Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, in a letter to senators dated June 25, outlined his agenda for the special session, set to begin July 1. The plan, Dewhurst said, is to come into session at 10 a.m. the first day of the special and immediately refer three bills to Senate Finance Committee "for the sake of efficiency."

Although comments recorded by a student at a recent University of Texas freshman orientation diversity workshop were what one would expect in a left-leaning academic environment, there's more going on behind the scenes than meets the eye, say one of the rarest minority groups on the UT-Austin campus ...

The Young Conservatives.

Gov. Rick Perry is set to host a press conference Monday morning in front of the Alamo in support of HJR 14 -- which many property rights groups are thankful for but did not think went far enough in protecting property rights from eminent domain abuses.

LSR takes a look back at its Jan. 23 edition for a reaction to HJR 14 from Texas Farm Bureau:

A special session of the Texas Legislature is likely in early July, Rep. Linda Harper-Brown (R-Irving) reported via her Facebook page.

"Looks like the Governor is going to call the Special Session in the beginning of July. TxDot, the Insurance Department and Voter ID are all likely issues that he may call us back to work on. Will keep you posted," Harper-Brown wrote at 2:58 p.m. Wednesday (as confirmed by her office staff).

The Young Conservatives of Texas chapter at the University of Texas encountered some resistance Tuesday evening while distributing flyers at a new student orientation event.

... A few minutes into the flyer distribution, orientation volunteers attempted to break up the YCTers -- physically blocking them at one point -- telling them their actions were "inappropriate."

Gov. Rick Perry said today before a business leaders roundtable that he intends to call a special legislative session so lawmakers can address unfinished business.

But, according to the Associated Press, he has not decided when he would call it.

No word was received on whether the session would include Voter ID, but it is likely the session would address Texas Department of Transportation and Texas Department of Insurance sunset renewals, which did not pass by sine die.

(Updated at 9:35 p.m. June 9 with quote from Republican Party spokesman).

Though Republican Party of Texas Chairman Tina Benkiser has not yet announced a bid for re-election for her third term as head of the Texas GOP, she has already drawn two challengers -- both from the ranks of the State Republican Executive Committee.

Mark McCaig, a SREC committeeman representing Senate District 18, and Tom Mechler, former SREC committeeman from Senate District 28 (2002-06), announced their candidacies Monday, June 8.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio), flanked by Reps. Dan Branch (R-Dallas), Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston), Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie), and Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills), gave the press a briefing on the 81st Legislature Tuesday morning which turned into a calm defense of the session's relatively slow pace.

"We stood by the rules," Straus said, in regard to Monday's stand-off over a concurrent resolution (HCR 291) which included extending TxDOT and TDI another couple of years (a measure which did not pass the Senate, and which may be the basis for a special session).

Senators adjourned without passing a safety net bill for the Texas Department of Transportation, a move that senior senators admit is intended to encourage the governor to call a special session.

"It's just a question of when," said Sen. Steve Ogden (R-Bryan), said of a special session following the Texas Senate adjourning sine die.

At the time of writing, the Texas Senate is in recess to discuss what to do about two things:

1. HCR 291, which the House passed and which would continue TxDOT and the Texas Department of Insurance until the next session.

2. HCR 88, which the House did not pass ... and which was the only piece of legislation to enable $2 billion worth of Proposition 12 transportation funding, according to Sen. Glenn Hegar.