In police departments across Texas, tens of thousands of rape kits have been sitting on the shelves of property storage rooms for years — thanks to strained budgets, overworked crime labs and a law enforcement philosophy that such kits are primarily useful as evidence if a stranger committed the assault. Victims’ rights advocates and some lawmakers say they’ll work to pass legislation this year to take that evidence out of storage and create a DNA database that would help track rapists and perhaps even identify those who have been wrongly convicted. “I think we owe it to every person who has been raped,” says state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth.
Austin
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State Government
TribBlog: Michael Williams’ Liveblog
Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams joined The Texas Tribune’s Evan Smith for a TribLive event this morning in Austin. Williams made it official that he’s running for the U.S. Senate in 2012.
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State Government
Voter ID Passes: The Highlights
Watch our abbreviated version of the daylong Senate debate, the dismissal of three dozen amendments and the ultimate passage of Senate Bill 14, a.k.a. the voter ID bill. The measure’s now headed to the House.
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State Government
The Weekly TribCast: Episode 64
In this week’s podcast, the group discusses voter ID, the budget shortfall’s impact on mental health services and the 2012 Senate race — and Elise says farewell.
Posted inState Government
TribBlog: Senate Approves Voter ID Bill
As expected, the Texas Senate approved the controversial voter ID bill on Wednesday. Next, the measure will move to the Republican-dominated House, where it is also expected to pass easily.
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Health care
TribBlog: Disability Rights Advocates Sue Perry
Disability rights advocates filed a class-action lawsuit today claiming that six Texas officials, including Gov. Rick Perry, violated the rights of more than 4,200 residents in state-supported living centers.
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Guides
Texplainer: Why Are Bills Read Aloud?
Back in the day, not all public officials could read, so clerks would read the bills aloud in the House and Senate. We’re reasonably confident they all can read now, but the clerks keep the tradition alive.
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Health care
Keeping the Faith
Like many other Texas groups, faith organizations that lobby lawmakers are bracing for a brutal budgetary session. It’s not only a moral issue for the religious groups; it concerns their own bottom lines, too. Because when the government doesn’t provide for the needy, the needy look to the church.
Posted inState Government
Why Is Voter ID an Emergency?
State Sens. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, debate the importance of voter ID, which Gov. Rick Perry has declared a legislative emergency. Perry’s designation allows lawmakers to consider the measure during the first 60 days of the session.
Posted inState Government
Hinojosa: We Won’t Just Play Dead
It’s a foregone conclusion that the composition of the Texas Senate, 19 Republicans and 12 Democrats, means the controversial voter ID bill will win approval in the upper chamber. State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, explains why Senate Democrats have to keep the fight — despite being outnumbered.
