The Midday Brief: June 8, 2011

Your afternoon reading:

• "State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, said Wednesday he was 'very encouraged' by a statewide weekend poll of Republican voters that he said demonstrated he holds a significant lead over other potential candidates in the Republican Primary race to replace retiring U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison." — Patrick pleased with poll results he paid for, Texas Politics

• "When asked if she considered the AFA holding an event in her city an insult, [Houston Mayor Annise Parker] said, 'No, I’m glad to have anybody’s dollars coming to the city of Houston. They can come back on a monthly basis if they’d like as long as they spend money.'" — The mayor on prayer event, Houston Chronicle

• "If Rick Perry gets into the 2012 presidential race, you can bet he will campaign hard on jobs. … But Perry will come under scrutiny for the massive, largely unsupervised funds that he has used to lure businesses to Texas. Various investigations have shown that these funds have moved millions of dollars to Perry donors and to companies associated with individuals nominated by Perry to run the funds." — Does Rick Perry Have a Jobs Problem?, Time

New in The Texas Tribune:

• "Republican lawmakers in Texas — unfazed by state governments across the country opting out of a controversial immigration enforcement program intended as a means to target violent criminal immigrants living within the country’s borders — are instead seeking to expand it here." — Texas Moves Ahead With Immigration Enforcement Program

• "The health reform bill House lawmakers will consider today has drawn an unexpected band of supporters: abortion opponents. The measure contains a provision aimed at doing what GOP lawmakers have fought to do all year: restrict funding to Planned Parenthood." — Health Reform Bill Alters Family Planning Funding

• "Can the Lege override the governor's veto of legislation passed in the regular session — once the regular session is over? The governor says no. But it's murky. Two expert opinions offer somewhat conflicting views." — Texplainer: Can a Veto Be Overturned After Sine Die?