1.   Also on Thursday, a handgun bill was shelved by its author, Assemblyman Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, after learning the governor planned to veto it.

2.   Bush, however, may give a boost to backers of the handgun bill, which was blocked two years ago by Democratic Gov. Ann Richards.

3.   Rep. Ray Allen, R-Grand Prairie, is a sponsor of the handgun bill and a fellow committee member who received one of the pistols.

4.   The handgun bill, for example, may spark a fight in the House, where debate often is more free-wheeling than in the Senate.