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SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A month after losing a costly and long-coveted bid for the U.S. Senate, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst on Tuesday turned his political sights back on the Texas Capitol and said he would seek for a fourth term in his powerful state office.

The line of prominent Republicans eyeing the lieutenant governor's seat in 2014 is already growing long, and Dewhurst's announcement at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., didn't change their plans — or even convince them that Dewhurst would really be on the ballot in two years.

"As I see this today, there's no way to know who will be running for lieutenant governor in 2014," said Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, who is also in Tampa this week and had already put his name in the field.

Dewhurst, 67, was first elected lieutenant governor in 2003 and had spent much of the past two years positioned as the favorite to succeed Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Despite a once commanding lead in the polls and spending millions of his vast personal wealth, though, Dewhurst lost the GOP runoff in July to tea party insurgent Ted Cruz.

The defeat left Dewhurst's political future murky, particularly as an entrenched member of the state's Republican establishment whose conservative record was assailed by Cruz and his restless supporters in the party.

Dewhurst's spokesman, Matt Hirsch, said Dewhurst has moved on from his loss to Cruz and delved back into the business of state affairs. The Texas lieutenant governor presides over the state Senate and wields considerable influence over state policy.

Earlier this week, Dewhurst appointed lawmakers to chair several powerful committees in the upcoming legislative session, including the finance committee, which drafts the budget.

"He was always concerned what was best for the state of Texas," Hirsch said. "He feels there's a lot of work left to be done."

Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson has also announced he intends to run for Dewhurst's seat. Patterson is a former state legislator who has led the Texas General Land Office since 2002. State Comptroller Susan Combs is also widely mentioned as a potential candidate.

Dewhurst had been mum on his political future since losing to Cruz. He has acknowledged missteps in his campaign and believed that many voters angry at Washington were out to punish government officials at all levels. Cruz has never held elected office, but his victory in the runoff vaulted him to Republican stardom and even a headlining address at the party's convention this week.

Before losing to Cruz, Dewhurst had been undefeated in elections since his first run for Texas Land Commissioner in 1998. He personally spent nearly $20 million on the Senate run.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Gov. Rick Perry presented a glowing assessment of the Texas economy Tuesday and said there was more than enough money in the state's Rainy Day fund for a one-time, $3.7 billion-investment in water and transportation upgrades while also cutting taxes.

The Republican governor, who for weeks has called on the Legislature to hold down government spending even with the state's economy booming, used his biennial State of the State speech Tuesday in the House chamber to call for a one-time investment in infrastructure he said is needed to ensure a high quality of life. The Texas constitution calls for a percentage of oil and gas revenues to go into the Rainy Day Fund, which is nearing its constitutional cap.

"Our bank balance is healthy, our economy is growing, our future is limitless," Perry said.

Perry also called on lawmakers to amend the Texas Constitution to allow the state to return tax money it collects but doesn't spend to its citizens.

"Today, I'm calling for a mechanism to be put in place so when we do bring in more than we need, we'll have the option of returning tax money directly to the people who paid it," the governor said. "Currently, that's not something our constitution allows. We need to fix that."

About 64 percent of state revenues come from sales tax, so it's not clear how money could be returned directly to taxpayers.

More than a dozen protesters with the Texas Organizing Project interrupted the speech from the House gallery. According to Ginny Goldman, the group's executive director, security officers detained James Caldwell of Houston after he shouted "Governor Perry, what are you going to do about the 7 million uninsured people in Texas?'

The outburst caused Perry to pause while Republican drowned out the protesters with a standing ovation. Security escorted the entire group out of the chamber and Caldwell was detained for questioning, Goldman said.

Tuesday marks the seventh time Perry has given the State of the State since taking over for George W. Bush as governor in December 2000. Two years ago, he declared there would be "no sacred cows" immune to deep budget cuts as the state struggled with a $27 billion budget deficit amid an economy still feeling the effects of The Great Recession.

Lawmakers responded by passing deep cuts across-the-board, including slashing $5.4 billion from public schools.

"The tough decisions we faced last session tested our resolve and our dedication to the principles that brought us here," Perry said Tuesday. "In the end, we remained dedicated to those principles, holding the line on taxes, spending within our means and making the tough decisions separating wants from needs."

One thing Perry did not say during his address is if he will seek a fourth full term as governor. Perry has held his post longer than anyone in Texas history and is also the longest-serving governor in the country, but he says he won't announce his plans until this summer.

That's a world of difference from his 2011 State of the State, when Perry was looking to position himself for a presidential run. He entered the contest for the Republican nomination in August 2011 and immediately became the front-runner. But his campaign flamed out nearly as quickly amid a series of public gaffes that made the governor a national punch line.

Perry also hasn't ruled out another try at the White House in 2016, though it's unclear if his running for governor again would help or hurt such a bid.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas lawmakers are hearing testimony about the possibility of levying taxes on tobacco firms that weren't part of the state's multibillion dollar 1998 settlement with major cigarette companies.

Big tobacco manufacturers say they are getting undersold by smaller firms that can charge less for their cigarettes because they aren't subject to taxes included in Texas' settlement.

But those companies not in the settlement counter that the larger firms are simply worried about losing market share statewide and want legislation to hurt their competitors.

Two bills proposed during the 2011 legislative session would have expanded taxes to tobacco companies not part of the settlement. But they weren't approved.

Members of the House Ways and Means Committee discussed Tuesday whether similar legislation should be proposed after the Legislature reconvenes in January.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas officials are vowing to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood after a federal court sided with the state in a challenge over a new law that bans clinics affiliated with abortion providers from getting money through a health program for low-income women.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans late Tuesday reversed a federal judge's temporary injunction that was allowing the funding to continue pending an October trial on Planned Parenthood's challenge to the law.

State officials are seeking to halt money to Planned Parenthood clinics that provide family planning and health services as part of the state's Women's Health Program because the Republican-led Texas Legislature passed a law banning funds to organizations linked to abortion providers.

Planned Parenthood provides services like cancer screenings — but not abortions — to about half of the 130,000 low-income Texas women enrolled in the program, which is designed to provide services to women who might not otherwise qualify for Medicaid.

The appeals court's decision means Texas is now free to impose the ban.

"We appreciate the court's ruling and will move to enforce state law banning abortion providers and affiliates from the Women's Health Program as quickly as possible," Stephanie Goodman, a spokeswoman for the state Health and Human Services Commission, said in a statement.

The ruling is the latest in the ongoing fight that has pitted Texas against the federal government. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says that the new state rule violates federal law. Federal funds paid for 90 percent, or about $35 million, of the $40 million Women's Health Program until the new rule went into effect. Federal officials are now phasing out support for the program.

Gov. Rick Perry has promised that Texas will make up for the loss of federal funds to keep the program going without Planned Parenthood's involvement. In a statement, Perry called Tuesday's ruling "a win for Texas women, our rule of law and our state's priority to protect life."

"Texas will continue providing important health services for women through this program in spite of the Obama Administration's disregard for our state law and unilateral decision to defund this program," he said.

Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said the case "has never been about Planned Parenthood — it's about the women who rely on Planned Parenthood for cancer screenings, birth control and well-woman exams."

"It is shocking that politics would get in the way of women receiving access to basic health care," Richards said in a statement.

The case began when Planned Parenthood sued, saying the new Texas law violated its rights to free speech. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott countered by arguing that lawmakers may decide which organizations receive state funds.

A federal judge in Austin ruled that the funding should continue pending the trial on Planned Parenthood's lawsuit, saying there's sufficient evidence the state's law is unconstitutional.

But the three-judge appellate panel disagreed, unanimously finding that Planned Parenthood was unlikely to prevail in future arguments that its free-speech rights were violated.

Abbott cheered the decision, noting that it "rightfully recognized that the taxpayer-funded Women's Health Program is not required to subsidize organizations that advocate for elective abortion."

It comes as conservative groups across the nation try to pass and enforce laws to put Planned Parenthood out of business and make getting an abortion more difficult. Earlier this year the same court upheld a new Texas law requiring doctors to perform a sonogram and provide women with a detailed description of the fetus before carrying out an abortion.

DALLAS (AP) — A former Texas state representative was found dead in Harlingen on Sunday, three days after he was reported missing from an assisted-living facility.

The body of Don Lee, 78, was found by his youngest son, Clayton, in a brushy area just under a mile from the facility that reported the elder Lee missing on Thursday.

Harlingen police spokesman Sgt. John Lee Parrish said an autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death. He said police also will investigate how Lee, who suffered from dementia, diabetes and other medical conditions, was able to leave the facility.

"There will be a lot more answers eventually," Parrish said.

Family members said Lee, who served three terms in the Texas House in the 1980s, moved into the facility only last Monday. He had lived alone for many years in Austin and was somewhat reluctant to be in an assisted-living situation, they said.

"He just had a natural desire to be home, and he hadn't had a chance to acclimate to his environment," Clayton Lee said.

Clayton Lee said his father, a Democrat, was a champion of the issues important to the South Texas district he served, which covered Cameron and Hidalgo counties. Those included better standards for buildings in hurricane-prone areas and increased funding for education.

"He was a zealous advocate for anything that helped the Rio Grande Valley," the younger Lee said.

Clayton Lee said his father left politics after losing his seat in the Legislature in a close race in 1986. He then went to work for the Texas Department of Insurance, where he supervised field inspectors until his retirement in 1994.

A federal court in Washington on Tuesday found evidence of discrimination in new Texas voting maps drawn by the state's Republican-controlled Legislature. Here's a quick look at the decision:

THE ISSUE: The U.S. Department of Justice requires Texas and eight other states with a history of racial discrimination to submit changes to voting maps for review. Rather than seek clearance through the DOJ, Texas asked a federal court in Washington for approval. On Tuesday, the court rejected the maps.

THE DECISION: In a 154-page opinion, the court said the state failed to prove that the maps weren't redrawn with the intent to discriminate. The judges said they found evidence of discrimination in the maps, noting that black congressional members had economic drivers such as sporting arenas carved out of their districts while "no such surgery" occurred in districts with white incumbents.

WHAT'S NEXT: The ruling isn't expected to affect the November elections. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is vowing to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, since the state argued that the lines were legally drawn in ways to be favorable to Republicans but not with intent to discriminate.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Supporters of Planned Parenthood are urging Texas to "put women's health ahead of politics."

The state is holding a public hearing Tuesday on what its Women's Health Program may look like after the federal government pulls funding amid a battle over Planned Parenthood.

A 2011 state law barred funding to clinics affiliated with abortion providers. The Women's Health Program provides services to about 130,000 low-income women.

It had been 90 percent sponsored by the federal government, but Washington says Texas' law violates federal rules, and plans to stop funding the program in November.

Texas vows to keep the program going on its own, but without Planned Parenthood, which had provided care to about half of the program's participants.

Supporters say no Planned Parenthood will mean less care for the poor.