Greg Abbott named Daniel Hodge his first assistant attorney general and David Morales as deputy first assistant attorney general. Hodge and Morales will assume their new roles when the current first assistant, Andrew Weber, departs the agency and returns to private practice next week. Morales’ current position as deputy attorney general for civil litigation will be filled by William Cobb III. Cobb currently serves as senior counsel to the AG. Abbott also filled a vacancy that has remained open since Jonathan Frels departed the agency in June, and appointed David Schenck as Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel. Clete Buckaloo will serve as Director of Law Enforcement in the Criminal Investigative Division, a region on the org chart established by Abbott for the agency’s more than 140 peace officers, whose divisions currently report up to the criminal litigation folks.

Jason Robinson is the new, and first, rural ombudsman at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. His job is to help smaller cities link up with the agency. He was previous director of public works for the city of Ovilla, in Ellis County.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed Callie Vivion-Matthews of Fort Worth and reappointed Stephanie Sokolosky of Lubbock, Glenn Roque-Jackson of Plano and Pam Rollins of Dallas to the Texas Council on Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders.

Perry appointed James Wade Birdwell of Mansfield to preside in the 342nd District Court in Tarrant County. He's an attorney at Wallach and Andrews, and the brother of Brian Birdwell, the new senator in SD-22. Both brothers will be on the November ballot.

Josh Meeks, most recently found in the offices of former Sen. Kip Averitt, R-McGregor, moves to Ross Communications, an Austin-based public affairs firm.

Deaths: Former Rep. Lynn Nabers, who served as a Democrat from Brownwood for 14 years starting in 1969, then worked as a lawyer and lobbyist in Austin, later joining Strategic Partnerships, the firm founded by his wife, Mary Scott Nabers, from cancer.