Some advocates for the region worry freshmen lawmakers will start deal-making at a deficit, while other voters see a chance for new blood.

Rhonda Ward, a first-time candidate for elected office who previously served on the state GOP’s policy committee, is challenging Trent Ashby for the East Texas seat.

The state agency in charge of Texas' highway system says people need more ways to get around if the population is going to continue to grow.

As the state’s population grows, more travel options are needed in rural and smaller urban areas and between major cities, according to a draft of the first-of-its-kind plan.

Phillip Surls, a local businessman who owns much of the property around the Cutoff, has argued he blocked access to the stream to protect his cattle and that the waterway is not public.

Leaders of the Republican Party of Texas are meeting at the state Capitol this weekend to consider censuring state representatives who party leaders believe aren't conservative enough to be called Republicans.

Most of the cities — Odessa, La Marque, Tom Bean and Whitesboro — said they are following the law and Ken Paxton’s office is jumping the gun on enforcing new state rules.

A bill that would let Texas residents sue out-of-state abortion pill providers for up to $100,000 has been passed by lawmakers and sent to the governor.

The House refused Senate changes allowing exports to continue while the state studies its underground water supply. Lawmakers left the Capitol without reaching a compromise.

Autonomous vehicles, or AVs, are here. Tribune journalists took a ride in one recently and answer the biggest questions about who’s driving the driverless trend and how the state regulates them.

Kelly Hancock and Robert Nichols broke from the rest of their party, but longtime observers said they weren’t surprised.

Democrats, however, said their GOP colleagues “caved” to outside pressure in voting to acquit and return Ken Paxton to his job as attorney general.

Lawmakers who ushered through the change say the new law will make roads safer during storms or construction.

Whether it’s supporting a rape exception for abortion or opposing school choice, Nichols has gone his own way on certain GOP priorities.

Both chambers have said school safety is a priority this session after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at a Uvalde elementary school last year.

Lawmakers are trying hard to come up with an agreement on how to replace an embattled 20-year tax abatement program for big companies that expired in December.

Texas’ abortion laws look likely to remain about where they were at the beginning of the legislative session, as key deadlines pass without any movement on abortion-related bills.

Senate Bill 11, which aims to get hundreds of districts without adequate safety protocols to adopt one, would also beef up truancy laws.

The allocation is part of a plan to add $12 billion to the current budget. It hasn’t been approved yet by the House.

The bill, introduced months after the Uvalde school shooting, also allocates more funds to the state’s school safety allotment, which is money given to districts to improve campus security.

Senators in the finance committee asked questions Monday about the pros and cons of basing the amount of money that schools get per student on enrollment instead of attendance. Districts say the change could mean millions in additional funding.

Other anti-abortion groups and Republicans said they will continue to support state Sen. Robert Nichols after his comments at The Texas Tribune Festival.

One of the longest-serving Republican state senators, Robert Nichols is among the first to say publicly he’d support revising the state’s abortion prohibition. He spoke Friday at The Texas Tribune Festival.

The law says the state's natural gas system won't be required to prepare for extreme weather until 2022 at the earliest and allows companies to opt out of weatherization requirements.