The Midday Brief: May 4, 2011
Your afternoon reading: Senate tentatively approves budget; Cornyn, Perry take aim at White House for denying disaster relief; abortion sonogram compromise reached Full Story
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Credit: Bob Daemmrich -
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 78
In this week's TribCast, Evan, Ross, Reeve and Ben discuss the Texas Senate, the budget being considered by the Texas Senate, and the influence of outside groups on the Texas Senate. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman -
House, Senate Unite on Abortion Sonogram Bill
Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, and Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston joined forces this morning to ask the House to accept all of the Senate's amendments to the abortion sonogram bill, virtually ensuring it's headed to Gov. Rick Perry's desk. Full Story
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![Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston with Rep. Sid Miller R-Stephenville speak together if favor of HB 15, the abortion sonogram bill on May 4th, 2011]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Did Former SBOE Member Violate State Ethics Law?
Did former State Board of Education member Rene Nunez violate state law when he encouraged four current board members to extend the contract with the company managing the state's $25 billion Permanent School Fund? Full Story
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![July 18, 2008 - Rene Nunez, former Texas State Board of Education board member.]()
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A&M Alumni Organize Against Higher Ed Proposals
A group of prominent Texas A&M University alumni have signed a letter opposing the controversial "breakthrough solutions" proposed by the Texas Public Policy Foundation and encouraged by the state's Aggie-in-Chief, Gov. Rick Perry. Full Story
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Credit: Todd Wiseman/The Texas Tribune -
The Brief: May 4, 2011
Amid a flurry of activity in the Legislature on Tuesday, the Senate quietly eyed a procedural oddity it may use today to pass the state budget. Full Story
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![Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, listens to comments during floor debate on the state budget on May 3, 2011.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Update: Can Tier-One Contenders Reach Consensus on Prize Money?
There's a substantial cash prize awaiting Texas' seven emerging research universities, if they can meet the criteria to be considered "tier one." But there's no way to get at it right now, and there won't be unless they can all reach an agreement. Full Story
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Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman -
Video: 2011 Membership Drive — Tour the Site
Get the most out of your Trib experience — take our video tour of the site's many features, all designed to keep you informed of the key political and policy issues facing Texas. Full Story
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How Good a Job is Texas Doing to Prevent Teen Pregnancy?
Every 10 minutes a teen in Texas gets pregnant, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. With groups observing the 10th Annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy today, Gretch Sanders of KUT News reports on the search for ways to bring that rate down. Full Story
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Institutions for Disabled Unlikely to See Major Cuts
Advocates for shuttering Texas’ institutions for the disabled thought they had the numbers on their side: a budget crisis so severe that lawmakers would have to close some state-supported living centers. With less than a month left in the session, their hopes are largely dashed. Full Story
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![Austin State-Supported Living Center employee Tamika Mays is shown with resident Rebecca Hadnot in 2011.]()
Credit: Todd Wiseman -
Failed Budget Vote Threatens Senate Tradition
Senate Finance Chairman Steve Ogden tried, and failed, to get 20 state senators to vote with him on a proposed state budget Tuesday. On Wednesday, he's going to see if he can find 15. Full Story
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![Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, listens to debate after bringing budget bill CSHB1 to the floor on May 3, 2011.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
Anti-Bullying Bill Tentatively Passes House
On Tuesday night, House Bill 1942 by state Rep. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington, which seeks to reduce bullying in schools by providing what the bill analysis calls "a minimal framework" for how to address incidents of bullying, was tentatively approved by the House with a vote of 102-34. Full Story
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Senators Compromise on Alamo Bill
Compromise isn't the first word that comes to mind when you think of the Alamo. But today, state senators from San Antonio reached an agreement on a bill to improve how Texas' most historic site is managed. Full Story
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Update: House Gives Early OK to Rural Hospitals Hiring Docs
The House has tentatively voted to let rural, critical-access hospitals in counties with populations of 50,000 or less hire doctors — partially lifting a long-standing ban on hospitals directly employing physicians. Full Story
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Update: First Texas Execution Done With New Drug Protocol
Less than a month before his scheduled execution, Cary Kerr had no attorney. And the ones he had had up to that point, he argued, didn’t do him much good. Tonight, his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop his execution was turned down. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Patient Privacy Bill Gets Early House Approval
House lawmakers have given an early endorsement to Rep. Lois Kolkhorst’s bill to protect Texans’ private medical information. Full Story
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House Gives Early OK to "Choose Life" License Plate
A bill directing the Department of Motor Vehicles to create an anti-abortion license plate to raise money for crisis pregnancy centers got an early OK from the House — and staved off a flurry of amendments from Democrats. Full Story
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Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman -
Campus Carry Fails to Pass the Senate — Again
When the Senate approved an amendment to state Sen. Judith Zaffirini's higher education bill that would permit the carry of concealed handguns on university campuses by a vote of 19 to 12, the Laredo Democrat killed her own legislation to prevent it from going through. Full Story
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Liveblog: Senate Debates Budget Bill
The Texas Tribune is liveblogging the Senate's debate over its substitute for House Bill 1, the proposed budget for the next biennium. Full Story
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![Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, listens to debate after bringing budget bill CSHB1 to the floor on May 3, 2011.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera -
T-Squared: Trib is 9th Most Innovative Media Company
Nice to discover — belatedly — that Fast Company magazine named the Tribune one of the 10 most innovative media companies in the world in its March 2011 issue, which is all about the most innovative companies of 2011. Full Story
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