The Midday Brief: Top Texas Headlines for March 9, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• At a press conference this morning to discuss states’ rights, Gov. Rick Perry was asked about the thousands of Texas teachers expected at the Capitol this weekend to protest legislative proposals to cut billions of dollars in funding from school districts. … 'The lieutenant governor, the speaker, their colleagues aren’t going to hire or fire one teacher, as best I can tell,' Perry said. 'That is a local decision that will be made at the local districts.'" — Perry: Don’t blame state for teacher layoffs, Postcards

• "Closing outlying youth lockups and creating community programs for offenders would save the state money and would modernize the juvenile justice system, said two criminal justice leaders who filed legislation to shutter the Texas Youth Commission and combine it with another agency." — House bill would close the Texas Youth Commission, Trail Blazers

• "If you ask Rick Perry, he hasn't thought much about the race for president. I asked him Tuesday if any of the Republicans contenders could beat President Barack Obama in 2012. 'I have no idea,' Perry said, moments after urging Texas lawmakers not to use the rainy day fund to close budget gaps." — Rick Perry says he won't endorse a candidate for president

• "A proposed constitutional amendment would neutralize the strategy of legislators fleeing Texas in order to stall votes they know they will lose." — Branch’s bill aims at quorum busters who flee Texas, The Texas Independent

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Former House Speaker Tom Craddick collapsed in the Capitol this morning while laying out a bill before the House Transportation Committee. His office said EMS doesn't consider the situation serious." — Craddick's Collapse Not Serious, His Office Says

• "State parks, hunting lands and even the parks agency's magazine could suffer if the Legislature enacts a hefty budget cut for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department." — Budget Cuts Could Close State Parks, Limit Hunter Education

• "The next execution is scheduled to take place April 5 — less than a month from now — but the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has not yet decided which drug it will use to replace sodium thiopental, one of three used in the state's execution protocol." — Execution Set for April, but State Out of Key Drug

• "At the Capitol today, the family of a young girl who died in a car accident caused by texting and driving urged lawmakers to ban the practice." — Family Says No Text Message is Worth a Life