Bill Lets Police Take Guns From Those in Mental Crisis
Police would have new authority to take firearms away from Texans who are in a mental crisis under a bill the House approved on Tuesday that is now headed to Gov. Rick Perry's desk. Full Story
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House Backs Mental Health Jail Diversion Program
The House on Monday approved Senate Bill 1185 by Sen. Joan Huffman, which would create a pilot program that connects mentally ill inmates with social, clinical, housing and welfare services during the first weeks after the person's release from jail. Full Story
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![Christopher Ajayi, a psychiatric technician, makes his rounds at the Harris County Jail.]()
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Innocence Commission Clash Impacting Other Bills
A battle over legislation that would create an innocence commission to review wrongful conviction has turned personal — and potentially deadly for a handful of bills authored by state Sen. Joan Huffman. Full Story
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Prison Officers' Union Unhappy With 5% Pay Raise
Correctional officers in a statewide union say that a 5 percent pay increase lawmakers have proposed in the state budget is not sufficient to stymie the corruption and reduce physical dangers they face every day. Full Story
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![A sign outside of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Headquarters in Huntsville. Last year, Texas prison officials approved a $3,000 bonus for correctional officers in units where a boom in oil and gas jobs has made it hard to find new hires. They are currently working with state lawmakers to grant all correctional officers a 5 percent pay increase.]()
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Adding More Exemptions, Senate Approves Drone Bill
Police officers, oil and gas pipeline inspectors, news photographers, and movie producers may now all have access to drone footage under certain conditions in language added to legislation banning the use of unmanned aerial vehicles as it passed the Texas Senate. Full Story
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![Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi engineering student Adam Ersepke and lab coordinator Jack Edward Esparza prepare for the take off of the University’s RS-16 unmanned aerial vehicle, otherwise known as a drone, for a test flight over the Kennedy Ranch near Sarita, Texas on January 18, 2013.]()
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Perry Signs Michael Morton Act
With exoneree Michael Morton by his side, Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday signed a measure that aims to avoid wrongful convictions by preventing prosecutors from suppressing evidence. Full Story
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![Gov. Rick Perry ceremonially signs Senate Bill 1611, known as the Michael Morton Act, which requires prosecutors to disclose evidence in criminal cases. Morton served nearly 25 years in prison for his wife's murder before he was exonerated in 2011.]()
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Senator Says Innocence Commission Bill is in Trouble
Two days after an advocate for a bill establishing a commission to review wrongful convictions lashed out at a state senator who voiced opposition to the bill, the measure's Senate sponsor says he doesn't have the votes to move the legislation forward. Full Story
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Industry Opposition Leads to Likely Demise of Worker Classification Bill
Advocacy groups and business owners urged lawmakers to crack down on companies that misclassify their employees for tax and immigration purposes. But in the final days of the session, the measures have run out of steam. Full Story
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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.]()
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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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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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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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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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Discovery Bill Vote Comes on Brady Anniversary
On the 50th anniversary of the landmark Brady v. Maryland decision, the Texas House is set 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. Full Story
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Bill Would Curb Access to Photos of Murder Victims
UPDATED: The legislation authored by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, that would require court approval for most requests to view or copy crime scene photos that show murder victims passed the Senate Monday without debate. Full Story
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![Victim Advocate for the City of Houston Andy Kahan, with crime scene photos printed off websites showing dead bodies, many unclothed, in his office at the Houston Police Department in Houston, Monday May 6, 2013.]()
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Execution for Prison Guard Murder Delayed for DNA Tests
Death row inmate Robert Pruett will get a 60-day reprieve from his May 21 execution date after his lawyers filed a request for DNA testing Thursday, arguing that it could prove Pruett did not murder a prison guard in 2002. Full Story
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![Robert Pruett, 33, was sentenced to death in 2002 for the murder of correctional officer Daniel Nagle. Pruett says he was framed by corrupt guards and inmates while the prison employee union says chronic understaffing led to Nagle's murder.]()
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Staples to Rubio: Reform Bill Contains the "Ultimate Amnesty Provision"
A path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants is akin to rewarding lawbreakers, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples wrote Thursday in a letter to U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Full Story
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![Evan Smith talks with Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples during a TribLive event on May 2, 2013.]()
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Drone Surveillance Measure Soars Through House
UPDATED: State Rep. Lance Gooden’s bill to prevent unmanned drones from capturing indiscriminate surveillance won approval in the lower chamber on Friday. Full Story
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![Micheal Cincienne of Absolute Aerospace and Texas A&M Corpus Christi, engineering student Adam Ersepke, and lab coordinator Jack Edward Esparza carry the University’s RS-16 unmanned aerial vehicle, otherwise known as a drone, back to the command center after a test flight over the Kennedy Ranch near Sarita, Texas on January 18, 2013.]()
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Measures That Aim to Benefit Undocumented Immigrants in Limbo
The tone on immigration this session is vastly different compared with 2011, when the Legislature entertained more than 100 immigration-enforcement measures. But legislation that would benefit undocumented immigrants is still unlikely to pass on its own. Full Story
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Time Running Out for Cellphone Tracking Bill
The House clock may not be on the side of a bill to regulate the use of cellphone records in law enforcement investigations. Full Story
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Credit: Chris Dlugosz
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