The Midday Brief: Jan 26, 2011
Your afternoon reading: voter ID vote could come early, congressional Democrats chime in, and "Choose Life" license plates make a return Full Story
Your afternoon reading: voter ID vote could come early, congressional Democrats chime in, and "Choose Life" license plates make a return Full Story
The real battle over voter ID, which cleared an initial vote last night, could be just beginning. Full Story
The Obama administration's "drug czar" on the federal drug control strategy, curbing drug addiction in the United States, helping to end drug-related violence in Mexico — and why legalizing illicit drugs is not the answer. Full Story
Back in the day, not all public officials could read, so clerks would read the bills aloud in the House and Senate. We're reasonably confident they all can read now, but the clerks keep the tradition alive. Full Story
Like many other Texas groups, faith organizations that lobby lawmakers are bracing for a brutal budgetary session. It’s not only a moral issue for the religious groups; it concerns their own bottom lines, too. Because when the government doesn’t provide for the needy, the needy look to the church. Full Story
Just how important is full-day pre-kindergarten for the state’s youngest and most disadvantaged kids? Is it more important than after-school tutoring? Than canceling music and art classes? As public school officials brace for a proposed $10 billion less in state funding, that’s one decision they'll have to make. “It's choosing between bad and worse and bad and bad,” says one superintendent. “It's definitely not a good day when we are sitting around talking about whether class size going up could help salvage all-day pre-K, or vice-versa.” Full Story
Late Tuesday, in what was a foregone conclusion, the Texas Senate passed its version of voter ID legislation out of the chamber's committee of the whole. Full Story
Criminal justice in Texas got a fourfold performance review from the Legislative Budget Board today. From incarceration projections to the cost per bed for prisoners, the board broke down the state's public safety performance in cold, hard numbers. Full Story
Your afternoon reading: traffic ticket amnesty, Burka on Kelso, and voter ID rages on Full Story
The Texas Constitution says that money from the Rainy Day Fund can be spent to “prevent or eliminate a temporary cash deficiency in general revenue.” With the state facing a budget shortfall estimated somewhere between $15 billion and $27 billion, some say if it ain't raining now, it ain't ever going to. Full Story
Some of the 1.2 million Texas drivers whose licenses have been suspended because they failed to pay expensive traffic ticket surcharges can catch a big break right now from the Department of Public Safety. Full Story
Scratch that. Today's the day for voter ID. Full Story
Texas hospital administrators aren't thrilled about the 10 percent Medicaid provider rate cut included in the House's proposed budget. But what they fear more is the proposed expansion of Medicaid managed care, which could force them to forgo a combined $1 billion a year in federal funding. Full Story
If the race to succeed Kay Bailey Hutchison is over before it begins — if the lieutenant governor and his vast personal wealth have this locked up — why are so many credible candidates saying they'll run? Because they see an opportunity. Full Story
When Texans turn on lights or plug in iPads, they are getting an increasing amount of power from the wind — and from coal plants. Last year, nearly 8 percent of the power on the state's electric grid was generated by wind, far above the national average. And coal plants produced more power than any other electricity source. The big loser was natural gas. Full Story
State Sens. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, debate the importance of voter ID, which Gov. Rick Perry has declared a legislative emergency. Perry's designation allows lawmakers to consider the measure during the first 60 days of the session. Full Story
It's a foregone conclusion that the composition of the Texas Senate, 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats, means the controversial voter ID bill will win approval in the upper chamber. State Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, explains why Senate Democrats have to keep the fight — despite being outnumbered. Full Story
Most of the drama was saved for another day in the Texas Senate after the first installment of the planned debate over the contentious voter ID bill was postponed. Senate Democrats did their best, however, to derail Republicans’ attempts to fast track the issue, which Gov. Rick Perry declared an emergency item last week. Full Story
Legislation has to go through committees before the entire House or Senate can have a look. It's a way of dividing up the work and getting things straightened out as much as possible before they get the full treatment from the Legislature. But there's a pecking order involved. And that's when the COW gets called in. Full Story
Republican Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones will officially begin — or revive, rather — her campaign to replace U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on Tuesday. Full Story