The Evening Brief: May 14, 2013

New in The Texas Tribune

•    Campus Carry Bill Passes Senate Committee: "A measure by state Rep. Allen Fletcher, R-Cypress, that allows college students, faculty and staff to carry concealed handguns on campus is heading to the full Senate after a committee approved the measure Tuesday."

•    Pitts: Budget Leaders Close on School and Water Financing: "State lawmakers would spend $3.2 billion for public education and $2 billion for water funding under plans being worked out by budget leaders, House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts said Tuesday."

•    Cornyn Video on Border Deaths Stirs Controversy: "U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has released a new video and an accompanying opinion piece describing the hundreds of migrants found dead every year near the Texas-Mexico border. But advocacy groups say Cornyn is part of the problem."

•    House Sends Campaign Disclosure Bill to Perry: "A divisive measure requiring the disclosure of certain unreported political donors passed the House on a 95-52 vote on Tuesday with little of Monday's debate. The measure now heads to Gov. Rick Perry."

•    T-Squared: Coming Soon, a Border Bureau: Good news, Trib fans: We've received a grant from the Ford Foundation that will enable us to dramatically expand our coverage of how precipitous demographic shifts are altering the public policy landscape in Texas.

Culled

•    Whitmire: bet on a special session (San Antonio Express-News): "Houston Democrat Sen. John Whitmire bet a witness in a debate over campus carry legislation a Coke that the Texas Legislature will convene this summer for a special session."

•    State Left Family-Planning Money Unspent While Clinics Closed (The Texas Observer): "It turns out that Texas’ funding for family planning wasn’t so tight after all. The Observer has learned that the state health department left unspent approximately $2.3 million in family-planning funds in the past year while scores of clinics closed due to lack of money and tens of thousands of women lost access to reproductive care."

•    Is Ted Cruz the dream date for Iowa conservatives in 2016? (The Dallas Morning News): "An influential Iowa conservative predicts Sen. Ted Cruz would catapult to the top of the field of potential GOP nominees if he runs for president in 2016. Bob Van der Plaats, head of the social-conservative group Family Leader, says voters on the GOP’s right flank will be looking to coalesce around a strongly conservative nominee. He says Cruz could be that candidate."

•    Stockman says 'Gang of Millions' will rise up against ‘fundamentally unfair’ Senate immigration bill (Houston Chronicle): "Texas Reps. Louie Gohmert and Steve Stockman said the Senate immigration bill is 'fundamentally unfair' to immigrants who came to the country legally and that it ignores current immigration laws."