These people are wrong, and they know it. It shows. City and County officials hereabouts, police and prosecutors, judges and lawyers, are extremely fearful that the people will see that.

As hardly dynamic 83rd Texas legislature nears its regular term’s end, the familial connections of legislators and lobbyists are an interesting angle to keep in mind for the post-session analyses that invariably occur.

On May 14, 2013, the Texas 83rd Legislature passed a bill requiring non-profits to report all political donations of more than $25,000.

In an unexpected move Monday, the day the Texas House was scheduled to vote on placing the controversial CSCOPE curriculum management system under State Board of Education (SBOE) control, Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, announced the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum Collaborative (TESCCC), CSCOPE’s current governing board, has agreed to discontinue production of lesson plans effective Aug. 31.

The Texas Senate passed SB 11, a bill to initiate drug testing for food stamps and other government assistance programs. The bill is set for a floor vote in the Texas House in the near term.