From Layoffs to Eyewitness Reform

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Day XX of the 82nd Texas Legislature

LINE OF THE DAY
“I hate children.”
—State Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, discussing education and health in human services at yesterday’s Finance Committee hearing.

FLOOR PLAY BY ABBY RAPOPORT
When it comes to education hearings, talk tends to turn to the businessy side of education, with superintendents and product vendors throwing around words like “efficiency” and “flexibility.” Instead of, you know, “education.”

OBSERVED
“Have you ever held someone’s hand, been their friend or relative before” an abortion? Sen. John Whitmire asked sonogram bill sponsor Dan Patrick that loaded question yesterday during the Senate debate. “How can you speak for the women of the state if you haven’t had to deal with it on a personal basis?” Alexa Garcia-Ditta reports on the Senate vote in favor of the sonogram requirement, and what happens next.

BEST OF THE REST
At The Texas Tribune, Aziza Musa tackled an essential question about the impact of billions in budget cuts: Will more Texas youth, stripped of many alternative programs proven to work, end up in prison?

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Thousands of disabled Texans could be left on the streets under the current budget. At today’s Senate Finance Committee hearing, The Observer will report on testimony from people who would be directly affected by the proposed cuts.

is an Observer reporter (and former intern) covering women's health, reproductive health and health care access across the Lone Star State. Before joining the Observer, she was a staff news writer at the San Antonio Current. She holds an MA in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and BA in journalism and Spanish from UT-Arlington, where she worked for three years on her college newspaper. After graduate school, she dipped her toe in public policy communications at the Center for Public Policy Priorities. When she's not at work, she's probably training for her next marathon. You can contact her at [email protected].

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