Agenda Texas: Water Funding Gets New Life
On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: A plan to fund future water infrastructure projects in Texas may be back from the dead. Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Evening Brief: May 14, 2013
Your evening reading: campus carry bill clears Senate committee; House budget chief says leaders close on water, education deal; Cornyn video on border deaths sparks debate Full Story
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Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
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. Full Story
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![State Rep. Allen Fletcher, R-Cypress, stands among House members during the consideration of a point of order on a campus carry bill on May 4, 2013.]()
Credit: Bob Daemrmich -
No Reforms for Railroad Commission This Session
A name change and several ethics reforms on the table this legislative session for the Railroad Commission of Texas, which oversees oil and gas drilling, died on Tuesday in a House committee. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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House Sends Campaign Disclosure Bill to Perry
UPDATED: 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. Full Story
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Hearing on Innocence Commission Bill Draws Heated Testimony
A Senate committee hearing turned explosive on Tuesday when the brother of a wrongfully convicted man who died in prison railed against a senator who opposes the creation of an innocence commission. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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Morton Act, Prosecutor Accountability Bill Head to Governor
House lawmakers on Tuesday approved two bills meant to ensure that wrongful convictions, like the one that Michael Morton behind bars for nearly 25 years, don't happen to others. The measures will stop next on Gov. Rick Perry's desk. Full Story
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Inside Intelligence: About Those Special Sessions...
For this week's nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked about the likelihood of special sessions, the issues that might force them and whether there will be multiple such sessions. Full Story
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House Tentatively Approves "Scope-of-Practice" Bill
After a years-long fight for prescriptive authority, advanced practice nurses and physician assistants supervised by a physician may soon get authority to prescribe controlled substances, under a bill the House gave an early OK to Tuesday. Full Story
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![Family nurse practitioner Jean Gisler at her office in Victoria, Texas.]()
Credit: Marjorie Cotera -
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. Full Story
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Interactive: Tracking Franchise Tax Bills
Tax relief has become a key issue in the final weeks of the legislative session, and nearly all of the relief efforts are focused on the franchise tax paid by businesses. Use our interactive to track the status of those bills. Full Story
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Federal Cuts Mean Fewer Resources for Texas Firefighters
Though Texas is at lower risk for wildfires this summer than in previous years, firefighters will likely have to make do with less as the state's forest service begins to feel the effects of this year's federal sequester cuts. Full Story
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Medicaid Providers Make Last Push for Rate Hikes
In the waning days of budget negotiations, medical providers are pushing lawmakers to raise Medicaid reimbursement rates that were chopped two years ago. Full Story
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The Brief: May 14, 2013
With the end of the session drawing near, a possible crack in the budget stalemate has emerged. Full Story
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House Panel OKs Parole After 40 Years for Young Capital Murderers
To address a gap between Texas law and a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, a House panel Monday approved a bill to allow life sentences with parole eligibility after 40 years for defendants younger than 18 charged with capital murder. Full Story
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Budget Rider Could Lay Out Terms for Medicaid Reform
State Rep. John Zerwas, a budget conferee, said Monday he’s relatively confident that a rider stipulating the Legislature's preferred Medicaid reform terms for any deal with the federal government would stick to the 2014-15 budget. Full Story
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Agenda Texas: The Final Fortnight
On the latest Agenda Texas, from KUT News and the Tribune: As another round of deadlines in the Capitol approaches, several legislative priorities are still unresolved. Full Story
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The Evening Brief: May 13, 2013
Your evening reading: budget negotiators reach agreement, but big items still unresolved; CPRIT funding tentatively restored; Perry calls IRS audit scandal "un-American at best" Full Story
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![Rep. Jim Pitts R-Waxahachie, chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, listens to Rep. Trey Martinez-Fischer D-San Antonio on February 11th, 2013]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
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