The Evening Brief: April 3, 2012

New in The Texas Tribune:

• Ethics Complaint Targets Conservative Activist: "Michael Quinn Sullivan and the influential conservative group he leads, Empower Texans, haven't filed required disclosure reports on their lobbying and campaign activities, two Republican state legislators said in formal complaints filed today with the Texas Ethics Commission."

• Report: Texas Businesses Wary of Federal Health Reform: "Texas businesses are skeptical of the federal health care law, according to a report released by the comptroller's office. Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents said the law will be bad for business."

• National Group Aids Suit Taking Aim at Federal Rule on Rifle Sales: "A national firearms trade group is helping finance a lawsuit, originally filed by a San Antonio-based gun dealer, that challenges a federal reporting requirement for the sale of long rifles."

• Ken Kramer: The TT Interview: "The outgoing director of the Lone Star chapter of the Sierra Club on the importance of water, the growth of the Club and how he stumbled on his future career path while hiking near Fort Bliss."

Culled:

• Comptroller Combs and SurveyMonkey (San Antonio Express-News): "State Comptroller Susan Combs trumpeted a survey Tuesday showing — as she wrote in the forward to a 15-page report — that a mere 3.4 percent of employers surveyed believe the Affordable Care Act will be good for their business. … But don’t look for a margin of error or other scientific underpinnings. It’s not a scientific survey, as Combs freely acknowledged at her news conference with the heads of the Texas Association of Business (Bill Hammond) and National Federal of Independent Business/Texas (Will Newton). Her poll was conducted online by SurveyMonkey (for $300 a year, she said, her office gets unlimited surveys)."

• Sheila Jackson Lee drafting neighborhood-watch legislation in response to Trayvon Martin’s killing (Houston Chronicle): "Since 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed on Feb. 26, Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has been a prominent voice in the chorus calling for 'justice for Trayvon.' Last week, at a congressional forum on racial profiling and hate crimes, she called for laws that 'work to end the killings of young boys of all backgrounds in America.' Now, Jackson Lee is drafting her own legislation in response to the Sanford, Fla., death."

• Dallas philanthropist hosts five female U.S. Senate candidates tonight (The Dallas Morning News): "Knock on any door in the high-dollar neighborhoods of Dallas and you're likely to find a political fundraiser in progress. Tonight, Dallas philanthropist Naomi Aberly is hosting a dinner for five women running for the U.S. Senate. They are U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nevada; U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin; U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii; Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Heidi Heitkamp, Democrat of North Dakota and former state attorney general."