Enlarge Erik Hersman

Time to reclaim your mailbox, your television, your home phone. The long-delayed Texas primary elections are finally here. And this is our last hotlist for this round. We'll start another for the runoffs as soon as the results of the primary are final. 

In the meantime, you know the drill: We lifted the color scheme from the inventors of the federal terror watch, ranking districts by the threat to each incumbent, to the incumbent party, or just by the level of interest in and heat generated by a particular race, then assigning each group a garish color.

Yellow means there's trouble on the sidewalk.

Orange is trouble on the front porch.

Red is trouble walking in the door.

Open seats are rated by the apparent margin between top candidates (closer is hotter). 

Incumbents are indicated with this: (i). A printable version is attached as a .pdf file.

Changes this week: We demoted probable runoffs without incumbents in them to orange, including CD-14, CD-25, CD-33, CD-34, CD-36 and HD-115 (they'll be back on the list when the runoff edition is out); and the HD-7 race. Races promoted this week include HD-98, CD-6, SD-11, and HD-6. And we added the GOP primary in CD-24. Still orange, but on the bubble to go red: HD-15.

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Enlarge Graphic by Todd Wiseman

The high points from the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll:

• Ted Cruz has moved within runoff range of frontrunner David Dewhurst in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, with Dewhurst at 40 percent, Cruz at 31 percent and Tom Leppert at 17 percent.

• Most Texans don't recognize the names of the Democrats running for that Senate spot, but when pressed for a decision, Paul Sadler led with 29 percent, followed by Sean Hubbard at 25 percent, Addie Danielle Allen at 19 percent, and Grady Yarbrough at 15 percent.

• The Republican presidential vote in Texas belongs to Mitt Romney (Rick Santorum was far ahead, and still in the news, at the time of the February UT/TT survey), at 63 percent, with Ron Paul far behind at 14 percent. Santorum was at 10 percent.

• Romney's favorable/unfavorable ratings in Texas are 40 percent/38 percent. Barack Obama's are 38/52. Voters' job review of the president was 36 percent positive, 54 percent negative.

• Romney would beat Obama 55 percent to 35 percent in a general election in Texas held now.

• Congress won the approval of 10 percent of Texans, the disapproval of 71 percent.

• Gov. Rick Perry's job approval/disapproval was 37 percent/43 percent. Asked about their impression of Perry, 38 percent were sweet and 47 percent were sour. House Speaker Joe Straus got a 9/11 favorable/unfavorable vote. Dewhurst's grades were 30/25.

• Voters don't know most of the candidates running for Texas Railroad Commission. In the race for a full term on the RRC, Christi Craddick got 30 percent to Warren Chisum's 19 percent, followed by Joe Cotten, 14 percent; Becky Berger, 13 percent; and Roland Sledge, 10 percent. In the race for the remainder of Michael William's term, Greg Parker leads with 33 percent, followed by a virtual tie between Barry Smitherman and Elizabeth Murray-Kolb. Smitherman has the seat by appointment until someone wins the election. In the first race 63 percent of voters initially had no choice; in the second, the Don't Know vote was initially at 51 percent.

• Comptroller Susan Combs leads the hypothetical race for lieutenant governor in 2014, with 28 percent, followed by state Sen. Dan Patrick, with 23 percent; Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, with 11 percent; Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples, with 9 percent; and state Rep. Dan Branch of Dallas, with 3 percent. One in five said they'd prefer "another Republican candidate."

• 54 percent said it's time for a change in their state representative; 35 percent say their lawmaker deserves another term.

• 18 percent of the voters said they would join the Tea Party if it organized like the other two parties. Another 22 percent said they would vote for Republican candidates, and 34 percent said they would choose Democratic candidates. Those Tea Party numbers are lower than in some previous UT/TT surveys. A year ago, 33 percent said they'd vote for the Democrat, 24 percent for the Tea Party candidate, and 17 percent for Republican.

• By a 47-36 margin, voters don't think candidates ought to sign anti-tax pledges before they get into office and see that they're facing. But it depends on who's answering the question: 70 percent of Democrats are against the pledges, Republicans were slightly in favor (48-41), and 60 percent of voters who identify with the Tea Party favor those pacts.

• There's a twin on the other side, where the fav/unfav numbers for Planned Parenthood are 46/35. The organization is much more favored by Democrats than by Republicans. And look at this: Among Republican men, 76 percent have an unfavorable opinion; among Republican women, 57 percent have an unfavorable opinion (13 percent of Republican men and 24 percent of Republican women had favorable opinions). More than half of female voters who identify themselves as independents — 56 percent — have a favorable opinion, while 11 percent were unfavorable. More than half of the male independents — 56 percent — had an unfavorable opinion; 24 percent had a favorable opinion.

• Right direction, wrong track numbers: For the country, 25-61; for the state, 38-42. The economy, compared to 12 months ago: For the country, 28 percent see improvement and 39 percent think it's worse; for their own family economics, the good-bad was 19-32.

• Texans think the most important problems facing the country are the economy, federal spending/debt, unemployment/jobs, and political leadership/corruption. Six problems at the state level got about the same number of votes: immigration, the economy, unemployment/jobs, border security, education, and political leadership/corruption.

• Should insurance companies be required to cover the costs of birth control for women? Almost half of Texans, 49 percent, said yes, while 43 percent oppose that idea. The cross-tabulations of those results show significant lines of disagreement. Women favor the idea; men don't. Liberals favor it; conservatives don't. Minorities favor it; Anglos don't.

• Texas voters' favorite branch of government is the judiciary, at 39 percent, followed by the executive, at 23 percent, and Congress, at 9 percent.

• Texans generally don't like the federal health care law: 45 percent said the U.S. Supreme Court should overturn the entire law, 10 percent would overturn only the individual mandates, and 26 percent said the court should leave the law intact.

• 39 percent said public education isn't as good as it was a year ago, and 51 think the state spends too little on schools. Only 9 percent said the schools are better than they were a year ago, and 39 percent said public education is neither better nor worse. On the spending question, 23 percent said Texas spends about the right amount on public schools, while 14 percent said it spends too much.

The UT/TT internet survey of 800 Texas voters was conducted May 7-13 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.46 percentage points. Questions asked only of Republican or Democratic voters have larger margins of error, as indicated. And "likely voters" were defined as those who indicated they were "somewhat" or "extremely" interested in politics and who voted in "every" or "almost every" election in recent years. Here are links to the full set of questions, the methodology, and the crosstabs.

Enlarge Graphic by Todd Wiseman

Trial lawyers, the most reliable and generous source of cash for Texas Democrats, generally sit on the sidelines in Republican primaries.

Not this year.

They are pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into three key Senate races, hoping to help elect Republicans who are more friendly to their agenda than the establishment-preferred GOP candidates.

In each case, they are going head to head with Texans for Lawsuit Reform, which has made aggressive plays in Democratic primaries despite being associated with mostly pro-Republican causes.

In the Houston area, the trial lawyers have coalesced behind Dave Norman, who is running slick negative ads against frontrunner Larry Taylor in Senate District 11 — being vacated by incumbent Sen. Mike Jackson.

Houston trial lawyer Steve Mostyn, past president of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and a chief Taylor critic, chipped in $275,000 to Norman directly, and he gave handsomely to PACs that are providing Norman with hundreds of thousands more.

Via Texans for Insurance Reform, the trial lawyers are also giving huge sums to Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, in his tough re-election battle against former Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones. And TIR PAC has sided with Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, against Rep. Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, in the race to replace retiring Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington.

Trial lawyers have helped a few friendly Republicans before, but not on this scale.

The result of their efforts will be known on primary night in the Smith-Hancock showdown. The other two may drag into runoffs, since there are three candidates in those races.

Whatever the final outcome, it could prove to be an interesting test of how trial lawyer support is perceived among GOP voters. Operatives involved in the effort to shower money on favored Republican candidates are convinced their dough doesn’t carry such an awful stench in GOP circles anymore.

The candidates on the receiving end of trial-lawyer funded attacks, along with TLR, are working to make sure GOP voters know where the money is coming from.

TLR spokeswoman Sherry Sylvester accuses Mostyn of trying to conceal his contributions by giving money to “deceptively named” groups like Conservative Voters of Texas and Texans For Insurance Reform — which in turn have poured money into efforts to defeat Taylor and other TLR-backed candidates.

“Mostyn is a liberal Democrat who supports Barack Obama and has hosted a fundraiser with Nancy Pelosi in his home,” Sylvester said. “In the last election cycle, he contributed $10 million to defeat Gov. Perry and other conservative candidates — he is virtually the only contributor to Conservative Voters of Texas.”

But what about all that money TLR has given to friendly Democrats?

Sylvester says it just proves the PAC supports independent-minded Democrats who favor pro-business lawsuit restrictions.

Mark McCaig, a former State Republican Executive Committee member and president of Conservative Voters of Texas, uses the same argument about the trial lawyer money that’s going to GOP candidates.

He said a lot of independent-minded Republicans  support an individual’s right to sue people and companies who harm them. (McCaig is also an associate of Mostyn’s law firm).

McCaig also issued an email this week highlighting TLR's contributions to liberal Democrats, including the openly gay challenger to Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth. Like Sylvester, he accused his opponents of hiding their real agenda.

“Texans For Lawsuit Reform is funding some of the most radical liberals seeking election to the Texas Legislature,” McCaig said. “It is time for TLR to quit masquerading as a conservative organization and admit they only care about electing those who will further their special interest agenda.”

Enlarge Marjorie Kamys Cotera

Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, during debate on higher education bill SB5 on May 3, 2011.

In one form or another, the SD-25 race will assuredly extend beyond May 29. To hear him tell it, state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, was on track to win his primary in SD-25 outright at the beginning of the month. “I’m no longer on that trajectory,” he says now.

Wentworth blames his recent slump on negative ads run by Elizabeth Ames Jones, former chair of the Texas Railroad Commission, that accuse him of double-dipping with the state and his campaign. He has responded to the ad with a defamation suit, which Jones filed a motion to dismiss on Thursday.

Patrick Isenberg, a spokesman for the Jones campaign, says they expect to win outright.  While Wentworth concedes that Jones’ numbers, according to polls he’s seen, have recently ticked up, he believes the chief beneficiary of the momentum shift has been a candidate who has not engaged in the legal back-and-forth.

“I think it’s not only possible, it may be even likely that there will be a run-off, and it will be between me and Donna Campbell,” he says.

It would be a surprise. After all, Campbell — an emergency room doctor who moved to New Braunfels for this race — has significantly fewer financial resources than either of the two candidates.

The sources of that funding have been a key issue in the race. Wentworth’s campaign has spotlighted the influx of contributions to Jones from the Texans for Lawsuit Reform’s PAC — repeatedly pointing out that they are a Houston-based organization — and TLR’s financial backers.

Sherry Sylvester, a spokeswoman for TLR, says it is misleading to conflate the contributions TLR PAC and its supporters, many of whom also happen to be longtime Jones supporters.  Jones has received about $690,000 from TLR PAC specifically. A press release from TLR noted that Wentworth had received comparable amounts of money — nearly $650,000 — from Texans for Insurance Reform, which receives significant amount of money from Houston-based trial lawyer Steve Mostyn.

Rather than get in the middle of that fight, Campbell has tried to position herself as the alternative to the political squabblers. A recent release from her campaign described Wentworth and Jones “two establishment politicians with liberal-leaning voting records, noting that a study by Rice University political science professor Mark Jones had found little daylight between their ideological leanings.

No matter which of the three — or which two of the three — ends up on top on May 29, the legal battle between Wentworth and Jones will continue. “I’m just not going to be called a felon, essentially, during a campaign and say, ‘Oh well, that’s just campaigning,’” Wentworth says.

Jones doubled down on the allegations of double-dipping, filing a legal motion to dismiss Wentworth’s suit.  A hearing is currently set for June 1.

Jones’ lawyer noted in a letter to Wentworth’s that should the motion be overruled — as Wentworth insists it will, and the Jones camp insists it won’t — they will “want to promptly take Mr. Wentworth’s deposition.”

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Photograph of a highway

As Congressional leaders battle over transportation funding, federal dollars for transit projects are expected to be stretched thin. This month, the Texas Department of Transportation joined the voices calling for federal lawmakers to give states more discretion in how they raise money for roadwork.

TxDOT was among more than 20 transportation-related organizations and specialists that signed on to a letter urging Congress to expand several pilot programs aimed at allowing for more tolling programs and public/private partnerships to fund interstate highways and other roads that receive federal funding.

The letter was sent to members of the conference committee tasked with hashing out a workable compromise measure that can make it to President Obama’s desk this year. The conference includes three Texans: U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, and U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall of Rockwall, both Republicans, and U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Dallas Democrat.

"In the absence of new funding sources, at a minimum, Congress should provide states and metropolitan regions with the tools to develop and expand their potential sources of revenue and investment capital," the letter reads. "To that end, federal barriers to state innovation and flexibility should be substantially reduced, and no new ones should be erected."

Congress agreed to a 90-day extension of transportation funding in March, the ninth such extension since the last long-term measure expired in 2009.

Texas currently has more flexibility than most other states regarding transportation project funding but TxDOT is concerned it may lose some of the most valuable tools depending on the language in the bill that comes out of the conference committee, TxDOT spokesman Mark Cross said.

"It’s about retaining the current flexibility we have for funding in regard to congestion relief," Cross said.

One such tool is the Value Pricing Pilot Program, which allows states to implement toll systems on certain federally-funded roads. Texas is one of 14 states that currently participates in the program.

Also potentially under the knife are several TxDOT projects in different stages of development that are funded via Comprehensive Development Agreements with private sector partners, Cross said.

"Some of those we’ve gotten off the ground in the very early stages," Cross said. "We want to make sure that those projects are not affected by some new legislation that could ultimately change the course of funding those projects."

Various groups remain opposed to public/private partnerships in transportation and the trucking industry, among others, are wary of most tolling of highways, according to Emil Frankel, transportation director with the Washington, D.C.-based Bipartisan Policy Center, one of the groups that spearheaded the letter. He said the conference committee is more likely to address the use of private capital in public transportation projects than the tolling issue. Either way, such tools are only going to become more important in states like Texas, he said.

"This will really be the first time that federal funding has not grown probably in the last 50 years," Frankel said. "If the pie is getting smaller, the federal government ought to get out of the way and let states be flexible."

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Jim Henson, c0-director of the University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll, talks about the main points and what they mean going into next week's primary elections.

You can view the video at: https://trib.it/KasIFP

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We asked the insiders some of the same questions we asked likely voters in the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll and, like the voters, they think the economy is the biggest problem facing the country. But where voters clustered a list of issues at the top of their state concerns, education and water were clearly ahead of everything else on the insiders' list.

On the national list, the insiders started with the economy, then followed with federal spending/national debt, partisan gridlock, and unemployment/jobs. With the exception of gridlock, that's the same list voters turned in.

At the state level, 30 percent of the insiders put education on top — dwarfing everything else — followed by water supply, political corruption/leadership, state budget cuts, and the economy. For voters, six issues were at the top, and in a virtual tie: immigration, the economy, unemployment/jobs, border security, education and political leadership.

The insiders think both the country (61 percent) and the state (53 percent) are going in the wrong direction. And a majority (51 percent) said the national economy is "a lot worse off" than it was a year ago. Only 6 percent said it was better. Their own personal and family economics, according to 52 percent, were about the same as a year ago; 38 percent said their personal outlook is better than it was last May.

The full set of comments from the insiders is attached. Some excerpts follow:

Enlarge Todd Wiseman

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What would you say is the most important problem facing this country today?

• "The U.S. became great through rugged individualism.  We are losing that competitive advantage due to growth of government, social spending, smothering European-style "taking care" of everyone."

• "Can't solve any problems unless you have an environment in which you can solve problems."

• "It's always about the economy, stupid!"

• "Until we fix the "legal corruption" then we can't fix any of these other problems.  Money and self interests control the entire process"

• "Should have Water on this list"

• "Do away with the gridlock then all the other problems can be resolved"

• "Rome's moral fiber fell apart and as the say goes, the rest is history"

• "The hollowing out of the American middle class is the single most important issue facing the body politic today. Global corporate and governmental forces have combined to bring this about. There will be a reckoning."

• "Horrible leadership with a divided citizenry"

• "The economy is the key.  A growing economy fixes income inequality, unemployment, taxes, social welfare, federal spending... you name it."

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What would you say is the most important problem facing the state of Texas today?

• "Texas has become a semi-corrupt one-party state.  Until we get some forward-thinking leadership, we are digging a huge hole for future generations."

• "Education is the problem and the answer. As long as it doesn't work, it is the core of the long-term problem. Once it is addressed, the rest of the world begins to fall into place."

• "Water wars will make everything else pale by comparison."

• "The public education issue is a ticking time bomb that threatens Texas' future well-being. With at least 40% of Texas kids not completing high school, we risk creating a giant underclass that will be reliant on public services."

• "We are in a water crisis we have not been willing to recognize yet. The economic consequences of running short on water will be huge if it happens."

• "Transportation, education and water are right up there where again we need strong leadership willing to attack problems with creative solutions rather than political sound bites."

• "Water and education are the most important long-term issues. We won't have a state without water and educated workers. Transportation is an essential short-term issue for the economy."

• "A growing state needs to be able to spend money on infrastructure"

• "The economy is the key issue.  Without a vibrant economy, we can't tackle issues like water or transportation, which will both start to strangle the state at some point."

Enlarge Todd Wiseman

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Thinking about the country, do you think that things are headed in the right direction, or do you think that things are headed off on the wrong track?

• "Economically, we're on the same path as Greece, Spain, France, Italy, et al. and it's not in the right direction.  Something's gotta give in our country:  entitlement and spending reform or massive tax increases, laid against the backdrop of a stagnant economy with historic unemployment numbers."

• "I am not sure we are on any track."

• "The economy is growing fitfully, but it is growing. Europe would give anything to be in our shoes."

• "I didn't realize the country was moving in any direction. We seem to be at a dead stop."

• "Federal leadership is a joke."

• "Recovery is too slow but the direction is right."

• "We are slowly extracting ourselves from foreign misadventures and man-made economic catastrophes. However, an obstructionist and bought Congress is retarding progress."

Thinking about the state of Texas, do you think that things are headed in the right direction, or do you think that things are headed off on the wrong track?

• "Generally we're holding to our small government philosophy, but the danger is in overdoing it, failing to plan for future growth in water, roads, etc."

• "We've weathered the storm fairly well, but like Germany being hit up to pay for the spending sins of Greece (and soon France), Texas will soon be hit up to pay for the spending sins of California."

• "Right track fiscally, wrong direction socially.  Legislators are way too occupied with legislating morality."

• "We are still dealing with the same big issues as 15 years ago. Why? Bad leadership and bad decisions."

• "State lawmakers think borrowing money is ok and the way to prosperity.... pay-as-you-go government died with the Perry administration.  No water, highway, education, or health solutions."

• "Is treading water a direction?"

• "Compare the state's infrastructure in 2012 to 2002. Education system, Transportation system, water resources, most uninsured in the nation - all declining."

Enlarge Todd Wiseman

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Compared to a year ago, would you say that the national economy is a lot better off, somewhat better off, about the same, somewhat worse off, or a lot worse off?

• "Actual economic and job growth is anemic, and we've run up additional unbelievable that will have serious consequences down the road.  Texas, especially Austin, is doing relatively well."

• "We have come back from the brink of disaster."

• "Continued prolonged stagnation, except in energy producing states, coupled with masking of the true number of unemployed while borrowing of 41 cents of every dollar spent is a downward trend no matter how much lipstick you put on the pig!"

• "The world economy is in the crapper and we are headed there - nothing we can do about it...we will have the same demonstrations on austerity programs that they are having in Europe..."

Compared to a year ago, would you say that you and your family are economically a lot better off, somewhat better off, about the same, somewhat worse off, or a lot worse off?

• "Fewer dollars for discretionary spending means I'm somewhat worse off.  Still, I realize I'm in decent shape and have no room to complain.  I wish others would cowboy up, too."

• "Two kids out of grad school . . . I got a raise!"

• "ObamaCare is killing the medical professionals. The brightest and best will no longer sacrifice if there is little or no economic reward."

• "But we're in the top 10%, so naturally we are doing better than most."

Our thanks to this week's participants: Homero Lucero, Ruben Longoria, Leslie Lemon, Mark Lehman, Luke Legate, Donald Lee, Dick Lavine, Pete Laney, Sandy Kress, Ramey Ko, Tom Kleinworth, Richard Khouri, Robert Kepple, Walt Jordan, Mark Jones, Cal Jillson, Richie Jackson, Deborah Ingersoll, Shanna Igo, Laura Huffman, Billy Howe, Steve Holzheauser, Ken Hodges, Adam Haynes, Albert Hawkins, Bill Hammond, Wayne Hamilton, Jack Gullahorn, John Greytok, Daniel Gonzalez, Kinnan Golemon, Bruce Gibson, Dominic Giarratani, Norman Garza, Wil Galloway, Terry Frakes, Tom Forbes, Jon Fisher, John Esparza, Alan Erwin, Gay Erwin, Jack Erskine, Jeff Eller, Richard Dyer, David Dunn, Nora Del Bosque, June Deadrick, Hector De Leon, Denise Davis, Randy Cubriel, George Cofer, Elna Christopher, Elizabeth Christian, William Chapman, Corbin Casteel, Tris Castaneda, Snapper Carr, Thure Cannon, Marc Campos, Kerry Cammack, Lydia Camarillo, Chris Britton, Steve Bresnen, Hugh Brady, Tom Blanton, Allen Blakemore, Andrew Biar, Amy Beneski, Dave Beckwith, Walt Baum, Tom Banning, Charles Bailey, Doc Arnold, Jay Arnold, George Allen, Clyde Alexander, Brandon Aghamalian, Jenny Aghamalian, Cathie Adams, Gene Acuna, Angelo Zottarelli, Peck Young, Alex Winslow, Seth Winick, Michael Wilt, Ellen Williams, Darren Whitehurst, Ken Whalen, Ware Wendell, John Weaver, Trey Trainor, Trent Townsend, Gerard Torres, Russ Tidwell, Jay Thompson, Sherry Sylvester, Charles Stuart, Colin Strother, Bob Strauser, Keith Strama, Bill Stevens, Jason Stanford, Dennis Speight, Larry Soward, Todd Smith, Martha Smiley, Ed Small, Jason Skaggs, Bradford Shields, Julie Shields, Steve Scurlock, Bruce Scott, Stan Schlueter, Jim Sartwelle, Andy Sansom, Mark Sanders, Jason Sabo, Kim Ross, Chuck Rice, Tim Reeves, Karen Reagan, Bill Ratliff, Ted Melina Raab, Jay Propes, Kraege Polan, Royce Poinsett, Wayne Pierce, Tom Phillips, Jerry Philips, Bill Pewitt, Gardner Pate, Nef Partida, Lee Parsley, Pat Nugent, Sylvia Nugent, Keats Norfleet, Keir Murray, Craig Murphy, Steve Murdock, Bee Moorhead, Robert Miller, Mike McKinney, Bryan Mayes, Luke Marchant, Matt Mackowiak.

Enlarge Todd Wiseman

Friday, May 25:

• Early voting ends

Tuesday, May 29:

• Election Day

New reporting from the Census Bureau shows Texas to be one of five states in the nation where minority groups account for more than 50 percent of the population. The numbers also indicate that this is a trend that will likely continue, as the amount of non-white Hispanic children has decreased from 43 percent to 34 percent of the population. Without the increase in minority children, the state’s demographer said, Texas' declining birth rate would lead to shrinking economic growth.

Taking up a dispute that will affect the future of public beaches in Texas, a federal appeals court ruled the state Open Beach Act unconstitutional. The case stemmed from hurricane damage in Galveston, which led to a sudden erosion of the beach and left homeowner Carol Severance in the unexpected position of needing to remove her house from the newly public beach. Overturning the state’s decision, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals declared that seizing the house would be a violation of Severance’s protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

Attorney General Greg Abbott will allow state lawmakers to be deposed in the state's voter ID case. The suit contesting the new law is set for trial July 9 and had faced delays as state officials objected to the volume of information requested by the Justice Department and opposed plans to question lawmakers about their roles in passing the disputed legislation. Abbott hopes to have the law approved by the federal government in time for November’s election.

Texas doesn’t track cases of voter fraud, but Attorney General Abbott cited a Fort Worth indictment of a Democratic activist as evidence that the state suffers from an abundance of cheating at the polls. Hazel Woodward James, a candidate for Democratic precinct chairman in Tarrant County, was accused of having her son vote in his father’s place, though his father voted later in the day. Abbott touted the case as an example of the need to enforce the state’s new voter ID law, which is hung up in federal court.

Following the enactment of a new law in September designed to organize and register DNA results collected in rape kits, the state agency in charge is reporting a backlog of untested kits. The Texas Department of Public Safety is in charge of maintaining the records of law enforcement agencies and reports that more than 12,000 kits statewide are being stored without being tested. Lack of funding is the culprit; DPS spends about $800 on each tested kit, while private labs can charge more than $5000 for an analysis of the evidence.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice was directed to release the names and suppliers of its lethal injection drugs after it objected to providing the information. Two different newspapers asked the department in February to provide details about its death penalty protocol, but the department declined, arguing that to do so could endanger employees and compromise its supply. The attorney general’s office disagreed, saying the state must supply the information.

A new report from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas predicts that with the state’s continued growth, the capacity to produce enough power will fall short within 10 years. The reserve margin that ERCOT maintains will drop over the course of the next decade in response to high summertime temperatures and population growth, potentially causing statewide blackouts. ERCOT intends to issue another report next week to outline steps the state can take to improve the bleak forecast.

Officials in Williamson County are trying to avoid having a salamander species living in their area being placed on the endangered species list. County commissioners are asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for time to conduct their own study analyzing whether the salamander can flourish in spite of the tremendous development in the county. If the agency proposes listing the species as endangered early this summer, the public will be given a 60-day comment period.

David Schenck, deputy Texas attorney general for legal counsel, is taking a post with Dykema and will work in the litigation division in that law firm's Dallas office.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed John Swanson of Frisco to the Texas Mutual Insurance Company Board of Directors. Swanson is president and CEO of Republic Energy Inc. Perry also appointed T. Craig Benson of Austin to the Interagency Council for Genetic Services. Benson is president of Myriad RBM Inc. and founding director of the Beyond Batten Disease Foundation.

House Speaker Joe Straus appointed Dallas attorney and business consultant Tom Luce to the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas Oversight Committee. Luce was a founding partner and managing partner of the law firm of Hughes & Luce, LLP until his retirement from the firm in 1997.

Deaths: Former Rep. Ernestine Glossbrenner, D-Alice, a high school math teacher who became chairwoman of the House Public Education Committee. She was 79.