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The Senate State Affairs and Health and Human Services committees are scheduled to host a joint meeting tomorrow (March 31) to discuss the potential impact of the federal health care overhaul bill. And a meeting of the House Select Committee on Federal Legislation is set for April 22 (the committee was scheduled to meet on April 5, but canceled due to Easter holiday travel).

Texas Health and Human Services Commission spokesperson Stephanie Goodman told LSR (3/26/10 edition) it's still a bit early in the game to know what the first step will be in terms of Texas' response to the bill. She said estimates show a $22-24 billion cost over a decade starting with Medicare expansion in 2014.

An outgoing, longtime legislator was named the finalist for the position of Texas State University System Chancellor, several sources are reporting today.

Rep. Brian McCall (R-Plano), whose seat is in a runoff race between former Plano City Council member Mabrie Jackson and investor and veteran Van Taylor, is expected to take the university's top job after a legally prescribed 21-day waiting period. He would succeed Charles Matthews, a former Garland mayor and Railroad Commissioner who retired from the post recently.

Below are a few quotes on the federal health care reform bill received by LSR since Sunday:

Attorney General Greg Abbott, who is filing suit in federal court on the grounds that the health care bill may be unconstitutional:

"The federal health care legislation signed today violates the United States Constitution and unconstitutionally infringes upon Texans' individual liberties. No public policy goal--no matter how important or well-intentioned--can be allowed to trample the protections and rights guaranteed by our Constitution. To protect all Texans' constitutional rights, preserve the constitutional framework intended by our nation's founders, and defend our state from further infringement by the federal government, the State of Texas and other states have filed a legal challenge seeking judgment from the courts that the federal health care take over is unconstitutional."

(A thirteen-state coalition, which includes Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Nebraska,Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Washington, Colorado, Michigan, Utah, Alabama, South Dakota, and Idaho, filed its legal challenge in the Federal District Court in the Northern District of Florida, shortly after President Barack Obama signed the bill today).

About 12,000 non-citizens, including illegal immigrants and non-permanent legal residents, received in-state tuition fee rates at public universities and colleges in 2009, the Dallas Morning News reported today.

This is an issue LSR has been following for several years, though bills seeking to scrap in-state tuition for illegal immigrants never seem to gain traction in recent legislatures.

The State Board of Education passed its revisions to controversial social studies textbook standards today by a vote of 11-4, demonstrating the power of conservatives have on the board. The standards go to a second and final reading in May.

Decisions made by the SBOE mirrored the the conservative sweep in January’s meeting. They included: ...

With the final reading of changes to the English and Language Arts textbook standards revisions approved today, a highly anticipated discussion over changes to Social Studies requirements began. Fifty-four persons were signed up to speak as of this morning, not including three Texas House members who popped in to share their two-cents worth on the changes. By 4:15 p.m., all but 12 persons on the sign-up list had spoken.

East Texas Legislators Reps. Dan Flynn (R-Van) and Wayne Christian (R-Center) spoke prior to public testimony, outlining the details of a letter (viewable here) from the 60-legislator Texas Conservative Coalition.

"We fear that State Board members have been pressured throughout the TEKS revision process to wash the TEKS clean of any references to Judeo-Christian faiths while promoting references to other religions," the letter read. ...

After winning the GOP Primary 60-40 percent, Sen. Kip Averitt (R-Waco) announced his resignation less than a week following the election.

"Your vote of confidence last Tuesday, election day, was most gratifying.  I am humbled by your support," Averitt said, in a press statement.  "Now, the time has come for me to step down."

Averitt indicated he would resign as of midday March 17, allowing Gov. Rick Perry to call a special election for May 8 to fill his seat.

A press release from the Van Taylor campaign informs us that Wayne Richard, a former candidate in the three-way race for HD 66 (Brian McCall's open seat), has endorsed Taylor in the runoff.

Taylor, a Marine Reservist and investment banker, took 33.5 percent of the vote on Tuesday to former Plano City Council member Mabrie Jackson's 41 percent. Richard was edged out of the runoff after taking 25.5 percent of the vote, placing third. The Taylor campaign's press release said that Richard's base of support should remain through April and put Taylor over the top.

A relatively low-key opponent beat incumbent Railroad Commissioner Victor Carrillo in the Republican Primary by 61-39 percent. Though primary winner David Porter told several sources that he believes Carrillo got caught up in a massive movement against incumbents, Carrillo had some other thoughts -- namely that his ethnicity had something to do with it.

We post Carrillo's letter to supporters below ...

It was everything opponents could have been saying about Gov. Rick Perry all along but didn't.

Boyd Richie, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, hosted a press conference this morning at party headquarters to review the winners of last night's Democratic primary and to promote their candidacies.

"Rick Perry doesn't do things the Texas way," Richie said, launching an immediate attack against the presumptive GOP nominee. "Because instead of meeting tough challenges and solving problems, Rick Perry's the one who brought divisive, Washington-style politics to our state -- it's partisanship and politics all the time, every day, 24/7. ...