Senate Finance Committee chairman Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, looks for votes on CSSB1582 a spending bill on April 28, 2011.
Senate Finance Committee chairman Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, looks for votes on CSSB1582 a spending bill on April 28, 2011. Bob Daemmrich

Your afternoon reading:

  • “Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, said he is hopeful that he can muster the votes needed to get the 2012-13 budget to the Senate floor on Monday.” — Ogden: Budget could hit Senate floor Monday, Postcards
  • “State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said just a few minutes ago that she may let her important higher-education measure — Senate Bill 5 — die if a colleague persists in adding an amendment to it allowing concealed handguns in college and university buildings for the first time.” — Higher-education bill may die, Postcards

New in The Texas Tribune:

  • “With fewer than five weeks left in the regular session, none of Gov. Rick Perry‘s emergency items — voter ID, sanctuary cities, sonograms for women getting abortions, a federal balanced budget amendment and eminent domain protection — have made it to his desk.” — Where Are Perry’s Emergency Items?
  • “The Senate today passed a bill that would make it illegal to make ‘bath salts,’ a drug that can have effects similar to cocaine or amphetamines and can be bought legally online or in smoke shops.” — Senate Approves “Bath Salts” Ban

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David Muto was the editor of TribTalk, The Texas Tribune's opinion page. He is also the Tribune's copy editor. A Richardson native, he attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned degrees...