The Evening Brief: Dec. 17, 2012

New in The Texas Tribune: 

•   Abbott: 78 Texas School Districts Not Meeting Safety Standards: "Following the Connecticut school shooting, Attorney General Greg Abbott has warned 78 out-of-compliance Texas school districts that his office expects them to immediately update their safety plans in accordance with state law."

•   Michael Quinn Sullivan: "Our Side is Winning": An exclusive excerpt from the January 2013 issue of Texas Monthly: Nate Blakeslee on how Michael Quinn Sullivan became one of the most powerful unelected figures at the Capitol.

•   Amid Investigations, CPRIT's Future Uncertain: "The future of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas is far from certain, as the quasi-governmental agency and its fast-shrinking cast of advisers face accusations of impropriety and criminal and civil investigations."

•   Gains in Texas Budget a Source of Hot Debate: "Does Texas need a constitutional cap on spending growth to protect it from the whims of future lawmakers or save it from the current ones? Supporters of the proposal are at odds."

•   Talk of Term Limits is Back, With Tea Party Help: "Limiting the terms of lawmakers was a sexy idea 20 years ago, when Republicans were trying to unseat Democrats. Now it's back. The goo-goos — the good government types — think the turnover would produce a stream of fresh policy ideas. The revolutionaries — the Tea Party folk — want to replace the current bums with fresh ones, preferably from their flock."

Culled:

•   Bushies with Karl Rove connections host George P. Bush DC fundraiser (The Dallas Morning News): "There’s a common denominator when it comes to who’s hosting today’s Washington fundraiser for George P. Bush — many of the top supporters are one-time employees of the Bush White House who worked for or with Karl Rove."

•   Texas Voter ID Suit Put on Hold Till Supreme Court Rules (Bloomberg): "A federal court deferred further proceedings in a lawsuit filed by Texas over the state’s voter identification law until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on whether part of the Voting Rights Act is constitutional."