In our 12/4 conversation, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst talked about the possibility of greater funding in the 84th session for public and higher education.

In our 12/4 conversation, outgoing Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst talked about his successor and onetime rival, state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston.

With two sentences, a federal appeals court in New Orleans stopped the execution planned for Wednesday night of Scott Panetti.

The surge of state law enforcement on Texas’ southern border will continue through August if an $86 million request made by the state’s top leaders is approved next month by budget writers. 

Lawmakers filed 365 bills and joint resolutions on Monday, the first day they could pre-file legislation for the upcoming legislative session.

Questions continue to be raised about a giant water pipeline project that would pump roughly 16 billion gallons of groundwater annually from Burleson County to San Antonio.

Criticism by state leaders of the Obama administration for failures in the response to the Ebola virus omits mention of the tools at the state's disposal that were not used.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's former adviser Kenneth "Buddy" Barfield pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of wire fraud, making a false tax return and embezzlement of funds contributed to a federal candidate.

In a speech in Washington, D.C., on Friday, outgoing Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst doubled down on claims that Muslim prayer rugs had been found on the Texas-Mexico border. His comments follow a panel discussion on border security last week where he suggested Islamic extremists might be coming into the U.S. from Mexico.

The facts of the auditor's report released Thursday on the administration of Gov. Rick Perry's Texas Enterprise Fund are, as the Tribune's Aman Batheja termed it, "damning."

We're liveblogging the sessions from the 2014 Texas Tribune Festival's Immigration track. The sessions include panels on border security, Latinos and the Republican Party, the comprehensive immigration reform debate, and what to do with the DREAMers.

It's easier to govern if you have a mandate, and you build the mandate while you're campaigning. So far, the agenda for the next set of officeholders is a little murky. The campaign for governor so far has been more about the histories and challenges in the lives of the contestants than about their differences over issues facing the state.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst issued a harsh rebuke of the Mexican government on Thursday for issuing what he called an “offensive” statement on the border surge that coincided with the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

State Rep. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, a Tea Party favorite, cruised to an outright win on Tuesday night in the special election to fill the West Texas Senate seat formerly held by Robert Duncan.

Lame-duck Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst had to make a few committee assignments to replace members who resigned. But he didn't stop there. He also replaced members who will be leaving in January, setting up some vexing choices for his yet-to-be-elected successor.

Can those National Guard troops being sent to the border arrest people? The latest word is they can. And the reason why is that Rick Perry sent them, and not the federal government.

Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst will make a border security announcement at 2 p.m. at the state Capitol. The two are expected to announce the deployment of 1,000 National Guard troops to the Rio Grande Valley.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is on his way out in a few months, but on Thursday he moved to fill some key Senate leadership slots to help the chamber prepare for the coming legislative session in January.