The latest politics news from The Texas Tribune.
In 2011, state lawmakers fresh from a Tea Party election surge were hypersensitive to the opinions of and instructions from conservative activists. But as Thursday's House budget debate showed, this session isn't quite the same. Full Story
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Full video of my 4/2 TribLive conversation with San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro and U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin. Full Story
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Citing the need for more power to meet the demands of a burgeoning community, El Paso Electric plans to build a natural gas power plant. But a legislator has joined forces with a coalition of residents intent to fight the project. Full Story
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State Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview, has reprised an effort from last session to remove funds from the Texas Commission on the Arts and dedicate them to assisting volunteer firefighters. Full Story
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The Texas Retired Teachers Association says it does not endorse any of the controversial budget amendments filed by freshman House Republicans that would put more money into the teachers' health insurance fund. Full Story
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Emily, Ross, Reeve and Ayan discuss the debate over Medicaid expansion, the upcoming fight over the budget in the Texas House, and the latest issues with the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. Full Story
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Discussions on gun control are replete with arguments about background checks, ammunition limits and issues related to mental-health awareness. Gun running to Mexico, however, remains a key concern, a new study shows. Full Story
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With the addition of more than a dozen statewide elected officials to our Lawmaker Explorer — including Attorney General Greg Abbott and Comptroller Susan Combs and the state's railroad commissioners and Supreme Court justices — we're renaming it the Ethics Explorer. Full Story
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Your evening reading: Cruz's plans for South Carolina speech stir speculation; Williams says state will move to A-F grading system for schools; House lawmakers question CPRIT Foundation's decision to rebrand Full Story
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Polling over the last two years from the University of Texas/Texas Tribune suggests that education has not become more salient to Texas voters, nor have perceptions of school quality suffered significantly. Full Story
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A clash of political heavyweights has pounded new urgency into the debate over Medicaid expansion in Texas. Full Story
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Your evening reading: press conferences highlight Medicaid expansion debate; FBI assisting Kaufman County murder investigation; House freshmen target budget to free up money for retired teachers Full Story
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The Texas rhetoric around a key tenet of federal health reform reached a high-water mark on Monday, with back-to-back press conferences at the Capitol featuring political leaders on both sides of the aisle. Full Story
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Dueling events at the Capitol today will pit Texas' top Republicans against the state's two highest-profile Democrats. Full Story
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UPDATED: As debates over gun control intensify across the nation, state senators on Tuesday tentatively approved a measure allowing Gov. Rick Perry to offer economic incentives to gun manufacturers that want to move to Texas. Full Story
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This week in the Newsreel: The Legislature makes progress on key education and water bills; Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, is busted for barratry; and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst bares his partisan teeth. Full Story
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UPDATED: U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, and his twin, San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, will hold their own event at the Capitol on Monday to promote the Medicaid expansion provision of federal health reform. Full Story
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Austin has become a growing market for Mexican narco cinema, hastily made films inspired by the cartels. The videos are popular in Austin partly because of the city's increasing population of Hispanic immigrants and Texas’ proximity to Mexico, where the movies are made. Full Story
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Some voters will associate a particular policy with a particular individual, and they will probably transfer the opinion of the person to the issue at hand. President Obama's numbers in Texas show that any issue he supports is unlikely to gain much traction in the state. Full Story
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Your evening reading: Cruz's attempt to repeal health care reform fails; crash victims want Gonzalez to step down; George P. Bush steps up fundraising efforts Full Story
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