The Evening Brief: June 18, 2013

Culled

•    Lehmberg calls Perry cuts 'partisan,' 'misguided' (Austin American-Statesman): "Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg made her first public comments on Tuesday about Gov. Rick Perry’s move Friday to cut about $3.7 million in annual funding to her office. 'It feels partisan and it’s misguided, as far as I’m concerned,' Lehmberg said in a brief interview with reporters after addressing county commissioners for about 45 minutes Tuesday morning."

•    House debate on redistricting set for Thursday (San Antonio Express-News): "The Texas House is poised to vote on redistricting plans Thursday in what is set to be the final hurdle before Republicans send Gov. Rick Perry the trio of elections maps he called on lawmakers to pass at the onset of the special session."

•    Rep. Michael Burgess, MD, argues that 15-week-old fetuses feel pleasure and pain (The Dallas Morning News): "One of the few physicians in Congress, North Texas Rep. Michael Burgess is drawing ridicule from left-wing media today for suggesting that fetuses as young as 15 weeks old feel pleasure. Self-pleasure."

•    Man accused of threatening Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (The Associated Press): "A Houston man is accused of threatening to kidnap, murder and burn U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and his father and also to 'blow up' the sun if he wasn't paid $3 million."

New in The Texas Tribune

•    Senate Takes Step Toward Transportation Funding Fix: "Despite concerns raised by both Republicans and Democrats, senators on Tuesday tentatively passed a resolution that aims to solve the state's transportation funding woes by diverting future revenue from the Rainy Day Fund."

•    UT/TT Poll: Legislature Stands Ahead of Congress: "Texas politicians and institutions are getting much better marks from the state’s voters than the president and Congress, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll."

•    TWIA Board Agrees to Steps to Address Financial Woes: "The board of the state’s embattled Texas Windstorm Insurance Association agreed Tuesday to take steps that it says will better prepare the agency for the 2013 hurricane season and be more efficient over the long term."

•    Legislators Recall Dispute Over South Texas University: "Two legislators from Hidalgo County and two from Cameron County recall what it took to come up with a compromise on the bill to create a new university in South Texas, which Gov. Rick Perry recently signed into law."