The Evening Brief: April 4, 2012

Culled:

• Cha-ching! Texas schools enjoy a nice payday from Mega Millions (Fort Worth Star-Telegram): "Texas may not have had a grand prize winner, but state officials say last Friday's record Mega Millions lottery drawing generated a jackpot for public schools. The estimate released Wednesday morning is that $37.5 million will go to the Texas Foundation School Fund from the drawing. Since the first lottery ticket was sold in 1992 in Texas, the state has now gotten $19 billion in revenue from sales."

• Alice Walton calls James' report of her support 'erroneous' (The Dallas Morning News): "Billionaire heiress and North Texas landowner Alice Walton has challenged Senate hopeful Craig James' claim she endorsed him recently. Walton, in a statement issued through Hillco lobbyist-consultant Jay Howard of Austin, said 'it has been reported, erroneously, that I am supporting Craig James in the primary' on May 29. 'In fact, I support Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst for this nomination. He is a proven conservative and leader [and] has the best values to represent the interests of all Texans in the U.S. Senate.'"

• Challenger in state House District 47 attacks Workman on a new website (Austin American-Statesman): "If you go to www.paulworkman.org, you should know instantly by the less-than-flattering photo of state Rep. Paul Workman that the website wasn’t approved by the Austin Republican. Workman’s primary opponent in the race for state House District 47, Ryan Downton, a former lawyer for the House’s redistricting committee, put the site up this morning. 'This website is dedicated to showing voters the truth about Paul Workman,' said the site, which was paid for by the Downton campaign."

New in The Texas Tribune:

• Texas Cities Join Others in Brief That Criticizes Arizona Immigration Law: "The Austin city attorney’s office has joined 40 other local entities in an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to halt Arizona's immigration enforcement law."

• Updated: Sullivan Says He's Not a Lobbyist: "Michael Quinn Sullivan and the influential conservative group he leads, Empower Texans, haven't filed required disclosure reports on their lobbying and campaign activities, two Republican state legislators said in formal complaints filed today with the Texas Ethics Commission. … On Wednesday, he issued a statement after talking to lawyers and reading the complaints. … 'Having met over the years with attorneys on these issues, including a meeting with counsel this morning, there is no doubt that what I do at Texans for Fiscal Responsibility is not lobbying.'"