Today, University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa issued a letter to Gov. Rick Perry weighing in on the touchy issue of allowing concealed handguns in college campus buildings. In short: He’s against it.
82nd Legislative Session
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State Government
TDCJ Bans Thousands of Books in State Prisons
Inmates looking to catch up on their Shakespeare are out of luck. They won’t find Love Poems & Sonnets in any Texas lock-up. The Texas Civil Rights Project released a report today on the list of 11,850 books banned by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
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Criminal Justice
Colin Goddard’s Right to Bear Witness to a Campus Massacre
Colin Goddard survived the 2007 mass shooting on Virginia Tech’s campus that left 32 dead and wounded 16 others. He thinks allowing concealed weapons to be carried on college campuses is a dangerous idea, and he came to Austin to explain why.
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State Government
Budget Writers Spare Historical, Arts Agencies — For Now
Two agencies that Gov. Rick Perry has suggested suspending funding for — the Texas Historical Commission and the Texas Commission on the Arts — came before House Appropriations this morning. And lawmakers didn’t seem particularly apt to shutter them.
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Public Education
Senators Try to Buy Time for Teachers
With major state funding cuts looming, for many school districts, it’s not a question of if — but how and when — teacher layoffs will occur. A new bipartisan bill from education leaders in the state Senate could temporarily change how schools go about that.
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State Government
Zerwas’ Rainy Day Proposal Draws Conservative Critics [Updated]
Republican Rep. John Zerwas’ suggestion that he’d get a “spanking” in his district if he cut education and health care to the bone but didn’t touch the Rainy Day Fund has drawn the ire of one conservative activist group: Michael Quinn Sullivan’s Empower Texans.
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University of Texas/Texas Tribune Polls
UT/TT Poll: Texans Want Tough Immigration Laws
Texas voters are willing to end automatic citizenship for the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll.
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Demographics
Bill: Hire an Illegal Alien, Go to Jail — Unless It’s Your Maid
The bill would broaden the scope of employers subject to scrutiny — and extend penalties for violators to include possible jail time and big fines. Exempt? People who hire undocumented workers as domestic help.
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State Government
Neil Remains Hopeful Despite Long Wait [Updated]
The 82nd legislative session will be about halfway over by the time lawmakers on a specially appointed committee decide whether Republican Dan Neil or incumbent state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, won the disputed HD-48 seat.
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Criminal Justice
Dale Rudick: The TT Interview
Dale Rudick, Sugar Land’s director of intergovernmental affairs, on the history of the Central Prison Unit, why the city wants it shuttered, and whether the budget crunch is actually working to Sugar Land’s advantage.
