The Evening Brief: May 13, 2013

New in The Texas Tribune

•    Leaders Find Agreement on Budget's Finer Points: "State budget leaders adopted unified proposals for several areas of the budget on Monday morning but said they are still working on the two largest pieces: education and health and human services."

•    Budget Negotiators Tentatively Restore CPRIT Funds: "If the state Legislature approves reforms to the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the embattled agency should have its financing restored, budget negotiators decided on Monday."

•    Discovery Bill Vote Comes on Brady Anniversary: "Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brady v. Maryland decision, and the Texas House is scheduled to vote on a law that some legal experts say would ensure that the ruling’s tenets are carried out to help prevent wrongful convictions. Five decades after the ruling, Texas is on the verge of requiring prosecutors to open their files."

•    Medical Association Backs Proposals to Cut Red Tape: "The Texas Medical Association is pushing measures this legislative session to help modernize medical practices, such as collecting or verifying patient data by swiping a driver's license."

Culled

•    Perry: IRS Actions May Be 'Criminal,' 'Un-American At Best' (National Review): "Rick Perry has some harsh words for the mainstream media’s coverage of Benghazi and the emerging IRS scandal, saying today that 'the mainstream media needs to quit protecting this administration.' 'I watched MSNBC this morning,' Perry tells National Review in an interview, later clarifying he was watching Chuck Todd on The Daily Rundown, 'and the length at which they were trying to defend the administration’s actions and response to Benghazi was really stunning to me.'"

•    Farenthold believes White House involved in Benghazi talking points; Obama calls GOP inquiries into the issue a 'sideshow' (Houston Chronicle): "Republicans are ramping up the rhetoric in their tussle with the White House over how security officials responded to the attacks last September on an American consulate in Benghazi. Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold, who sat on the House Oversight Committee that questioned several national security and State Department officials on what happened during the attacks, rejects White House officials’ contention that they played a minimal role in modifying administration 'talking points' in the days following the attack."

•    Texas' missing 18-24 year old voters (Texas Redistricting): "Texas turnout in 2012 lags every age the US turnout rate in every age group except the eligible voters over 65+, where Texas slightly outperforms the nation as a whole. The result isn’t especially surprising given that Texas ranked 47th in the nation in voter turnout in 2012 (after coming in 50th in 2010). But what does stand out is the sharp fall off in Texas among voters 18-24 when benchmarked against the national turnout rate."