The Evening Brief: Feb. 6, 2013

Culled

•    Boy Scouts Will Postpone a Decision on Admitting Gays (The New York Times): "The Boy Scouts of America, which reconfirmed last summer its policy banning openly gay people from participation, then said last week it was reconsidering the ban, said on Wednesday that it would postpone a decision once more, until May, as talk of gays in the ranks has roiled a storied organization that carries deep emotional connection and nostalgia for millions of Americans."

•    Former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison says she’s 'very pleased' to join Houston-based Bracewell Giuliani (Houston Chronicle): "Former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, one of the most influential Texas politicians of the modern era, has joined the Houston-based law firm of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP. The law firm announced this morning that Hutchison, who retired from the Senate in January, is working out of its Dallas office as senior counsel."

•    Cornyn dismisses White House justification for killing Americans as 'legal fluff packaged for the media' (Houston Chronicle): "Texas Sen. John Cornyn is calling on the Obama administration to provide any opinions from Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel on President Obama’s legal reasoning for killing American citizens involved with certain terrorist groups. 'The self-described "most transparent administration in history" owes more of an explanation to the American people on why they can be targeted for execution abroad than legal fluff packaged for and deliberately leaked to the media,' the San Antonio Republican said in a statement released today."

New in The Texas Tribune

•    Villalba Files School Marshal Bill: "State Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, has filed a bill that would allow Texas schools to appoint 'school marshals' — employees who could carry guns in an effort to protect students from violence."

•    TribLive: Straus on Health Reform: "At Wednesday's TribLive conversation, House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, held open the possibility of a compromise with the federal government on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act."

•    Watson Has Tough Words for Combs, Tax Subsidy Programs: "Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, criticized Republican Comptroller Susan Combs on Wednesday, saying she had a 'cavalier' approach to doling out millions of dollars in tax incentives, including the award eventually granted to the promoters of F1 auto racing."

•    Perry Calls for More Funds for I-69 Project: "A planned interstate highway stretching from South Texas to Michigan remains decades away, but Gov. Rick Perry said Wednesday that lawmakers should find more money for the project and ones like it."

•    Groups Bank on United Front in Gambling Push: "Despite strong resistance inside and outside the Legislature, groups representing various gambling interests hope that a collaborative approach can help them make a breakthrough this legislative session. Those interests haven't always been on the same page when it came to legislation."

•    Aycock Proposes New Testing, Graduation Requirements: "Newly appointed House Public Education Chairman Jimmie Don Aycock filed legislation Wednesday that would restructure the state's high school graduation and student testing requirements."

•    House Committee Pushes CPRIT Reforms: "State auditors answered representatives' questions about improprieties of a cancer research organization whose organizational and financial structure led to wasted dollars and perceptions of favoritism."