The Midday Brief: June 1, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "House Speaker Joe Straus says it remains 'unclear what the Legislature’s options are' following Gov. Rick Perry’s veto of legislation involving sales taxes for online retailers." — Can Lege try to override Perry’s veto?, Texas Politics

• "The chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee likened the new Texas Republican congressional districting plan to the re-run of a 1950s television sitcom." — Democratic congressional campaign chief sees deja vu in Texas redistricting, Trail Blazers

• "Gov. Rick Perry was expected to begin weighing a Republican presidential bid this week but instead found himself enmeshed again in the battle over the state budget." — As GOP Eyes Turn to Texas, Perry Hits Snag, The Wall Street Journal

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "With health care front and center in Gov. Rick Perry's special session call, lawmakers have already filed several key bills addressing multiple issues, from state efforts to seize control of Medicaid and Medicare to abortion." — A Third of Special Session Bills Relate to Health Care

• "Under a new congressional redistricting map, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, would lose 60,000 constituents who voted for President Barack Obama in 2008. Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune talked with Doggett about the proposal, which the congressman said 'plunged a dagger into the heart' of Travis County." — Imperiled Doggett "Ready to Battle" Redistricting Plan