The Evening Brief: March 27, 2013

New in The Texas Tribune

•    Perry, Cruz, Cornyn to Present United Front on Medicaid: "Gov. Rick Perry and Texas' two U.S. senators will join forces at the state Capitol on Monday to reassert their opposition to expanding Medicaid, a central tenet of federal health reform that has been a subject of much debate among state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle."

•    Norwood Found Guilty, Sentenced to Life in Prison for Morton Murder: "A jury in Tom Green County has found Mark Norwood guilty of the 1986 murder of Christine Morton and sentenced him to life in prison. The verdict came just hours after prosecutors and the defense presented their closing arguments. Norwood's family says he will appeal the verdict."

•    Dewhurst Raises Concerns With UT Law Foundation Review: "Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst indicated Wednesday that he shares the concerns of state senators who have called on the UT System regents to use the attorney general's office for an external review of the UT Law School Foundation."

•    Speed Incentives, Toll Lanes Get Senate Attention: "The Senate Transportation Committee heard testimony Wednesday on two bills addressing criticisms stemming from the proliferation of toll roads and toll lane projects around the state."

•    Number of Deferred Action Applications on the Decline: "After peaking in September, applications for deferred action have dropped off dramatically. Immigration attorneys think most eligible undocumented immigrants are in a wait-and-see mode amid the federal immigration reform debate."

•    Chairman of UT Regents Responds to Senators' Letter: "University of Texas System regents chairman Gene Powell responded to a strongly worded letter from Texas senators, saying that a decision on how to proceed with a review of UT-Austin's law school would be made in the 'next few weeks.'"

Culled

•    'Rude' lawmaker Louie Gohmert pulls rank on cops over parking ticket (Politico): "A Texas Republican congressman got into a late-night verbal altercation with U.S. Park Police officers earlier this month, pulling rank in an attempt to get out of a parking ticket near the Lincoln Memorial. Shortly after 11 p.m. on March 13, officers wrote Rep. Louie Gohmert a citation for parking his black Ford SUV in a spot reserved for National Park Service vehicles, according to a Park Police report obtained by POLITICO."

•    Cornyn calls Border Patrol cutbacks "outrageous" and "reprehensible" (The Dallas Morning News): "Sen. John Cornyn isn’t happy about the Department of Homeland Security’s plans to cut back the hours and overtime pay of Border Patrol agents. 'The Obama administration’s actions amount to nothing short of a calculated, willful neglect of what should be a President’s top priority: protecting the homeland and keeping Americans safe,' the Republican lawmaker said in a written statement today."