For the latest installment of our unscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked whether lawmakers or the courts will end up drawing political maps and who they think is angling for the four new seats in the congressional delegation. Full Story
Troy Fraser lost a redistricting fight 20 years ago. Now he's in another redistricting battle — with another Republican and based more on what part of the state is shrinking (his area's population) than on politics. He's determined not to lose. Full Story
The Texas Tribune has updated Children at Risk's rankings of more than 5,800 public school campuses with 2011 figures. Explore them for yourself here. Full Story
Aaronson on a freshman lawmaker's rogue antics, Aguilar on how cartel violence affects tick eradication, Galbraith on Midland's water woes, Hamilton on the exit of a higher ed reformer, Murphy maps voting age by county, Philpott on the data breach at the Comptroller's office, Ramsey on why Susan Combs needs to eat crow, my TribLive interview with U.S. Sen John Cornyn, Ramshaw on Cornyn's refusal to take the "nickel tour" of Planned Parenthood, M. Smith annotates the contracts of superintendents, Stiles on a GOP-friendly redistricting map and Tan on a possible Rainy Day Fund raid: The best of our best content from April 18 to 22, 2011. Full Story
No time to follow every twist and turn of the Texas Legislature? We've made it easier for you with our weekly recaps of the action under the dome. Full Story
The Senate Finance Committee passed a budget this week that proposes spending about $12 billion more than the House in the next biennium. At first glance, House Appropriations Chair Jim Pitts says there's no way his chamber can meet the Senate halfway. Full Story
The comptroller of public accounts has been ducking responsibility ever since revealing that her agency had put the names and Social Security numbers of 3.5 million people in a publicly available spot on its website. Full Story
The rogue antics of freshman state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview — knocking three bills, including veteran Democratic state Rep. Senfronia Thompson’s contentious puppy mill bill, off of a fast-track House calendar — are attracting glares and backlash from his colleagues, some of whom are considering returning the favor. Full Story
At this morning's TribLive conversation, Lance Armstrong talked about the investigation into allegations that he doped as a pro cyclist — and whether the controversy has impacted his advocacy on behalf of cancer research funding and a workplace smoking ban. Full Story
With Texas in the throes of a terrible drought and wildfires raging across the state, Gov. Rick Perry designated April 22 to April 24 as official days of prayer for rain. Full Story
The Daughters of the Republic of Texas would continue to be the caretakers of the Alamo, under a bill the House gave preliminary approval to this morning. Full Story
The House has given an early OK to a bill that would allow craft breweries to charge admission for tours, and include up to two six-packs of beers to give to tourists at the end. Full Story
For the second time, Rep. Senfronia Thompson's contentious "puppy mill" bill has been bumped from the fast track. It will now be subject to debate on the general House calendar. Full Story
A $176.5 billion budget for the 2012-13 biennium — 5.9 percent smaller than the current budget but almost $12 billion larger than the version passed earlier by the House — won approval from the Senate Finance Committee Thursday. Full Story
We liveblogged this morning's Triblive with Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor who was instrumental in creating the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, and is pushing smoke-free workplace bills in the Legislature. Full Story
In this week's jam-packed episode, Evan, Ross, Reeve and Ben discuss higher education reformers, data security at the Comptroller's office, redistricting, the budget, and birthdays. Full Story
Senate Finance Chair Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, has dropped the news many have been waiting to hear: He wants to attach a contingency provision to the 2012-13 budget that would withdraw $3 billion from the Rainy Day Fund. Full Story
Responding to a Texas Tribune article about young adults who age out of foster care being denied their records, House lawmakers passed a bill today to require the prompt release of case files following a child's discharge from foster care. Full Story
The House tentatively passed a bill to provide students who have demonstrated college readiness with priority access to TEXAS Grants, the state's primary need-based financial aid program. Full Story