WEEKLY REPORT
January 14, 2012
Salvaging disposal children
Texas is slowly abandoning the idea that its young population includes thousands of disposable children, and that’s all for the greater good.
(View complete article here.)
Texas can enforce sonogram law, appeals court says
A Texas law requiring women to receive sonograms before abortions, intended to dissuade patients from continuing with the procedure, is constitutional and can be enforced, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.
(View complete article here.)
State workers increased in 2011, despite looming budget cuts
Even as thousands of state employees were losing their jobs last year to offset an expected $27 billion budget shortfall, numerous state agencies and higher education institutions ended up with more workers in 2011 than the Legislature authorized.
(View complete article here.)
State hospitals to add windows for patient safety
The Department of State Health Services is spending more than $100,000 to retrofit 336 doors at psychiatric hospitals with windows, a move the agency says will help prevent patients from being abused by staff members.
(View complete article here.)
Texas legislators start tackling top issues between sessions
By KELLEY SHANNON
Special Contributor
Published: 10 January 2012 01:58 AM
AUSTIN — Texas legislators may work part-time, as Gov. Rick Perry frequently points out on the presidential campaign trail, but 2012 isn’t totally a year off.
Wildfires, drought, border security, coastal insurance and electricity demand are among issues lawmakers are delving into this year in legislative committee meetings between sessions.
On Tuesday, the Senate Business and Commerce Committee begins studying the impact of drought on electric generation.
The Senate’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee meets this week to discuss ways to increase affordable housing after a natural disaster. Another Senate committee convenes next week, and at least seven House panels gather within the month.
Border violence and illegal trafficking are getting legislative attention again. A House-Senate joint interim committee was named to study human trafficking and make recommendations to the full Legislature.
Perry doesn’t control what the Legislature studies between sessions, but the governor can specify emergency issues at the start of each 140-day session.
In their 2011 session, lawmakers made deep budget cuts and passed legislation on eminent domain, voter identification, windstorm insurance and food safety. All had their start in work by committees.
AT A GLANCE: Off-year topics
Health along the Texas-Mexico border
Juvenile justice system referrals
DNA testing of crime evidence
State park funding
Impact of state university research on the economy
Agriculture production and investment
State water plan and water conservation
Horse industry
Control of invasive plant and animal species
State incentives went to company linked to Medicare misuse accusations
State leaders awarded $2.1 million in taxpayer funds last year to the parent company of a hospice care firm that, according to allegations made by the Justice Department, misspent millions of Medicare dollars intended for the care of terminally ill patients.
(View complete article here.)
Trial begins in Texas lawsuit seeking $1 billion from J&J over anti-psychotic drug
A clash between Texas and Johnson & Johnson that could end up costing the drug maker $1 billion opened Tuesday with prosecutors accusing the company of plundering the state Medicaid program by overstating the safety of an expensive anti-psychotic drug and improperly influencing officials and doctors to push the medication.
(View complete article here.)
State attorney general sues drug company
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is pitted against one of the largest multinational pharmaceutical companies in a trial starting this week that could bring the state more than $1 billion – one of its largest potential awards since a multibillion-dollar tobacco settlement in 1998.
(View complete article here.)
OPINION: The Next Immigration Challenge
THE immigration crisis that has roiled American politics for decades has faded into history. Illegal immigration is shrinking to a trickle, if that, and will likely never return to the peak levels of 2000. Just as important, immigrants who arrived in the 1990s and settled here are assimilating in remarkable and unexpected ways.
(View complete article here.)
Immigration Proposal Not Seen as Major Step
Comprehensive immigration reform it is not: That’s what many are saying about the Obama administration’s recently announced plan to ease restrictions on illegal immigrants trying to re-enter the U.S. after applying for legal status.
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Rivals Bash Dewhurst in Lively Senate Debate
Major Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate knocked heads Thursday night in a debate that was more lively than the presidential forums that have become a TV mainstay.
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Supreme Court ready to tackle Texas redistricting case
The bitter Texas redistricting case is about to enter what is shaping up to be the final stretch in the yearlong legal battle.
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If the Courts Take More Time, So Will Texas Primaries
It takes at least two months to put a primary election together once political maps are finally drawn, and if the federal courts don’t spit out a final Texas map within the next three weeks, the state’s primary elections probably can’t be held on April 3.
(View complete article here.)
Big print is a big step toward reining in payday loan fees
Consumer advocates have long pushed to rein in these high-cost loans that target the working poor. About 10 percent of Texas residents take out small cash advances, using future paychecks as collateral. But many roll over the loans and are overwhelmed by big fees. Some relief agencies have said that the loans forced many clients to seek their help.
(View complete article here.)
Laws corralling short term lenders are a warning shot
One of the principal products of hard times is the myriad offers to make things better for a price. The financial desperation hard times bring leads many consumers into the clutches of lenders who offer loans that carry interest rates as high as 500 percent.
(View complete article here.)
USAA rates on homes going up
USAA home and condo insurance policyholders in Texas are facing another rate increase, the third announced hike in the past 12 months.
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As ordinance turns 10, foundation still helps city steer clear of smoking
“Smoking in El Paso means I have to go outside, sometimes in the cold, sometimes in the wind and all the time by myself,” said George Minjarez, an Eastsider who said he has been smoking for eight years. “And then when I walk back to where I came from, everyone knows what I’ve been doing because I smell like an ashtray.”
(View complete article here.)
Pay raises stable tax rate possible for Austin Schools
If all goes well, the Austin school district can avoid asking voters for a tax rate increase for two years and might give employees a raise this summer.
(View complete article here.)
Editorial Board: Accuracy needed in assessing cartel threat
A report commissioned by the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Department of Public Safety found that violence from the drug wars in Mexico is pouring over into Texas.
(View complete article here.)
Austin, state urged to improve job growth in tech sector
But while Texas is second only to California in total high-tech employment, the state’s sheer size masks an underlying problem: Texas ranks only 16th per capita when it comes to high-tech workers.
(View complete article here.)
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