Center-left Medicaid experts say R.I., Ind. approaches 'in no way' models

 We reported last week on the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation's proposals for revamping the Medicaid program that provides health care to low-income pregnant women, children, seniors and disabled people. If you look at the foundation's report, they tout Rhode Island, Indiana and Florida as conducting Medicaid experiments that Texas should emulate.

Not so, said Robert Greenstein, head of the progressive Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/f4Pflj

Medicaid cuts mean dim future for rural hospitals in Texas

 AUSTIN, Texas — Cuts proposed to state Medicaid funding could mean reduced access to medical care throughout rural areas in Texas, according to doctors and rural hospital advocates. Dr. Mike Henderson of Childress told the Austin American-Statesman that cuts could close the obstetrical unit at Childress Regional Medical Center, the only hospital within 100 miles of Childress that delivers babies.

(AP) http://dallasne.ws/f22OPh

Texas Education Agency: Black students more likely to be kicked out of classrooms for incidents not warranting removal

 Black students in Texas are much more likely to be kicked out of their regular classrooms than children of other races when the decision is left up to school administrators, according to state data from the last three years.

Hobbs: http://dallasne.ws/hUvWO5

Pitts urges using $4.3 billion of rainy-day cash to cover deficit in current two year budget cycle

 Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, the House's lead budget writer, today filed bill that would draw down nearly $4.3 billion of rainy-day money to cover the state's deficit in the current two-year cycle.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/hfnf7J

Budget would kill stipends that keep kids with family, not in foster care

In early drafts of the budget, there are 460 agency missions, known as “strategies,” with two zeroes beside them, meaning they would be totally eliminated. This is the story of one of those: The 6-year-old push at CPS to save huge foster care bills for taxpayers by using limited stipends to nudge relatives, godparents and even good neighbors to take in abused and neglected children. In the current budget cycle, the program is spending about $17 million and provides payments to parents of nearly 12,000 children.

Garrett:  http://dallasne.ws/g6ihkZ

Perry defends Wisconsin governor in clash with state workers

 WASHINGTON — Texas Gov. Rick Perry defended his Wisconsin counterpart’s confrontation with public workers Friday, arguing that Republican governors are far more in touch with demands to shrink government. “He knows what he believes in, and he’s expressing that,” Perry said during a feisty hourlong debate over state policy and national politics. “And the voters in Wisconsin, they basically said, ‘This is the person we want running the state.’ ”

Gillman in our DC bureau reports: http://dallasne.ws/gfMptn

UT chancellor concerned about proposed handgun law allowing guns on campus

University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa is warning Gov. Rick Perry against a measure to allow guns on college campuses, citing the opinions of parents, students, faculty, law enforcement and mental health professionals. “I would be remiss in my duties as chancellor of the state’s largest university system if I did not convey my concerns regarding this issue,” Cigarroa wrote in a letter released Thursday night.

Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/giZbAZ

Capitol Minute Roundup --stories from the week ending 2/25

A busy week at the Capitol! Rallies, hearings, resolutions, bills filed and debated: that's life in the Austin bureau of The Dallas Morning News. 

If you'd like to read more, here are links to stories mentioned in the Roundup: 

Legislation would allow wider sales of raw milk  http://dallasne.ws/f1XLdP

Legislation to allow concealed handguns on Texas campuses worries Dallas-area students http://dallasne.ws/i63E2G

Conservative group urges Medicaid shift to market-based plans http://dallasne.ws/hAz9mR

 Bill would let Texas counties deliver jailed illegal immigrants to congressional offices         http://dallasne.ws/igDNDd

  

North Texans among thousands in Austin to protest immigration bills http://dallasne.ws/gFDNCr

  

State education agency to cut scores of jobs http://dallasne.ws/f8K7LA

Prisons will cut 555 positions to help ease Texas’ budget plight http://dallasne.ws/gBvCpI

Texas senators propose legislation to place limits on payday lenders http://dallasne.ws/elU6Fe

Texas House committee approves bill that aims to eliminate wrongful convictions based on eyewitness errors  http://dallasne.ws/eG358O

  

House committee approves requirement for sonogram before abortion http://dallasne.ws/i3xoRq

Texas Senate committee to focus on public access to government http://dallasne.ws/fkXfg8

Texas Senate calls for balanced budget amendment in U.S. Constitution http://dallasne.ws/hrJnVC

Senate bill aims to ease pressure on school districts about teacher layoffs http://dallasne.ws/fXhhOd

 

 

Senate bill aims to ease pressure on school districts about teacher layoffs

 AUSTIN — A group of lawmakers wants to allow school districts to delay teacher layoffs until they see exactly how much state leaders will cut public education funding.
A bill unveiled Thursday with bipartisan support from Senate education leaders would extend the period for teachers to request a hearing with the school board about their termination. That would allow the budgeting process to be complete before layoffs are final.

Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/fXhhOd

FBI: Saudi student’s bombing plans mentioned Bush’s Dallas home

A 20-year-old Saudi Arabian national arrested by the FBI in Lubbock for allegedly plotting to carry out terrorist attacks planned to target the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush, documents show. Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, a Saudi citizen, was arrested late Wednesday and is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Lubbock on Friday morning.

Trahan: http://dallasne.ws/igqy7F

Prisons will cut 555 positions to help ease Texas’ budget plight

 AUSTIN — Texas’ prison system, to meet state leaders’ demand for immediate budget cuts, will eliminate 555 jobs, most of them administrative and support posts. Officials stressed Wednesday that no prison guards or parole officers will be laid off.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/gBvCpI

Texas Senate committee to focus on public access to government

 AUSTIN — A new Senate committee will focus on public access to government, though the panel’s chairman warned Wednesday that open government is a two-way street. “Meetings need to be open. Records need to be accessible and available without a lot of undue delay,” said Sen. Jeff Wentworth, a San Antonio Republican named by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to lead the Senate Select Committee on Open Government.

Shannon: http://dallasne.ws/fkXfg8

Texas Senate calls for balanced budget amendment in U.S. Constitution

AUSTIN — The Senate, taking a break from Texas’ own budget problems, Wednesday passed a joint resolution calling on Congress to stop deficit spending and approve a new amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring a balanced federal budget. Under the resolution, approved 24-7, Congress will first be asked, and then if nothing happens, the Senate wants a constitutional convention to be called solely to pass a balanced budget amendment.

Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/hrJnVC

House committee approves requirement for sonogram before abortion

AUSTIN — A requirement for women to receive a sonogram before an abortion cleared a key committee Wednesday and is poised to become the first bill considered this year by the full House, probably by next week. Supporters praised the bill as a way to ensure that women see fetal development and hear their baby’s heartbeat before making an irreversible decision, while abortion rights advocates lamented the state imposing its judgment into a conversation between doctors and patients. A similar bill already has cleared the Senate, and while there are differences between the two proposals, supporters are confident they can be reconciled, making Texas abortion laws some of the most restrictive in the nation.
Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/i3xoRq

House honors Bruce Sherbet

The Texas House today honored former Dallas County Elections Administrator Bruce Sherbet. It did so with nary a peep about Sherbet's forced resignation, which prompted last week's racially charged shouting match between Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price and tea party adherents.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/eh99K2

Texas House committee approves bill that aims to eliminate wrongful convictions based on eyewitness errors

 AUSTIN — A bill that would alter eyewitness identification procedures in the state passed through committee Tuesday. Advocates say the bill brings the state one step closer to making progress on one of the biggest problems with the criminal justice system. Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, who heads the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, brought innocence-related issues to the front of the line in the committee’s first substantive meeting of the session. The eyewitness identification bill would set a statewide standard for law enforcement agencies regarding eyewitness identification procedures.

Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/eG358O

State education agency to cut scores of jobs

 AUSTIN — The Texas Education Agency will announce as early as Tuesday that it is cutting as many as 100 jobs in response to the state’s budget crisis, state officials with knowledge of the decision say. Education Commissioner Robert Scott had already indicated he was moving to cut expenses at the agency, which now has 1,054 employees. The number of layoffs is expected to range between 50 and 100.

Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/f8K7LA

Texas senators propose legislation to place limits on payday lenders

 AUSTIN — Opponents of the high fees charged by payday lenders told legislators Tuesday that placing limits on the industry would protect Texans while still allowing the businesses to make a profit.
Shannon reports: http://dallasne.ws/elU6Fe

Tougher sonogram bill up in House committee

The House State Affairs Committee will hear testimony Wednesday on its version of a bill that mandates sonograms be done before an abortion and the images and sounds made available to women. Unlike the bill that already has passed the Senate, it doesn't provide any exceptions for women who are getting an abortion due to rape, incest or because of severe and irreversible fetal abnormalities. The House bill also opens the tort door against doctors who fail to adhere to the sonogram bill, saying the patient, her relatives and even a district attorney can sue doctors -- for real and punitive damages -- who fail to follow the law. There are also civil fines of up to $10,000 an occurance. Failure could also cost a medical license.

Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/fLE6OE

Conservative group urges Medicaid shift to market-based plans

 AUSTIN — Texas should shift many of its 3.3 million Medicaid recipients into private health insurance to avert a fiscal meltdown, a conservative group is urging. Medicaid recipients who are not disabled should be given subsidies to buy private plans, and the state should ask to be freed from federal rules setting minimum coverage levels, the Texas Public Policy Foundation says in a report scheduled for release Tuesday.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/hAz9mR

Bill would let Texas counties deliver jailed illegal immigrants to congressional offices

More on Kolkhorst's bill:
AUSTIN — Rep. Lois Kolkhorst has an idea about where to put some of the illegal immigrants languishing in county jails whom federal officials can’t find space for: How ’bout over there by the file cabinet?
Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, has filed legislation that would allow sheriffs to take immigrants to the local offices of any U.S. representative or senator and deposit them there.
Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/igDNDd

State rep on immigrants: Special delivery to fed offices

 Hoppe on Rep. Kolkhorst's modest proposal http://dallasne.ws/gvNNqb

Legislation to allow concealed handguns on Texas campuses worries Dallas-area students

Supporters of legislation that would allow students and faculty to carry concealed handguns at colleges and universities in Texas say their goal is to make campuses safer. But some of the Dallas-area students they hope to protect say they’d feel less secure knowing their peers might be armed.

Lauren Michaels and Amber Bell report: http://dallasne.ws/i63E2G

Michael Young meets distraught kid from viral video

Consider the case of three-year-old Gavin Justice of Weatherford, whose melodramatic reaction to news Young might be traded was caught on video by his mother. The video went viral with more than 325,000 views. Among those who viewed it: Young and his wife Cristina. After Young's email box "blew up" with notes about the video, they reached out to Gavin and his mother, Kim Justice, and set up a meeting last week.

Evan Grant: http://dallasne.ws/gsKK8w

Video:

Legislation would allow wider sales of raw milk

 AUSTIN — Before they can gulp a glass of fresh raw milk, most Texans must do something else first — take a road trip. That could change with legislation that would open more avenues for consumers who prefer to buy the raw version of cow or goat milk. Unpasteurized, or raw, milk can be sold only at the licensed dairy where it is produced. There are about 50 raw milk dairies in Texas, including one in Collin County and another near Greenville that draws dozens of visitors from Dallas. A proposal by Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Van, would allow it to be sold at farmers markets and fairs and delivered to homes.

Shannon: http://dallasne.ws/f1XLdP

Texas poised to pass bill allowing guns on campus

 AUSTIN — Texas may be preparing to give college students and professors the right to carry guns on campus, adding momentum to a national campaign to open this part of society to firearms.

AP: http://dallasne.ws/hqhSuk

If Texas lays off thousands of teachers, they face a brutal market

 It is not yet known how much Texas school districts will have to cut in lieu of the state’s multi-billion dollar budget gap, but no scenario exists that does not result in thousands of education jobs lost. In the past, if one school system was cutting, another was hiring. If educators were willing to move to other states, there were jobs and children to teach. This time, experts say there are not many places for laid-off teachers and other school staffers to run — because states everywhere are going through the same painful process.

Hobbs: http://dallasne.ws/hRiJUB

Hey Wisconsin, that's our idea!

 A group of 14 Democratic senators in Wisconsin reportedly have fled the state to forestall a Republican-pushed bill that would greatly curtail labor union strength in that state.

Can a cheese state have killer bees?

Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/evdcdd

Freshman Dallas lawmaker tries to ease clean-air budget cuts

 On his first day as a real, live, marking-up-the-budget Texas state budget writer, Rep. Eric Johnson tried to tote fair with the home folks. The freshman Dallas Democrat sprang a plan on his Appropriations subcommittee colleagues that would restore nearly one-quarter of a proposed $225 million cut in programs that use financial carrots to persuade people and companies to get rid of smoke-belching, dirty-polluting cars and diesel-fired heavy equipment. The programs, with exotic names TERP and LIRAP, are especially important to Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/h1Q2QF

Parties find common ground on animal-rights legislation

 AUSTIN — The legislative session is rife with hard-line partisan battles, but one issue — protecting animals — has united lawmakers from the far right and left of the political spectrum. Reps. Senfronia Thompson, a liberal Democrat from Houston, and Wayne Christian, a conservative Republican from East Texas, have each authored legislation endorsed by statewide and national animal rights groups that pushed their platform at the Capitol on Thursday.

Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/eIWDTG

Grassroots lobbyists from all over the state came to Austin to discuss animal protection measures with their representatives:

Census: Population soars in Texas among Hispanics, along I-35 corridor

 From 2000 to 2010, Texas grew more than at any point in its history, by more than 4.5 million people, most of them settling within a county or two of the Interstate 35 corridor and the stretch of Interstate 10 from San Antonio to Houston. The growth spurt adds four additional seats to the Texas Congressional delegation, with the nation’s second largest state sending 36 representatives to Washington.

Staff writer Michael Young reports: http://dallasne.ws/eqhf5c

Authorities identify ‘persons of interest’ in Texas Governor’s Mansion arson

 AUSTIN — New reviews of surveillance tapes from the June 2008 arson of the Texas Governor’s Mansion have identified “persons of interest” - linked to the 2008 plot to bomb the Republican National Convention - who were filmed near the mansion days before the fire. The Texas Department of Public Safety on Thursday released video of a white Jeep Cherokee that was idling in front of the mansion in the early morning hours of June 4, in which three occupants were taking flash photos of what DPS officials said were the security cameras on the property.

Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/eBa7U4

Texas Senate passes bill to require sonogram before abortion

 AUSTIN – Women in Texas must be offered a fetal sonogram and hear a heartbeat before having an abortion under legislation approved by the Senate on Thursday. The legislation, hailed by abortion opponents as a way to entitle women to more information, would be in addition to a 24-hour waiting period and state-dictated medical information that already are required. But others questioned further government intrusion into a difficult, personal decision that would mandate certain tests, information and procedures.

Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/edWesM

State Farm Insurance refund case delayed again

 AUSTIN — State Farm Insurance’s $350 million overcharge case was delayed again Wednesday when, for the second time in six months, a state judge had to pull out of the case because she is a policyholder of the company and could be in line for a refund.

Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/flA3os

Perry pushes for more money for pet programs but gets push-back

 AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry asked Senate budget writers Wednesday to restore $81.5 million they propose to whack from his office and pet programs. His emissary, though, received a stern lecture about misplaced priorities at a time when, for instance, proposed cuts to Dallas’ UT Southwestern Medical Center would cost North Texas more than 1,000 jobs.

Garrett brings yesterday's blog posts together in a story: http://dallasne.ws/hyekKw

Jimmy Carter speaks on Middle East at LBJ Library

 Former President Jimmy Carter said the popular uprising in Egypt is stirring other passions in the Middle East, but cautioned the area "is still a tinderbox for the world." Speaking at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library, Carter said he believed the Egyptian military will cede political power and allow free and open elections.

Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/e4bgRQ

Sad news. Friend and colleague Michele Kay passes away today

 Michele Kay, 66, who devoted more than 40 years to journalism, asking questions and exploring topics and the world, died this morning.
Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/gd6PY0

More money sought to help cover legal expenses for Texas’ poor

AUSTIN — Legal aid advocates asked lawmakers Wednesday to consider passing legislation that would raise certain fees that help fund civil representation for poor Texans, saying such services are already in jeopardy.

Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/eb6sf8

House Speaker Straus calls for civility among Texas lawmakers

 AUSTIN — House Speaker Joe Straus said Wednesday that he will insist upon civility in debates on even impassioned legislative issues, especially after having survived a re-election campaign where his Jewish faith became an issue.

Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/hnSqiB

Dewhurst, Senate propose their own health care overhaul for Texas

 AUSTIN — Texas’ government and private health insurance plans need new methods of paying caregivers, Senate Republican leaders said Wednesday. Doctors and hospitals should not be reimbursed for volume but for quality and good results for patients, said Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound.

Garrett was busy today: http://dallasne.ws/dXw9Jk

Whitmire, Ogden push back on Perry's plea for more $

 Sens. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, this evening questioned Gov. Rick Perry's push for more economic development incentives money in a very tight state budget situation.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/eGjKWe

Perry's office asks Senate for extra $81.5 million

 Milton Rister, director of administration in Gov. Rick Perry's office, just asked Senate budget writers for a net increase of $81.5 million in state funds for the next two years.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/h5ggGH

Texas Association of Business urges lawmakers to protect education funding

 AUSTIN — The president of one of the state’s largest business groups said Tuesday that legislators should protect funding for prekindergarten, textbooks, technology and merit pay for teachers as they consider cuts in public school funding to balance the state budget.

via the Austin bureau: http://dallasne.ws/dH576n

Wasting no time, Sen. Ellis makes his prison-reform pitch

 "It's a good chance for us to move some of these bills," Ellis said. "Most of these bills are some that will save us money."
Brooks reports: http://dallasne.ws/gZR4bT

Aggies, Longhorns team up to lobby Legislature

 AUSTIN — Some of the Longhorns’ and Aggies’ biggest fans teamed up at the Capitol on Tuesday, making a play for new buildings and research incentive funding for the two top-tier state universities.
Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/faBi3Y

Paint Austin Pink: A rally for rape and abuse services

Paint Austin Pink

A rally for rape and abuse services 

Valentines Day 2011

Austin, Texas

With a violently trembling voice and shaking hands, Nicole Salomon described how her husband stalked, attacked, raped and nearly killed her after she filed for divorce three years ago. Working up the nerve to tell her story to hundreds of people in front of the Texas Capitol on Valentines Day 2011 was the "next step" in her healing, she said. 

The first was visiting the rape crisis center. 

"I truly believe that counselor saved my life," she said. 

The Texas Legislature is considering tens of billions of dollars in budget cuts as they face a historic shortfall. On Monday, Feb. 14, 2011, hundreds of advocates joined the Texas Family Violence Council, the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault, and Dallas-based Mary Kay, Inc., to ask lawmakers to protect services for rape and abuse victims.

Reported by Karen Brooks

Video and editing by John Jordan

http://dallasne.ws/gunVEP

Budget cuts likely to mean fewer black, Hispanic students in Texas colleges

 AUSTIN — Texas universities will almost certainly have fewer black and Hispanic students as a result of large pending budget cuts in the state’s main financial aid program for poor students, endangering a decade’s worth of work by lawmakers and higher education officials to boost minority enrollment.

Mulvaney reports: http://dallasne.ws/e7K2yk

Poor state rankings show Texas is in trouble, House Democrats say

 AUSTIN — Texas is on the verge of losing its economic edge, 10 House Democrats warned today. Proposed budget cuts will only make things worse, they said. “If we do not change course, for the first time in our history, the Texas generation of tomorrow will be less prosperous than the generation of today,” said a booklet the Democrats released. It compares Texas with other states on taxes, education, social welfare, health, environment, wages, access to investment capital and crime.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/ev1pZi

House honors Pulitzer-winning DMN editorial scribes

 The House moments ago passed a resolution that congratulates Tod Robberson, Colleen McCain Nelson and William McKenzie of The Dallas Morning News for winning the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. House Resolution 19 , by Reps. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, and Dan Branch, R-Dallas, praises a series of editorials that began in 2007 called "Bridging Dallas' North-South Gap."

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/dY6Q3r

Texas industries take big hit in proposed Obama budget

 WASHINGTON — Texas industries would be hit hard in the budget President Barack Obama proposed Monday, through an end to oil and gas subsidies, aggressive promotion of clean energy and regulation of greenhouse gases — all to the dismay of many Texas lawmakers. The $3.7 trillion proposal also omits nearly all funding for Dallas’ multibillion-dollar Trinity River project. Presidents have tried to kill the project for years, but with Congress adhering to a new ban on earmarks — long the Trinity project’s lifeblood — it’s on shakier ground than ever.

Michaels and Gillman in our DC bureau report: http://dallasne.ws/h5CRhU

Texas school districts worry about proposed funding cuts to full-day pre-kindergarten

 Texas school districts already bracing for massive funding cuts fear they might be forced to scale back pre-kindergarten classes. Public schools with full-day pre-kindergarten rely heavily on the $104.3 million state grant that funds the classes. But preliminary budgets in the Texas Legislature have proposed either getting rid of the multimillion-dollar grant or reducing the amount.

Haag: http://dallasne.ws/dJhDCQ

ERCOT releases partial list of plants that went down February 2

 The Electric Reliability Council of Texas released a partial list of power plants that stopped working on February 2, leading to rolling blackouts across the state. The list only includes power plants owned by companies that waived confidentiality. Technically, plant operating data is secret for 60 days.

Elizabeth Souder: http://dallasne.ws/e5CkIz
Patial list: http://energyandenvironmentblog.dallasnews.com/Outage%20list.docx

Cutting Medicaid harder than issuing soundbites, senators learn

 AUSTIN — Texas budget writers are finding that cutting Medicaid is harder than it sounds.
Reducing services that states don’t have to provide for poor adults is already a part of both chambers’ initial budgets. But Senate health budget writers were warned Monday to tread carefully for fear of costing the state more in the long run. If kidney dialysis treatment is cut, Medicaid patients with renal disease would show up very ill at hospitals, said Charles Bell, deputy executive commissioner for health services at the Health and Human Services Commission.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/ekNaG9

Fight over Texas homeowner insurance rates to resume

 AUSTIN — Seven and a half years after State Farm Insurance was first cited by Texas officials for excessive homeowners rates, the legal battle resumes this week — with hundreds of millions of dollars and perhaps the future of the state’s regulatory system in the balance. The Texas Department of Insurance will try to convince a judge that the state’s largest insurer owes its policyholders at least $310 million plus interest for overcharges. The state’s public insurance counsel maintains that the figure is closer to $1 billion.

Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/gk9C2C

Other states offer lessons, warnings about budget cuts for Texas higher education

 As Texas public universities face crushing budget scenarios, they find lessons — and warnings — from other states where such cuts already have pummeled higher education. Few states have escaped unscathed, but experts point to a handful of institutions that have used constricted budgets to transform the way they operate. Such changes involve revamping funding structures, prioritizing programs and pushing degree completion. They warn against stopgaps and going the way of California, which instituted tuition increases and enrollment caps that may leave lasting impacts on academic quality.

Meyers: http://dallasne.ws/eq1CWn

Soil tests near Exide battery-recycling plant confirm Frisco’s concerns about lead

 Multiple soil tests near the battery-recycling plant in Frisco show lead levels below the federal regulatory limit but above what city officials and an abundance of research say is needed to protect children.

The amount of toxic lead isn’t high enough to warrant an immediate health emergency, city officials say.

Valerie Wigglesworth reports: http://dallasne.ws/gj2Q0v

Texas lawmakers set aside money for movie, TV productions

AUSTIN — With massive school layoffs and health care cuts likely, Texas lawmakers have managed to set aside $10 million in their initial budget proposals for making movies. Film, television and video game producers say they are heartened that any incentive money was proposed for their industry. And they’re trying for a bigger slice of the budget pie, pointing to the Academy Award-nominated film True Grit, multiple television projects taped in Texas and a growing video game creation business. “We will have a compelling case to make,” said Don Stokes of Dallas, president of the Texas Motion Picture Alliance. “We don’t want to lose the momentum we’ve built up the last couple of years.”
Shannon:  http://dallasne.ws/fXEdlR

Texas electric grid operator's rolling blackouts during freeze bring political scrutiny

 On the coldest day of the year, the state’s electric grid operator relied on a cluster of big, new power plants that had never been tested by a harsh winter storm. Then, when the cold knocked them out, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas called on some backup plants that rarely operate during a freeze. The result: rolling blackouts and, now, greater political scrutiny. Texas lawmakers this week will grill regulators, grid operators and power plant executives. The ERCOT board will meet Monday. The Senate Business and Commerce Committee and the Natural Resources Committee will hold a joint hearing Tuesday.

Souder, Jacobson, and Gwynne report: http://dallasne.ws/hoyipC

UNT professor’s recording of concerto, once believed lost, may win Grammy

 In the eight decades since it was written, Paul Kletzki’s Piano Concerto in D minor has been banned by the Nazis, hidden in a basement, bombed by the Allies, threatened by fire, buried for more than 20 years and then, once recovered, neglected by its own composer. On Sunday night, it might win a Grammy. Joseph Banowetz, professor of piano at the University of North Texas, is nominated for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra for his recording of the concerto with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra.
David Flick: http://dallasne.ws/eccroE
MP3 excerpt: http://res.dallasnews.com/audio/Kletzki_Piano.mp3

Perry’s idea for cheap college degree unrealistic, experts say

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry’s moon-launch challenge to the Legislature — to create a $10,000 bachelor’s degree — is not only unrealistic given the cost of college, higher education experts say, but likely budget cuts could mean a degree is further out of reach for thousands more Texans. And some were bluntly dismissive of Perry’s notion that innovation and the Internet can dramatically reduce the cost. Even if it could be done, they said, such a cheap degree wouldn’t be worth the virtual paper it is written on.

Mulvaney and Shannon report: http://dallasne.ws/f6xxWF

Pitts names his budget subcommittee chairs

 Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/gOUg5n

Did Straus stack the odds in the favor of gambling?

When The Dallas Morning News canvassed state lawmakers about whether they support expanding gambling in Texas, we found that the chances weren't looking good for legislation to allow slots at racetracks and resort-style casinos in Texas this session. But of the nine House members appointed to the Licensing & Administrative Prodedures committee, which oversees gambling legislation, only two told the News that they would definitely not support any expansion. Others on the committee supported gambling, were undecided or didn't respond.
Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/g2BK1X

Perry criticizes Combs' handling of Amazon

Gov. Rick Perry, in Washington to speak to the conservative C-PAC gathering, today second-guessed Comptroller Susan Combs' handling of a tax dispute with Amazon. Amazon said this week it will close an Irving distribution center because of an unfavorable regulatory climate in Texas. The company cited Combs' attempt to collect Texas sales tax on Amazon's Internet sales to Texans, because the warehouse constituted a "nexus" under tax law.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/idctfM

Texas House budget writers urge prisons to release more enfeebled inmates

AUSTIN — Texas’ corrections chiefs should consider freeing more enfeebled inmates, and quit holding them until they die, some House budget writers said Thursday. Legislative budget staff members have criticized current practices, saying they sock taxpayers with huge costs for gravely disabled and geriatric prison inmates’ medical care. In 2009, only 59 of 337 inmates recommended for medical release won discharge by the parole board, according to the Legislative Budget Board. That year, 74 inmates died of natural causes behind bars, said a recent board report. It criticized current practices as too cautious and called for changes.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/gDqTtB

Senate panel approves bill to require women to see sonogram before abortion

 AUSTIN — Abortion opponents, saying they are seeking to ensure women are making well-informed decisions, sent a bill to the full Senate on Wednesday that will require women to either view or hear a doctor’s description of a sonogram before the procedure.

Critics called the bill a state intrusion into the relationships between doctors and patients — the kind of governmental interference they say many Republicans are denouncing in the federal health care law.

Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/hBA7T8

Drive a pickup? Rep. Turner's got your back

 As newly named House budget writers kicked into gear late Wednesday, one had the feeling that two veterans of the process know each other well. Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, is back on Appropriations after being off last session. He spent a decade as chairman of its prison-budget subcommittee.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/fBubcB

Busted by Straus: Some locals, some Dem stars

 In today's committee assignments by Speaker Joe Straus, most but not all of the Dallas-Fort Worth members losing out on plum assignments were fellow Republicans who opposed Straus' re-election as speaker.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/gjGnYJ

House Committee Assignments:

House Committee Assignments:
http://dallasne.ws/fsBeF4

Straus offers bouquet to 'Dean' Craddick

 It was obviously a rush job and English teachers might wince at some of the proclamation's diction. Still, House Speaker Joe Straus offered a gracious tribute to his predecessor, Tom Craddick, in announcing new committee assignments this afternoon.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/e2zK4N

Straus gives GOP members the plums, Democrats, the crumbs with Texas House committee assignments

AUSTIN — Speaker Joe Straus read the election results.

Straus, R-San Antonio, scaled back Democrats’ influence in the House committee assignments he made Wednesday.

Straus removed a veteran Democrat from the helm of the House tax-writing panel and placed fellow Republicans in charge of 25 of the chamber’s 36 committees.

Garrett reports: http://dallasne.ws/hMFV5C

Texas Senate passes property rights bill

 AUSTIN —Legislation aimed at strengthening the rights of property owners in eminent domain cases in Texas won unanimous approval in the Senate on Wednesday. The measure, which goes to the House, passed the Senate in similar form two years ago, but fell victim to an impasse in the House that killed scores of bills in the final days of the last legislative session.

Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/ePysJE

Higher education chief pleads for financial aid programs

 AUSTIN — Texas universities are at a critical juncture, the state’s top higher education official said Tuesday, as he pleaded with state senators to save financial aid programs and other funding for cash-strapped colleges.

“We have to invest in the young people that are coming through the pipeline,” Higher Education Coordinating Board Commissioner Raymund Paredes told the Senate Finance Committee. “They are largely poor, largely first generation, largely of color. They will drive the economy of Texas.”

Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/eRH4N2

Perry demands more money from Congress for Texas schools

 WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Perry , in his State of the State speech Tuesday, demanded that Congress free up $830 million for Texas schools — prompting a denunciation from Democrats who say he just wants the money to help plug the state’s huge budget hole.

Last summer, Texas Democrats in Congress secured a provision in federal law that says Texas, to get the federal money, must promise not to cut its own spending on education for three years. Perry says he can’t legally promise that, and on Tuesday, he renewed complaints about congressional meddling, calling out Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin, who authored the provision.

Huisman reports from our DC bureau: http://dallasne.ws/ghgus4

Wayne Slater: Rick Perry’s State of the State address differs sharply from his first

AUSTIN — In his first State of the State address a decade ago, a very different Rick Perry in a very different time cautioned Texas lawmakers not to “revel in our current prosperity.”

There was no prosperity to revel in Tuesday.

 http://dallasne.ws/hbTFff

Texas Gov. Rick Perry dismisses budget ‘doomsayers,’ preaches job growth in State of the State address

AUSTIN — Gov. Rick Perry dismissed “doomsayers” alarmed by the state’s $27 billion shortfall, instead pointing to Texas' strength in a State of the State address Tuesday that was long on Washington-bashing and short on budget-slashing. In his biennial speech to a joint legislative session, Perry glossed over the worries of budget writers and instead focused on what he saw as exceptional progress in job creation, population growth, attracting Fortune 500 companies and maintaining relatively low unemployment.

Hoppe: http://dallasne.ws/h6vCKn

Some fear budget cuts could erode education gains in Texas

State officials have been pushing to get more Texans — especially minorities — through college for more than a decade. Although significant progress has been made, experts now say threatened budget cuts will likely hurt efforts to close the achievement gap. The issue has far-reaching implications since Texas, one of the most populous states in the country, consistently ranks among the least educated.
Lori Stahl reports: http://dallasne.ws/hCFiu5

Texas school districts told to prepare for new testing program

 AUSTIN — The state’s new student testing program will be rolled out on schedule next year despite concerns of many superintendents who say they won’t be ready because of expected funding cuts. Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, and Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott both said Monday that they expect to see the new tests administered beginning in the 2011-12 school year.

Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/hP9f8T

Proposed bill could ease punishment for underage 'sexting'

AUSTIN -- Proposed legislation meant to curb "sexting" among teens would punish minors who send nude sexual pictures to each other, but would ease the current law that makes doing so a felony offense.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Monday endorsed Sen. Kirk Watson’s legislation that would make sexting a Class C misdemeanor for first-time violators who are younger than 18. A judge would also be authorized to order the convicted minors and their parents to participate in a sexting education and awareness program.

Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/fd7WoV
Senate bill: http://dallasne.ws/hPAeMn
Press release: http://dallasne.ws/e7kWK4

Suehs: No matter the fate of federal health bill, Texas should tackle its uninsured problem

 State social services czar Tom Suehs says the Legislature should work on reducing Texas' nation-leading share of its people lacking health insurance, no matter what the federal courts decide about the federal health care overhaul.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/g7sr0x

Bill would give Texas schools relief from state mandates

AUSTIN — School districts would have more leeway to cut salaries and terminate teachers to save money under legislation filed Tuesday by the chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee. Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said her bill would help school districts deal with the state’s current budget crunch, which is expected to reduce state education aid by as much as $5 billion next year. Without more flexibility for districts, one expert said, the funding cutback could cost nearly 100,000 jobs.

Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/hbChYc

Texas' finances not as rosy as they seemed

The state prides itself as a model of conservative spending and responsible budgeting. But a new $27-billion budget gap undercuts its image as a business-seducing, fiscally adaptive state.

 http://dallasne.ws/gGfeXw

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell: 'We take full responsibility' for Super Bowl ticket problems

 NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says the NFL will shoulder the blame for the Super Bowl XLV ticket confusion Sunday that left 400 ticket holders without seats and 850 others displaced.

"Any time you're putting on an event of this magnitude, you have your challenges," Goodell said, according to The Washington Post, in a Monday morning press conference. "We've had them this week. We had an issue yesterday with several seats for our fans. It's something that we have been taking very seriously, working at it. We apologize to those fans that were impacted by this."
 http://dallasne.ws/dNqgWP

Anchia will join Obamas at White House and view SB XLV

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/e7MQDv

And lo, it came to pass the Texas Jewish speaker fight makes Comedy Central

 Welch says a person's faith shouldn't disqualify them from holding office in Texas. Unless they're a Muslim.
Slater:  http://dallasne.ws/e2ntO5

Some rare snow sledding in Texas Hill Country

 The ever-intrepid Garrett always gets the story: http://dallasne.ws/eSgtYq

'Slide, glide and duck' -- the politician's creed?

 Try as they might, three Democratic senators today couldn't pin down a Republican county official from Central Texas on whether she'd urge the state to raise revenues so lawmakers can avoid whacking programs and dumping a host of "unfunded mandates" on local governments.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/giR0xT

Rick Perry in California during frigid weather, power outages

 Gov. Rick Perry's office acknowledged today that the governor was in balmy California as power blackouts rolled across Texas in what had been the second day of sub-freezing temperatures. His office said he is visiting troops, will be staying aboard the USS Reagan, and participating in festivities surrounding Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday.
Hoppe:  http://dallasne.ws/e7Xyfy

Ogden letting colleagues go, citing weather

Sen. Steve Ogden , chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, announced that because of inclement weather, he's letting colleagues go home at 2 p.m. today.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/elY5rT

Senate report on Fort Hood shooting critical of FBI, Army

 WASHINGTON — A Senate report on the Fort Hood shooting is sharply critical of the FBI and its failure to adequately share information with the military about the alleged shooter's extremist views.
Baldor from the AP reports: http://dallasne.ws/giHAmH

View report--released midday Thursday--here: http://dallasne.ws/hyNmYM

'Rather be there than here,' witness admits

 Two senators took pains this morning to praise Susan Payne of College Station, one of hundreds of Texans who've spent many hours in Capitol hallways this week, waiting to protest proposed budget cuts in social services.
Garrett:  http://dallasne.ws/hX2tQU

Texas businesses serving frail warn cuts would close their doors

 AUSTIN — Business owner after business owner warned Wednesday that proposed cuts would shutter their operations serving Texas’ disabled children and frail adults. The grim warnings came as the Senate Finance Committee opened two days of public comment on GOP leaders’ two-year, $158.7 billion budget proposal. The spending blueprint would reduce payments to some social service providers by more than 30 percent.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/hCeBq8

State audit highly critical of UT Medical Branch’s spending on prison clinics

 AUSTIN — A highly critical report from the state auditor’s office questions the University of Texas Medical Branch's spending on the 112 state prison clinics it operates, saying it overcharges for care and has given $14 million in raises even as it runs a deficit.

Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/gV44WY

Baby squeals (testifies?) as senators ponder cuts

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/gF5Tsg

House committee assignments: next week

 Speaker Joe Straus won't make committee assignments until next week, according to a reliable source.
Straus isn't necessarily late in making his picks. Last session, he did it on Feb. 12. This year, the House had considerable turnover -- 37 seats, with 34 of the arriving members true freshmen. And Straus, who just survived a tea party-inspired challenge from his right, obviously wants to exercise one of his office's greatest powers with care.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/fAktp9

Liquor exec: 'wild and crazy' times for D-FW Super Bowl: Everybody's saying, 'Load it up'

 Not a play has been called in the biggest game of the year, and already fans are imbibing enough booze that some Dallas-Fort Worth vendors are requesting additional deliveries.

Jacobson, Hoppe report: http://dallasne.ws/gKYbkx

Bill would give Texas schools relief from state mandates

AUSTIN — School districts would have more leeway to cut salaries and terminate teachers to save money under legislation filed Tuesday by the chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee. Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said her bill would help school districts deal with the state’s current budget crunch, which is expected to reduce state education aid by as much as $5 billion next year. Without more flexibility for districts, one expert said, the funding cutback could cost nearly 100,000 jobs.

Stutz: http://dallasne.ws/ik1qco

Texas budget cuts may scuttle plan to help region’s most-traumatized children

 AUSTIN — Budget cuts may scuttle a proposal to keep North Texas’ most fragile victims of child abuse from being shipped to Houston, a state official said Tuesday. Protective services chief Anne Heiligenstein told Senate budget writers that their all-cuts approach would reduce foster care payments by 12 percent and kill a plan to revamp rates and contracting that she hoped would create more residential treatment centers in the Dallas area. Centers care for the most traumatized and emotionally disturbed children in state custody. Only two of the 66 centers that agree to accept Child Protective Services’ wards are in Dallas County.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/fAfe4K

Poor kids' docs receive at least ray of hope

 Primary care doctors and physicians who are pediatric specialists received good news minutes ago when state social services czar Tom Suehs said his top priority is avoiding additional cuts in their fees from Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.
http://dallasne.ws/guvPr0  Garrett reports.

Perry reappoints Suehs as social services czar

Gov. Rick Perry today reappointed Tom Suehs to a complete two year term as executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/i0PLkN

Sam Kinch Jr., a mainstay of Texas journalism for 40 years, dies at age 70

 Few Texas journalists were better liked or had better sources in the Capitol than Sam Kinch Jr., a long-time reporter for The Dallas Morning News in Austin and the founding editor of the influential political newsletter Texas Weekly. Kinch died early today at age 70.

Slater remembers: http://dallasne.ws/e6UTcr

Denton Republican, Houston Democrat team up for 3rd shot at statewide smoking ban

 Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton, and Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, are betting the third time is the charm for passing a statewide ban on smoking in indoor workplaces and public places.
They've filed legislation again to prohibit smoking in such settings, including bars and restaurants.

Kelley Shannon reports: http://dallasne.ws/godv5k

Cuts to foster care, child protection draw fire

 State protective services chief Anne Heiligenstein dropped some bad news on Senate budget writers today: Her year-old push to redesign the payment system for foster care providers will be a non-starter if lawmakers approve proposed cuts that would effectively drive down rates by 12 percent. Abused and neglected children with complex emotional and psychiatric problems often are ripped from their home communities in North Texas and shipped down I-45 to so-called "residential treatment centers" in the Houston area, Heiligenstein has said, saying she'd like to change that. An agreed-upon overhaul of rates and contracting would put a private provider in charge of a region, which would include a duty to make sure there are enough beds close to home.

Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/fysfIO

AT&T spends $18,000 buying Rick Perry book

 Rick Perry's Republican Governor's Association served as cashier for the purchase of 700 copies of his book Fed-Up. Dallas-based AT&T paid for the books, which were distributed to state legislators, lobbyists and activists at a conservative policy summit in December in Washington. The cost: $18,349, according to the latest campaign filing by the Republican Governors Association, which Perry heads.
Slater: http://dallasne.ws/eLpbbw

Opponents say proposed cyberbullying bills may cross the line

 AUSTIN — State lawmakers want to take the fight out of school bullies.
More than half a dozen proposals are being pushed in the new Legislature to combat abusive students, including giving officials power to discipline students for off-campus texting and other online activities.

Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/eLGmWr

For Super Bowl XLV, everyone wants in the social media huddle

 Consider Super Bowl XLV in Arlington the Social Media Super Bowl, the first in which tools like Facebook and Twitter will play such a central role in advertising, promotions and fandom.

Ted Kim reports: http://dallasne.ws/dK3OHr

Texas’ proposed budget cuts frustrate senators in both parties

AUSTIN — A grumbling group of Senate budget writers tackled Texas’ towering budget shortfall on Monday.
If their first day of work was a taste of things to come, look for a sour session.
Republicans and Democrats alike protested at the Senate Finance Committee’s first hearing on proposed budget cuts. They said reductions in programs for disabled children and the mentally ill would go too deep.
“When I look at children with autism …and we’re talking about [going] from 180 [children served] to 90, I want to be sure you’ve cut to the bone everywhere you can possibly cut that does not impact people,” Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, told the head of the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services.
Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/dK3OHr

State fund to help pay for Super Bowl expenses

AUSTIN — A state trust fund that uses tax money to help communities play host to major sports events is distributing its largest grant yet for Super Bowl XLV: $31.2 million. It far surpasses the $8.7 million an earlier version of the Major Events Trust Fund shelled out for the Super Bowl in Houston in 2004. Texas legislators revamped the fund two years ago, making it more favorable for host communities.

Kelley Shannon: http://dallasne.ws/dSci2M