Legislative odds and ends

Here are a few odds and ends from the Texas Legislature to occupy readers' attention while your correspondent is focused elsewhere:

• The Senate passed legislation ending municipal red-light programs. Here's a good overview of legislation, litigation and activism on the topic.
• Legislation sitting in Calendars waiting for a House floor vote would require county jails using video visitation to also offer in-person visitation, as they did for generations prior.
• As far as I can tell, nearly all medical marijuana testimony qualifies as "tearful."
• See an editorial from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in support of Rep. Ruth McLendon's Innocence Commission legislation, which is scheduled for a House floor this afternoon.
• The Dallas Morning News runs down efforts to improve police transparency during the 84th Texas Legislature.
• Another new crime involving drones is sitting in the Calendars Committee, where one hopes it will die. To my knowledge, nobody has been prosecuted yet under the criminal drone statute passed last session. (If you are aware of any drone prosecutions, please let us know in the comments.)
• Sen. John Whitmire is raising questions about a juvenile corrections program run by the Texas Military Department.
• See coverage of a press conference this morning calling for abolition of the Driver Responsibility surcharge.
• Later this afternoon, I'll be at a meeting of the House Select Committee on Emerging Law Enforcement Issues to support a bill by Dwayne Bohac requiring law enforcement to get a warrant to use "Stingray" or "IMSI catcher" technology to track cell phones.