Lawmakers Say Mexico Falling Short on Its End of Water Treaty
A decades-old treaty that mandates how Mexico and the U.S. share water from rivers is once again the genesis of growing frustrations from U.S. landowners and lawmakers. Full Story
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![The Rio Grande is the ending place of many high-speed pursuits. People escape consequences by driving their vehicles into the water and swimming to Mexico.]()
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Ruling on Whooping Cranes Could Be Felt Across State
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality safeguards the state’s natural resources, but this week a federal judge found the agency responsible for the deaths of 23 whooping cranes — a ruling with potentially wide-ranging consequences. Full Story
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The Brief: March 13, 2013
A day into his run for land commissioner, Republicans are already feeling bullish about George P. Bush. Full Story
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Bill Would Exclude Elective Abortions in State Health Care Plans
The House Insurance Committee heard debate Tuesday on a bill that would prohibit the coverage of elective abortions in minimum state health plans, and would require women to opt into and pay more for abortion coverage. Full Story
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Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
At Hearing, UT Law School Foundation Admits "Mistakes"
John Massey, the board president of the University of Texas Law School Foundation, said in a legislative hearing on Tuesday that the organization made "mistakes" in the operation of its now-defunct forgivable loan program. Full Story
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![UT Law school foundation president John H. Massey, looks over to UT Law school Dean Ward Farnsworth during a House Committee hearing on Transparency in state agency operations on March 12th, 2013]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
The Evening Brief: March 12, 2013
Your evening reading: George P. Bush announces candidacy for land commissioner; Senate panel approves prosecutor accountability bill; Dewhurst trying to woo major gun manufacturer to Texas Full Story
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Bills Aim to Help Universities Fund Veteran Program
Two lawmakers have filed legislation that would allocate state funding for education programs that exempt veterans or their dependents from tuition payments. Full Story
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Dewhurst Tries to Lure Gun Manufacturer to Texas
As gun control discussions heat up at the state and federal level, it's open season on firearm manufacturers' business. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is hoping to bag Beretta USA — currently based in Maryland — and bring it to Texas. Full Story
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Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Video: George P. Bush Announces Bid for Land Commissioner
George P. Bush told state election officials Tuesday he will run for land commissioner in 2014. He had previously filed papers required for anyone raising campaign funds in the state, but hadn’t officially specified what office he might seek. Full Story
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Panel Approves Bill to Increase Prosecutor Accountability
A day after the premiere of a documentary about his tragic wrongful conviction, exoneree Michael Morton sat before a Senate panel and pleaded with them to approve a law that would ensure accountability for prosecutors. Full Story
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Impact of Medicaid Expansion on State Budget Examined
As state legislators consider what “a Texas solution” to Medicaid expansion would look like, others have begun addressing the question of how Medicaid expansion would affect the state budget and local taxes. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Marjorie Cotera -
Inside Intelligence: About Those Judicial Salaries...
For this week's nonscientific survey of insiders in government and politics, we asked whether state judges are paid enough, and whether judicial salaries should be unlinked from lawmakers' own pensions. Full Story
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With Deadline Looming, House Sends Medicaid IOU Bill to Perry
House members unanimously approved a bill largely devoted to addressing a shortfall in Medicaid. Health providers for poor children and the disabled in Texas won't get paid starting Thursday unless Gov. Rick Perry signs the bill soon. Full Story
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Defense Lawyer Group Eschews Discovery Bill
Criminal defense lawyers who have led the fight against reciprocal discovery proposals in Texas are renewing their battle cries. The lawyers say the measure is unnecessary, expensive and wouldn't prevent wrongful convictions. Full Story
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera / Bob Daemmrich -
In Texas, Debate Over Climate Science Not Settled
Climate change may be a settled science for many researchers, but as a recent forum at the University of Houston Law Center showed, the debate among some scientists in Texas is still raging. Full Story
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Blue Cross Launches Statewide Campaign for Insurance Exchange
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, the state's largest health insurance provider, is launching a campaign aimed at getting Texans enrolled in health plans through an online marketplace created by federal health reform. Full Story
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Lawmakers Mulling Term Limits for Statewide Officials
As soon as November, Texans could vote on whether to impose term limits on statewide officials. Under a proposal that would first require approval from the Legislature, certain offices would be limited to two consecutive four-year terms. Full Story
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SXSWedu: Can You Teach an Old College New Tricks?
University of Texas at Brownsville President Juliet García, Antioch University Chancellor Felice Nudelman and Steven Mintz, of the University of Texas System's Institute for Transformational Learning, discuss rapid changes facing higher education. Full Story
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The Brief: March 12, 2013
Protesters on Monday attempted to turn up the heat in the simmering legislative debate over public education in Texas. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Video: Educators Visit Capitol, Push to Restore Cuts
Ask any of the estimated 2,700 members of the American Federation of Teachers who came out Monday for the group's lobby day, and they’ll tell you their top priority is restoring the $5.4 billion in cuts made last session to public education. Full Story
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Credit: Marjorie Cotera
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