Thousands of untested rape kits could be examined for DNA evidence, but a bill considered today by a Senate panel carries a hefty price tag. The result could be that the boxes remain stacked on shelves in police storage rooms across the state.
John Whitmire
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Public Education
Anti-Bullying Bill Gets Early OK From Senate
After a spate of bullying related suicides in Texas schools, state lawmakers introduced more than 15 bills this session to address the issue. Today, the Senate approved one of them — SB 205 from Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston.
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Criminal Justice
Juvenile Justice Agencies Come Closer to Merger
Hours after the state Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would merge the state’s two juvenile criminal justice agencies, a House committee passed a similar bill.
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Health care
Committee Votes to Restore $4.5 Billion for Health Services
Deliberation about what to cut — and whom to save — ended with a vote to restore $4.5 billion to state health agencies at a Senate Health and Human Services subcommittee hearing this morning. The issue now goes to the full Senate Finance Committee.
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Criminal Justice
Report: Hundreds of Youths in Adult Prisons
Judges across the state, and particularly in Harris County, are sending youth offenders to adult prisons even when they have few prior offenses, according to a study by a University of Texas criminal justice expert.
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Public Education
Senators Take Up Bullying Bills
At Tuesday’s Senate Education Committee hearing on a trio of anti-bullying bills, the parents of children who committed suicide after being picked on by classmates asked lawmakers to fix a system they say failed their families.
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State Government
Anglo Democratic Lawmakers: From Endangered to Protected Species?
Anglo Democrats — an endangered species when the political mapmakers were working in 2001 — might be a protected species this year. Many of them represent districts full of minority voters they say are protected from disruptive redistricting.
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Criminal Justice
Shay Bilchik: The TT Interview
The director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown Public Policy Institute on the factors Texas lawmakers should consider as they seek to make budget cuts while continuing the reforms they started in 2007.
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Criminal Justice
New Juvenile Justice Agency May Save $150 Million
Abolishing the state’s two existing juvenile justice agencies and creating one new department to prevent crime and treat and punish young offenders could save Texas up to $150 million, lawmakers said today.
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State Government
Supporters Plead for Historical Commission Funds
Texas history supporters came out in force today to tell the Senate Finance Committee why the Texas Historical Commission should be saved from a 77 percent budget cut.