The Evening Brief: Nov. 28, 2012

Culled:

•   To run for president in 2016, Gov. Rick Perry needs to deal with his back pain, says Grover Norquist (Houston Chronicle): "Despite his disastrous 2012 presidential campaign, Rick Perry has a big fan in Grover Norquist. Appearing at a POLITICO breakfast event this morning, the Americans for Tax Reform president and author of the GOP’s anti-tax 'pledge' praised Perry’s 'tremendous track record of success in Texas' and suggested that the governor could be a viable presidential candidate in 2016. … 'Rick Perry, first of all, he has to get over that back pain stuff, but Rick Perry has tremendous track record of success, probably running again – could run for president.'"

•   Panel: Reyes may have broken ethics rules, law (The Associated Press): "An independent House panel says there is substantial reason to believe Texas Rep. Silvestre Reyes violated ethics rules and federal law by conducting campaign meetings on House property and using campaign money to pay expenses for his daughter’s residence."

•   Ron Paul: Both parties are dinosaurs (The Washington Post): "A day after his son said the GOP was in danger of becoming dinosaurs, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) declared both parties philosophically extinct. 'The whole government, and the Democrat party, the Republican party — they’re all dinosaurs,' Paul said in an interview with The Fold. 'The principles are dinosaurs. The parties are going to linger because they’re locked in by law. You’re not allowed to compete; the laws are biased against us from competing. If you go third party you cant’ get in debates, you can’t get on ballots.'"

•   Texas’ richest city may come as a surprise (Houston Chronicle): "A Texas city can brag about being better than San Francisco, New York City and Boston in at least one area — personal income. But it isn't Houston, Dallas, San Antonio or Austin that's near the top of the list from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. It's Midland."

New in The Texas Tribune:

•   Attorney General Seeks to Seize Polygamist Ranch: "The Texas attorney general's office is pursuing legal action to seize the West Texas ranch owned by the polygamist sect led by Warren Jeffs, who is serving life in prison for sexually assaulting young girls."

•   Lawmakers Hear Concerns Over Rural Water Rate Hikes: "Some Texans in rural areas face double- or even triple-digit rate increases from private water providers. On Wednesday they urged the Senate Committee on Natural Resources to address the problem, and lawmakers seemed receptive."

•   Bill Would Restrict Informant Testimony in Death Penalty Cases: "Reform advocates argue that a bill banning 'snitch' testimony would help efforts to prevent wrongful convictions. But critics of the measure say that current rules protect defendants and that eliminating such testimony could tie prosecutors’ hands."