After months of speculation, Texas A&M made it official: It’s leaving the Big 12 and will likely join the Southeastern Conference. The Aggies have reportedly been looking to leave the Big 12 over dissatisfaction with the Longhorn Network, a collaboration between UT and ESPN, although A&M’s president, R. Bowen Loftin, has said the move would increase visibility for the Aggies and their athletes. The move would take effect next season if A&M’s application is accepted.

Many of the new laws passed by the Legislature in the spring take effect Sept. 1 — the beginning of the fiscal year. Though many changes to state laws may go unnoticed, this is when we find out how deep budget cuts actually play out, and how the public will react to cuts in education and social services. Other new laws to note: a ban on teen sexting, an end to the ban on allowing firearms in employees’ parked cars at work, speed limits that are the same day and night, and a new requirement for providing identification upon requesting a homestead exemption.

In spite of the budget crunch this session, legislators found funding to improve — they hope — the process of getting or renewing a driver’s license. Providing $63 million to upgrade existing systems, the Legislature hoped to cut down on the time Texans spend in line at Department of Public Safety offices. DPS says it will use the money to update existing centers, improve technology to streamline processes and create so-called megacenters in urban areas — all geared toward reducing waiting times.

After spending years in litigation limbo, the state’s tax on strip clubs that serve alcohol was upheld by the state Supreme Court. The $5-per-customer fee was passed in 2007 and should have already generated more than $40 million, but some clubs have held back on their payments as the case worked its way through the courts. The plaintiffs are now considering an appeal.

With an eye on other states’ battles, a gang of Houston businessmen is organizing a group bent on overhauling the pension systems for public employees. Texas currently pays its retirees a fixed amount over their lifetime, but Bill King, a Houston attorney, is forming the group Texans for Public Pension Reform, which hopes to convince lawmakers to replace pensions with retirement accounts.

Part of University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa’s sweeping higher education plan, recently approved by UT regents, includes plans for a new medical school in the Rio Grande Valley. With an investment of  $30 million dollars, system officials hope to boost the number of doctors in training and in residence in the traditionally underserved area. The money will go to a simulated teaching hospital, a biomedical research program and programs to boost medical residency rates. Regents also set aside money for universities to train math, science, technology and engineering teachers in the area. Meanwhile, Central Texas residents were hopeful that Cigarroa’s statement in his plan advocating medical education and research in Austin signals the beginning of a long-sought medical school in the area as well.

Amid controversy, the city of Dallas is trying out a new program to track down individuals who owe municipal fines. The system involves cameras and license-plate-recognition software. When an offender's vehicle is spotted, a bright sticker will be placed on it, notifying the driver that he or she owes a fine and could be subject to arrest. Privacy advocates are protesting the new process, arguing that the data collected could be built into a tracking database shared by various agencies.

Shots were fired through the window of U.S. Rep. Gene Green’s office in north Houston, but police said no threat was posed to Green's life. Green himself characterized the shots, which likely came from a pellet or BB gun, as random, and police are investigating the matter as criminal mischief. The shots were spread over an area including Green’s office and a branch of Lone Star College and destroyed several windows, but caused no injuries.

The Innocence Project filed another motion in the case of Michael Morton, who has been in jail for 25 years for the murder of his wife, Christine. DNA evidence unveiled this summer spurred a judge to order the sealed case file reopened, revealing only the lead investigator’s initial five-page report and a signed consent form from Morton allowing officials to search his home and truck. Not included was a transcript brought to light in 2008 of a conversation between the investigator, Sgt. Don Wood, and the victim’s mother when she informed Wood that the murder had been witnessed by the Mortons’ 3 year-old son.