Six weeks left. Six weeks of ugly, messy, cringe-inducing lawmaking. Now, in light of last week's eerily correct prediction of the eventual winner of the Master's Invitational, many of you may think we have a special insight into what will come out of this legislative session. Let us disabuse you of that notion, for two reasons: First, the Golf Channel has very little to say on what the Texas Legislature will pass, so last week's primary source of information is no help. And second, even the legislators themselves don't know what they will or won't pass this session—including the redistricting maps that are being rolled out this week. So, with that in mind, join us as we continue on our voyage into the unknown ...

News from D.C. on federal student loan repayment

When Congress averted a government shutdown last week, it didn't just mean that you could keep going to your national parks—it meant that funding for the fledgling John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program survived for 2011. Details have yet to be worked out with the Department of Justice, but it looks like the program will be cut anywhere between 17- to 25-percent. What's important is that the program lives on, and because the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board submitted its application for funding early in the process, Texas recipients should be fully-funded. As for the 2012 federal budget, continued funding may depend on a grass-roots campaign to demonstrate the importance of supporting young, talented lawyers to join the ranks of prosecutors. We will keep you posted on what needs to be done and when.

Sent to the governor

Well, it only took three months to finally get an entry for this category. Senate Bill 24 by Van de Putte/Thompson (human trafficking) has been sent to the Governor's desk, where it is sure to be signed into law. Come to one of our legislative updates this summer to learn what's in the bill before it goes into effect September 1st!

Floor recap

The full House approved HB 119 by Castro (third-party protective orders), HB 1072 by Solomons (exempting OAG attorneys from paying State Bar dues), HB 2015 by Thompson (juvenile prostitution), and HB 3000 by Thompson (continuous human trafficking). In related news, the House did not pass HB 115 by McClendon (innocence commission); that bill was postponed from yesterday to a date yet to be determined because its author ran into opposition on the House floor. We'll keep you posted on how that bill fares in the future.

The bills passed by the House this week now head to the Senate, which was busy passing SB 407 by Watson (sexting), SB 653 by Whitmire (combining TYC & TJPC), SB 688 by Nichols (Medicaid fraud), SB 789 by Harris (extending the duration of certain protective orders), SB 844 by Dan Patrick (escape from detention), SB 910 by Lucio (prosecutors called to active duty), SB 1010 by Huffman (duty to notify certain victims of plea offers), SB 1416 by Hinojosa (tire deflation devices), and SB 1701 by Williams (forfeiture of substitute assets)—all of which will head over to the House for further consideration. (Back and forth, back and forth ... dizzy yet?)

Committee news

If you are following a House bill that is still in committee, consider it dead if it isn't voted out by this time next week. With that in mind, here are some bills that have escaped that fate ... House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence approved HB 323 by Laubenberg (including pets in protective orders) and HB 2973 by Hunter (limiting SLAPP lawsuits) ... House Criminal Jurisprudence voted out HB 385 by Menendez (enhanced penalties for property crimes against disabled victims), HB 696 by Hunter (escape from lawful detention), HB 1658 by Y. Davis (refunding cash bond to depositor), HB 1666 by Castro (online harassment expansion), HB 2662 by Hochberg (child abduction reports), HB 2725 by Hartnett (criminal incompetency procedures), and HJR 98 by Burkett (denying bond to certain repeat offenders) ... Senate Criminal Justice approved SB 878 by Whitmire (limits on cash deposit bonds) ... and Senate State Affairs voted out SB 1271 by Duncan (authorizing ADR in criminal cases).

Scheduled floor debates

Once again, the House calendars for early next week don't list many bills of interest to you (although that is subject to change). As of now, the bills scheduled for debate in the House include HB 470 by Anderson (adding salvia to PG3), HB 1137 by Darby (electronic tracking of certain OTC drug sales), and HB 1601 by Price (stacking of 1st-degree injury to a child/elderly/disabled person cases). In the Senate, where even less notice is given, we know that the list of bills eligible for debate includes SB 152 by Huffman (extraneous evidence in sex crimes), SB 167 by West (expunction after pardon), SB 843 by Dan Patrick (failure to identify during detention), SB 976 by Hinojosa (mandatory release of inmates at 90% of sentence), SB 1103 by Carona (theft venue), SB 1565 by Ellis (limiting SLAPP lawsuits), and SB 1617 by Harris (juvenile court transfers).

Committee hearings

Here's a glimpse of what will be considered next week:

Monday, April 18

House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E2.010)
HB 1989 by Gallego relating to certifications of SANE programs and nurses
HB 2101 by Hernandez Luna sealing court records containing certain information
HB 2307 by Smithee exempting state agency lawyers from annual CLE requirements
HB 2496 by N. Gonzalez authorizing teen dating violence court programs
HB 2711 by Thompson sealing records of juveniles who engaged in certain conduct
HB 3172 by N. Gonzalez authorizing agreed protective orders without FV findings
HB 3796 by Gallego changing the composition of certain judicial districts in West Texas

Tuesday, April 19

House Licensing & Administrative Procedures (8:00 a.m., E2.012)
HB 3583 by Harless relating to enforcement of laws regulating coin-operated machines

House Criminal Jurisprudence (10:30 a.m. or upon adjournment, JHR 120)
HB 17 by Riddle creating the offense of criminal trespass by an illegal alien
HB 685 by Dutton restricting prosecutors' authority to dismiss a criminal action
HB 686 by Dutton limiting the secrecy of grand jury proceedings
HB 778 by N. Gonzalez authorizing the execution of lawful process by county jailers
HB 939 by V. Gonzales relating to the fee for certain services performed by a peace officer
HB 952 by Lozano creating the offense of obstruction/retaliation against a process server
HB 1200 by McClendon creating of the offense of improper photography or visual recording of certain identifying information
HB 1213 by Fletcher increasing the penalty for leaving the scene of certain accidents
HB 1410 by Bonnen increasing the punishment for the offense of attempted murder
HB 1640 by Dutton relating to official oppression by a peace officer
HB 1723 by Lucio III increasing penalties for violations of bond/protective orders
HB 2065 by Allen authorizing victim-offender mediation programs
HB 2180 by Isaac relating to disorderly conduct involving unreasonable noise
HB 2285 by Nash authorizing probation reimbursement for certain investigation costs
HB 2303 by Alvarado expanding Crime Victims' Compensation for certain victims
HB 2323 by Raymond increasing the penalty for certain manslaughters
HB 2326 by McClendon lowering penalties for the offense of theft
SB 316 by Whitmire reforming criminal asset forfeiture practices and procedures
SB 623 by Whitmire disqualifying a prosecutor from an investigation of himself
SB 887 by Carona increasing the penalty for theft of an automated teller machine
SB 1308 by Seliger relating to the standards for attorneys appointed in capital cases
SJR 9 by West proposing a constitutional amendment authorizing the governor to grant a pardon to a person who successfully completes deferred adjudication

Senate Criminal Justice (1:30 p.m. or upon adjournment, E1.016)
Not posted when this went to press; visit http://bit.ly/hBvwTw on Monday for details.

House Homeland Security & Public Safety (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E1.026)
HB 440 by Turner restricting a peace officer's authority to take a blood specimen for DWI
HB 1530 by S. Miller authorizing county commissioners to carry concealed handguns in their meetings
HB 2528 by Harper-Brown restricting the use of vehicles that mimic law enforcement
HB 2957 by J. Davis creating due process rights for law enforcement officer suspects

Wednesday, April 20

House Corrections (2:00 p.m. or upon adjournment, E2.014)
HB 542 by Dutton relating to the successful completion of deferred adjudication
HB 1299 by Guillen mandating early release of certain inmates nearing their discharge date
HB 2412 by Miles mandating early release of certain drug offenders with prior crimes
HB 2583 by Walle creating a gang remediation task force
HB 3359 by Miles mandating release of certain inmates who were revoked on probation
HB 3691 by Gallego relating to certain probation programs and services
HB 3762 by Marquez requiring public hearings for determining execution procedures

Thursday, April 21

House Homeland Security & Public Safety, Subcommittee on Law Enforcement Issues
(8:30 a.m., E2.028)
HB 512 by Dutton restricting the authority of peace officers to conduct certain searches
HB 3227 by Hernandez Luna authorizing the use of forfeiture proceeds for college scholarships for children of peace officers killed in the line of duty
HB 2756 by Lavender authorizing the open (unconcealed) carrying of a handgun
HB 3147 by McClendon relating to DNA evidence of sexual assaults