Highlights from around the Capitol


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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's return to a courtroom had nothing to do with suing Washington.

Abbott on Monday spent most of his afternoon as potential juror No. 15 during selection for a domestic violence case in Austin. He joins Rick Perry and George W. Bush as other Texas governors who have been summoned for jury duty.

Abbott says he would make a fair juror but was excused after nearly three hours.

He is no stranger to courtrooms. Abbott is a former Texas Supreme Court justice and sued the Obama administration 30 times as attorney general.

The Travis County courthouse is also familiar to Abbott's predecessor — it's the same building where Perry was indicted last year on abuse of power charges.

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SENATE OKS PROPOSAL TO MOVE UP INAUGURATIONS

The Texas Senate has approved a proposed state constitutional amendment requiring that the governor and lieutenant governor take office the day before the start of the legislative session.

The Texas Constitution currently mandates that lawmakers begin work the second Tuesday of odd-numbered years, and that the governor and lieutenant governor be inaugurated a week later.

But since the governor names "emergency items" to fast-track through the Legislature, and the lieutenant governor oversees the Senate, that rule often makes for an unproductive first week.

Approved 24-6 on Monday, Houston Republican Sen. Joan Huffman's proposal heads to the House. If passed, it could be put to voters in November.

An effort to impose term limits for the governor and lieutenant governor failed, meanwhile, because it was ruled not relevant to Huffman's bill.

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HOUSE OKS BILL REQUIRING SEARCH WARRANTS FOR BODY CAVITY SEARCHES

The Texas House has preliminarily approved a bill requiring police and law enforcement officials to get a search warrant before conducting body cavity searches.

Houston Democratic Rep. Harold Dutton Jr. said that although officers rarely search a person's vagina or anal cavity, his bill would prohibit doing so without warrants.

Lawmakers' unanimous voice vote Monday came two years after the state settled a federal civil rights lawsuit for $185,000 with two women whose genitals were probed by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper.

The trooper was fired and criminally charged for the incident, which occurred in Irving.

Still, DPS spokesman Tom Vinger said "intrusive body searches without a warrant" have always been against department policy.

Dutton's measure needs a final, largely ceremonial House vote before heading to the Senate.

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SENATE PASSES LOAN REPAYMENT PLAN FOR PSYCIATRISTS TREATING UNDERSERVED PARTS OF TEXAS

The Texas Senate has approved a proposal offering to help repay student loans for psychiatrists and other mental health medical professionals who provide care in underserved parts of the state.

Approved Monday, Georgetown Republican Sen. Charles Schwertner's bill now heads to the House.

It provides help repaying student loans for medical personnel who provide services in "designated mental health professional shortage areas" around Texas.

Those qualifying would also have to treat Medicaid patients or low-income children, or people confined to certain state-run correctional facilities.

According to a recent report prepared for the Legislature, fewer than 2,000 licensed psychiatrists were offering direct care in Texas as of September 2013.

The same analysis found that 199 of the state's 254 counties were designated as mental health professional shortage areas.

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ON DECK

The House reconvenes at 10 a.m. Tuesday and is set to take up two major tax-cutting bills, one rolling back the state sales tax for the first time and another reducing businesses taxes. The Senate heads back to work at 11 a.m.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

"What do we need to do to make sure that this body protects the women of this state?" Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, after the Texas House defeated by a 46-94 vote her attempt to establish a task force to study sexual assaults on college campuses.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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