In a year where the State faces a 27 billion dollar budget deficit, working Texans can’t afford health care, gas is over $4.00 a gallon, and education has become an afterthought, Governor Perry decided that so called “tort reform” is an emergency agenda item. After 2003, it’s hard to imagine how Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) could find more ways to line the pockets of big business and insurance companies while basically abolishing Texans’ 7th Amendment right to a trial by jury, but they have. HB274 and HB272 both passed the Texas House of Representatives and are now being considered by the Texas Senate. These bills severely limit the ability to hold wrongdoers accountable and delay victims’ ability to be reimbursed for losses caused by another’s negligence. Everyone should read these bills and contact their elected officials to let them know this legislation is unacceptable.