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Day 60 of the 82nd Texas Legislature

LINE OF THE DAY
“It’s like a slap in the face to anyone working in education.”
Carolyn Foote, a librarian at a Westlake school, regarding Perry’s comments this week deflecting blame for teacher layoffs

FLOOR PLAY BY ABBY RAPOPORT
In his guest column, Dave Mann looks at what may be one of the few silver linings this session: juvenile-justice reform. HB 1915 proposes to merge the Texas Youth Commission and Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, a move that could save an estimated $150 million. 

OBSERVED
Sparks flew in yesterday’s House Appropriations Committee meeting between legislators and two top Perry staffers over budget cutting and the Rainy Day Fund. Along with a supplemental bill estimated to save almost $2 billion, a bill that would use half the Rainy Day Fund to address Texas’ current budget shortfall was also introduced. 

BEST OF THE REST
As reported in the Austin American Statesman, the proposed budget bills suggest slicing $467 million from college financial aid programs. Higher ed officials predict incoming freshman will be most affected. 

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Legislators have until the end of today to file their last non-emergency and non-local bills. So far this session, more than 6,000 House and Senate bills have been filed. 

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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