The Evening Brief: July 11, 2013

New in The Texas Tribune

•    Dewhurst: Abortion Bill Could Get Approved This Week: "The omnibus abortion bill could get full approval by the end of this week, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and other conservative leaders announced Thursday at a news conference. 'We are not going to be interrupted in doing the people’s work by unruly mobs,' said Dewhurst, flanked by former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Dewhurst added, 'My intentions from Day One were to improve and protect women’s health and to protect the unborn.'"

•    House OKs Life With Parole for Juvenile Murderers: "New sentencing guidelines for 17-year-olds convicted of capital murder are headed to Gov. Rick Perry's desk after the Texas House on Thursday approved a bill that will require juries and judges to send those offenders to prison for life with parole eligibility after 40 years."

•    House Panel Passes Campus Construction Bill: "Though Gov. Rick Perry has not put tuition revenue bonds for campus construction in the call for the current special session, Texas legislators are moving forward with efforts to pass a bill that could help colleges and universities across Texas move forward with construction and improvement projects. The House Appropriations Committee met on Thursday afternoon and passed House Bill 5, a major 'TRB' measure by House Higher Education Chairman Dan Branch, R-Dallas."

Culled

•    Abbott 'major announcement' coming Sunday (San Antonio Express-News): "Attorney General Greg Abbott is tipping his hand ever so much more slightly about his San Antonio appearance Sunday, with his campaign re-branding it from a meet-and-greet to a 'major announcement.' Abbott is widely expected to announce for governor in the wake of Gov. Rick Perry’s decision not to seek re-election, and he’s the odds-on favorite to win the seat."

•    Audio: Patrick says he wants to "end abortion": "After a press conference featuring conservative lawmakers and activists, Houston Republican Sen. Dan Patrick said his goal is to 'end abortion' and chastised Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst for ducking that same question during the presser."

•    Cornyn hires rising GOP star with Tea Party ties as his 2014 campaign manager (Houston Chronicle): "Sen. John Cornyn has hired a rising star in the grassroots conservative movement to manage his 2014 re-election campaign. Faced with a potential Tea Party challenge in the GOP primary, Cornyn today announced that he had hired Brendan Steinhauser, a UT grad who has coordinated outside efforts to elect Tea Party Republicans Marco Rubio, Mike Lee and Pat Toomey to the Senate, as his campaign manager."

•    Texas AG blocks dating services for seniors (The Associated Press): "Regulators have raised deceptive trade issues and blocked a fee-based dating serving targeting senior citizens in Southeast Texas. Attorney General Greg Abbott on Thursday announced a temporary restraining order and court order freezing the assets of Matchmaker Matchmaker, Sagejax Inc. and Monterrey Financial Services Inc. Abbott says veterans and disabled people were also targeted."