The latest state government news from The Texas Tribune.
This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: Gov. Rick Perry says the Mexican energy industry may solve America's immigration problems, the LCRA gets a new leader and state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte signals she's running for lieutenant governor. Full Story
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What had been a private battle over whether and when a nonprofit political group has to register as a lobbyist — or list the donors to its political purse — is slowly edging toward public hearings. Full Story
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The Automobile Club of Southern California is negotiating with the governor's office over a Texas Enterprise Fund grant. The company's CEO is a longtime contributor to Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story
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Gov. Rick Perry discussed the fiscal policy differences between Texas and California at a luncheon hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation on Monday, Nov. 18. Full Story
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Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott made their candidacies for governor official on Saturday by filling out the paperwork and paying the $3,750 fee to file in their respective primaries. Full Story
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This week in the Newsreel: The voting is over for now, the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll is out, and a statewide candidate questions the loyalty of anyone who loves Texas but hates fracking. Full Story
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After months of speculation, two Democratic candidates have emerged to campaign for the contested Senate District 10 seat Sen. Wendy Davis has vacated to run for governor. Libby Willis and Mike Martinez have officially entered the race. Full Story
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In a new ad for Americans for Economic Freedom, an organization aimed at helping Gov. Rick Perry champion Texas' economic model, the possible presidential contender talks job creation. Full Story
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The health commission’s Office of Inspector General, which says Texas has misspent hundreds of millions of dollars on Medicaid orthodontic and dental fraud, has now lost its first three court battles against accused providers. Full Story
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State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer believes that the investigation into whether a University of Texas System regent should be impeached could require a look at UT regents' personal computers, iPads and smartphones. Full Story
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This week in the Texas Weekly Newsreel: The vote on water and other constitutional amendments is days away, Todd Staples jabs at Dan Patrick and Democrats start testing Ted Cruz's popularity with independent voters. Full Story
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Full video of my 10/31 TribLive conversation with Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, a 2014 candidate for lieutenant governor. Full Story
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What's normal in Texas general elections — legislators in one party endorsing candidates challenging colleagues from the other party — is turning up in primaries. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, a 2014 candidate for lieutenant governor, talked about his opposition to in-state tuition and other state programs for undocumented immigrants. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples explained why he decided to run for lieutenant governor in 2014. Full Story
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At Thursday's TribLive conversation, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, a 2014 candidate for lieutenant governor, talked about his three Republican opponents. Full Story
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Two of the nine constitutional amendments on the Nov. 5 ballot could benefit many of the 1.6 million veterans in Texas. Full Story
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In the wake of criticism from a former Texas Trial Lawyers Association president about the group's spending practices, the association has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday in Austin to address concerns. Full Story
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Sometimes, it's the non-announcement that gets the political headline. Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns won’t run for the Senate, greatly increasing already high odds that the SD-10 seat will go to the Republicans. Full Story
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At our 10/23 Hot Seat conversation at the Texas Tech University, state Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, and state Reps. John Frullo, R-Lubbock, and Drew Springer, R-Muenster, talked about water, transportation, public education and other issues in play in the 83rd session. Full Story
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