The Midday Brief: Top Texas Headlines for April 13, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "First lady Michelle Obama’s visit this afternoon to San Antonio has caused a flap in the Texas Senate. According to senators, Sens. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, and Royce West, D-Dallas, asked for permission to leave for a few hours to attend an event in the Alamo City with the first lady to highlight Texas’ contributions to America’s continued military readiness." — Campus-carry bill, Michelle Obama visit collide, Postcards

• "The prison system's health care budget would be cut by less than 10 percent, not 24 percent, under a provision approved by the Senate Finance Committee late Tuesday. By a vote of 13-0, the panel added nearly $200 million to the Department of Criminal Justice's budget for inmate health care. The tab for their care in the current two-year cycle is just under $1 billion, and after easing a 24-percent cut in the initial budget, the state would spend $905 million over the next two years." — Inmates' health care budget cuts eased by Senate panel, Trail Blazers

• "Texas veterans on the GI Bill may soon have more resources to financial aid and employment options at their fingertips if lawmakers approve a bill that would lay the initial foundation for veterans' resource centers at colleges across the state." — Senate committee lays out plan for veterans' centers on college campuses, Texas Politics

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "The Big Men on Campus in the school known as the Texas Legislature have the unenviable job of finding money to alleviate the massive cuts outlined in House Bill 1, the general appropriations bill for the next biennium. Nearly 90 days into the session, lawmakers are playing a sometimes unorganized political game where the stakes are high and changes can happen quickly." — Top Budget Players in Race to Find Revenue

• "The so-called puppy mill bill that has dog breeders and animal rights groups in Texas squared off in a war of words, HB 1451 by state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, will be up for a vote on the House floor tomorrow." — Breeders Alarmed as Puppy Mill Bill Gets Fast-Tracked

• "The congressional budget deal reached in Washington this weekend could have dire implications for Texas’ federally qualified health centers — clinics that provide comprehensive care for the uninsured." — Federal Budget Deal Could Shutter Health Centers