Senate budget writers voted Thursday afternoon to liquidate an endowment containing more than $400 million of Texas’ tobacco-settlement money and give the money to 10 academic health science centers, including the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. The centers would take a 15 percent cut in their state funding in the proposed two-year budget, said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan. He said the ... Jump to full article >>

The Judiciary Committee asks for letters, memos, e-mails and more, before hearings on the Supreme Court nominee begin June 28. A library official says meeting the deadline would be ‘very difficult.’ The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday set June 28 as the start date for hearings on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, and asked the Clinton presidential library to turn over voluminous documents related to Kagan’s time as a t ... Jump to full article >>

The Senate unanimously passed the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act) March 11, which would help prevent tobacco tax evasion and underage purchasing by consumers through a ban on remote sales of tobacco. The bill — which passed the House in May — is authored by Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin and co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 20 senators. The House version, penned by Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York, passed by a vote ... Jump to full article >>

Utah lawmakers on Tuesday passed a proposed ban on smoking in a vehicle in which children are riding. HB82, sponsored by Rep. Jay Seegmiller, D-Sandy, would bar smoking in the vehicle when a child younger than 8 and requiring a restraining device is present. The proposed penalty is a $45 ticket. Several lawmakers argued passionately for keeping children from breathing various chemicals in cigarette smoke, and Seegmiller said the children have no ... Jump to full article >>

Dillon seeks to ease school aid cuts, ban workplace tobacco before session ends Lansing — Finding money to soften school aid cuts, enacting education reforms to lure federal dollars and finally passing a workplace smoking ban are the top items on House Speaker Andy Dillon’s to-do list before the end of the year. The Redford Township Democrat said in an interview Friday with The Detroit News he doesn’t want to wait until January ... Jump to full article >>

U.S. Senate hopeful Jonathan Tasini doesn’t see himself as a long shot to unseat U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Despite massive disadvantages in name recognition and fundraising, Tasini thinks the economic crisis and state government meltdown have left people more open to his brand of change than they’ve ever been. Tasini was in Ithaca Sunday campaigning and fundraising. “The political machine in this state does not work for the ... Jump to full article >>

The bill would have to be reconciled with the House version, but even tobacco interests acknowledge that restrictions are inevitable. RALEIGH The state Senate voted Thursday to ban smoking in bars and restaurants in North Carolina, setting the stage for what would be a historic prohibition of a product that created thousands of jobs, built Duke and Wake Forest universities and has long been an integral part of the culture in the nation’s ... Jump to full article >>

RALEIGH — North Carolina took a step closer to a ban on smoking when the state Senate voted Thursday to make it illegal to light up in restaurants and bars. If the bill becomes law, the nation’s No. 1 tobacco producer will have a significant restriction on a product which drove its economy for generations. This version of the ban is less strict than one passed by the state House of Representatives, which in turn was less strict tha ... Jump to full article >>