WEEKLY REPORT
January 21, 2012
U.S. Supreme Court throws out interim legislative and congressional maps drawn by San Antonio judges
“Because it is unclear whether the District Court for the Western District of Texas followed the appropriate standards in drawing interim maps for the 2012 Texas elections, the orders implementing those maps are vacated, and the cases are remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
(View complete article here.)
Wentworth pushes for new approach to redistricting
In the past year, the process of redistricting in Texas has eaten up millions of taxpayers’ dollars, gummed up the Legislature’s ability to make laws and widened the already vast rift between the state’s political parties.
(View complete article here.)
State party conventions in jeopardy due to redistricting delays
Texas’ unresolved legal battle over redistricting has left the state’s two major political parties facing the possibility of postponing their state conventions and losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
(View complete article here.)
Uncertainty over Texas’ maps dampens fundraising
Give political donors an opportunity to say no, and they’ll almost always accept it.
(View complete article here.)
Texas can use federal help on health care
Can Texans go it alone on health care? At least one person thinks so: Gov. Rick Perry said, “Texans have a different feeling about independence. When we came into the nation in 1845 … we were a stand-alone nation … and one of the deals was we can leave anytime we want. So we’re kind of thinking about that again.”
(View complete article here.)
Editorial: Texas’ Medicaid waiver opens door to regional cooperation
The fact that the Obama administration approved Texas’ request for a waiver from federal Medicaid rules was itself a surprise.
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Three decades of capital punishment in Texas
Thirty-five years ago today, the state of Utah executed Gary Gilmore by firing squad and restarted the death penalty in the United States. Texas followed suit, reinstating capital punishment in 1982 and quickly becoming home to the nation’s busiest execution chamber.
(View complete article here.)
Border Patrol to toughen policy
The U.S. Border Patrol is moving to halt a revolving-door policy of sending migrants back to Mexico without any punishment.
(View complete article here.)
Texas redistricting trial begins in D.C.
Texas’ redistricting plans went on trial in yet another courtroom Tuesday, as a federal three-judge panel began hearing testimony to determine whether the Legislature drew the maps for Texas House, Texas Senate and congressional districts in line with the Voting Rights Act.
(View complete article here.)
Feds raid former lawmaker’s business
Federal and state investigators raided a healthcare agency Thursday belonging to former state Rep. Sergio Muñoz Sr., who serves as president of the Texas Healthcare Advocacy Association.
(View complete article here.)
PEC employees rejecting joining union
An effort among some Pedernales Electric Cooperative employees to join a local labor union fell short this week after the majority of 205 linemen and similarly trained employees voted against it.
(View complete article here.)
Drugmaker settles suit with Texas for $158 million
One of the world’s largest drugmakers Thursday agreed to pay the State of Texas $158 million to settle a lawsuit that accused Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries of Medicaid fraud.
(View complete article here.)
Judge dismisses suit challenging Texas’ concealed carry law
A federal judge in Lubbock on Thursday threw out the National Rifle Association’s move to overturn a Texas law prohibiting 18- to 20-year-olds from carrying concealed handguns.
(View complete article here.)
State pulls mental health hospitals’ power to choose doctors
Following reports by the American-Statesman that state mental health hospitals employ psychiatrists with a documented history of sexual misconduct, the Department of State Health Services has seized ultimate hiring authority of all doctors at its 10 facilities.
(View complete article here.)
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