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

Texas loses another round in fight over EPA regulation of greenhouse gases

WASHINGTON – Texas lost a third round Wednesday in its legal fight to halt federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. Texas had asked the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to block a program that awards construction permits to major sources of greenhouse gas emissions, such as cement kilns and oil refineries. Every other state has begun the permit program or allowed EPA to award permits for them.

Dave Michaels reports: http://dallasne.ws/dJlGyk

Abbott hails Virginia judge for overruling key health law provision

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott was quick to applaud today's ruling by a federal judge in Virginia that the health overhaul law goes too far in requiring individuals to purchase health insurance, starting in 2014.


Garrett: http://dallasne.ws/ffmb3c

Texas Republicans maintain firm grip on statewide offices

Republicans again captured Texas' major offices. Stutz and Meyers take a look at the most competitive statewide races, along with State Board of Education results:  http://dallasne.ws/b7kTsy

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott calls for statewide foreclosure freeze

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott asked loan servicing companies on Monday to suspend all foreclosure activities over concerns about the accuracy of foreclosure documents. In a letter sent to 27 companies that service mortgage loans in Texas, Abbott's office demanded the immediate suspension of foreclosures, selling foreclosed properties and evicting people living in those properties.
The AP reports: http://dallasne.ws/bLjmMv

Texas attorney general says clinics' recorded messages on abortion dangers are probably insufficient under state law

AUSTIN – Attorney General Greg Abbott in one of two opinions released Friday said that prerecorded announcements used by some abortion clinics to tell women about the dangers of the procedure are probably insufficient under Texas' informed consent law. In the other opinion, Abbott said a requirement that a prescribing doctor be present when a patient ingests an abortion pill isn't legally enforceable.

Mulvaney: http://dallasne.ws/d1mLRA

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott files motions to block federal greenhouse gas standards

" ...Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today filed motions to block the federal Environmental Protection Agency from applying new greenhouse gas standards and other related regulations."
Theodore Kim reports: http://dallasne.ws/9Ul9br

Texas' child support collection data presents varied picture

Texas lags in the percentage of overdue support it collects, according to an analysis of federal data by The Dallas Morning News. Delinquent cases and amounts owed are rising faster here than in many other states. Kim reports: http://dallasne.ws/ax0DfV

Radnofsky defends $1,000 gift to Abbott's '02 campaign for attorney general

Kim:
Democrat Barbara Ann Radnofsky, who is challenging Republican Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, has spent the past few months blasting Abbott from every conceivable angle. So it is surprising that campaign records for Abbott's first election for attorney general in 2002 show a $1,000 political contribution from Radnofsky.
http://dallasne.ws/9NEft8

EPA takes control of Collin County power plant's state-issued permit

Randy Lee Loftis reports:

A fight between the Obama administration and Texas over industrial air pollution intensified Tuesday when the EPA took over two more state-issued permits, including one for a Garland Power and Light plant in Collin County.

http://tinyurl.com/34j5bfr

Abbott denies campaign rival's charge that he went easy on BP

Kim reports:
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Monday that he feels "frustration and aggravation" over BP's response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and that the company's actions could lead to criminal charges.


He dismissed accusations by his campaign opponent that he has shied away from criticizing BP or downplayed the spill's magnitude.
http://tinyurl.com/2eh6mbs

Accident set Texas Attorney General Abbott on path to politics

Kim reports:
http://tinyurl.com/2ffkwnd

Heat Index: A fact check of Abbott's claims on health law's costs

Garrett runs the numbers down:

THE CLAIM: Attorney General Greg Abbott says Texas, already facing a budget shortfall next session, will be forced by the new federal health care law to spend billions of its own money in the next two-year cycle to extend health coverage for the poor to millions more Texans.
http://tinyurl.com/24jx8jk

Lawsuit widens against new health care law; Texas AG Greg Abbott, signer No. 4, applauds

Oops. Amid speculation in The New York Times and elsewhere this week that they may lack legal standing to challenge the federal health care law's so-called individual mandate, the big group of states that have sued in a federal court in the Florida Panhandle have recalibrated. Today, they added a Panama City, Fla., auto shop owner and a Washington state man who chooses to be uninsured as plaintiffs, as well as NFIB, the lobby group for small business. http://tinyurl.com/2ua2c5j

AG Abbott deceptive trade suit hits top Perry campaign contributor

Slater reports:

Attorney General Greg Abbott filed suit today against Houston-based TaxMasters and CEO Patrick Cox, accusing the company of deceiving customers with tax problems. Cox is one of Republican Gov. Rick Perry's biggest campaign contributors in his reelection race. Cox gave Perry $23,500 in February.
http://tinyurl.com/37jtu4k

UPDATE: Perry will keep $23,500 campaign contribution from donor sued by state for deceptive practices http://tinyurl.com/37jtu4k

Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples involved in gay divorce appeals case

Jessica Meyers reports on now-Ag Commish-former-State Senator Staples' connection to gay divorce case::

He didn't appear, but lawyers from Plano-based Liberty Institute spoke on behalf of Staples and Rep. Warren Chisum this afternoon in a Dallas appeals court.

They are seeking to appeal a divorce granted to a gay couple in Dallas. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has filed appeals in both Dallas and Austin, saying the state doesn't recognize gay marriages so it can't recognize gay divorce.
http://tinyurl.com/295puwp

Texas AG's appeal in gay divorce case to be heard in Dallas courtroom

Aida Ahmed reports:
Two Dallas men trying to end their Massachusetts marriage in Texas will be the subject of an appellate hearing Wednesday in a downtown courtroom.


The appeal pits Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott against family court Judge Tena Callahan, who accepted the case last fall and ruled that the state's ban on gay marriage violates the U.S. Constitution.

http://tinyurl.com/y2l4ats

Greg Abbott, Barbara Ann Radnofsky positioning for Texas Attorney General campaign stretch run

Theodore Kim writes: the candidates running for Texas Attorney General -- incumbent Greg Abbott and challenger Barbara Ann Radnofsky -- are already positioning themselves for the stretch run.
http://tinyurl.com/y5hdgnk

Greg Abbott hoists defiant logo (shades of tea?)

Garrett reports: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who's suing the federal government about health care and just about everything else, adopted a new campaign logo that uses the Don't Tread on Me slogan commonly seen at tea party rallies.

Abbott offers to help in Dallas constables inquiry

Timms and Krause report: Texas AG offers Dallas AG Watkins assistance in county constables investigation:

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has made a second offer to help Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins investigate criminal allegations involving two constables' offices.


But Watkins has not responded to the Feb. 23 request – sent about a week after county commissioners released a lengthy report from their special investigator accusing Precinct 5 Constable Jaime Cortes of abusing his office and accepting bribes from a towing contractor.