidate for speaker of the House, promised his colleagues on Thursday that he will decentralize power in the lower chamber if he is elected. Full Story
What does four more years of an Obama White House mean for the policy issues facing the overwhelmingly conservative Texas Legislature — and the interest groups and constituents who guide the political process? Full Story
The state House, state Senate and U.S. House delegations from Texas have more than four dozen new members between them. Get to know their backgrounds and faces. Full Story
Amid questions about whether she and three other San Antonio were wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting two young girls, Anna Vasquez will be released on parole Friday. Full Story
The outnumbered Texas House Democrats have plenty of leaders, insists state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, of San Antonio. But that hasn’t stopped the chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus from taking center stage. Full Story
While coastal residents told lawmakers that increasing policy rates are harming the coastal economy, state lawmakers grilled windstorm insurance administrators over money spent on consultants at a legislative hearing Thursday. Full Story
While comments by state Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, on his "evolving" attitude toward certain gay rights issues have garnered plenty of negative attention from conservative groups, the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll shows the Republican lawmaker's views are consistent with changing attitudes among many Texans. Full Story
The execution of Donnie Lee Roberts Jr., 41, on Wednesday for the 2003 shooting death of a Polk County woman marked the 250th execution during Gov. Rick Perry’s tenure, and the 12th in 2012. The total is the largest — by far — under any recent governor in the United States. Full Story