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November 6, 2009
Hopson said to be switching to Republican Party
Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, said this morning that Rep. Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville has told colleagues he is switching from the Democratic to Republican Party.
Hopson was facing a very tough re-election fight, considering signs of a national mood swinging against Democratic incumbents. He beat his Republican challenger last year by just 114 votes.
“It takes strength and integrity to stand against the special interests - and while some members have that strength, others like Chuck Hopson, apparently do not,” said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie. “In the Democratic Party, there is room for members who are conservative and progressive - the only reason anyone would leave is for crass political reasons and a refusal to stand up to special interests.”
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October 16, 2009
Dan Neil: Football was good preparation for state House
Dan Neil, a former football star who wants to be a state representative, said that his sport was good preparation for the state House.
“I’ve been involved in teams and striving for a goal and what it takes to be a winner,” he said in an interview. “Being involved in football, I think, helps prepare you for a lot of things in life.”
Neil, a Republican, said he decided to run for House District 48 because he found himself disagreeing with his representative, Donna Howard, D-Austin.
“I just didn’t feel like she represented me or some of the other constituents in the district at all,” Neil said.
He said he disagrees with Democrats’ efforts to enlarge government and that he’ll be a “pro-life, pro-business candidate,” but he didn’t offer specific campaign ideas.
“We’re still putting together some of the issues,” he said. “We’re going to roll all that out. There’s going to be an official announcement soon.”
After retiring from the Denver Broncos after the 2004 season, Neil did work in radio and sales, “finding the next thing to do with my life.”
For nearly two years, he’s had his own company, selling orthopedic implants to doctors, he said.
And the former University of Texas player also does contract work as a co-host for a radio show on ESPN Austin 1530-AM. When asked if he’ll continue that now that he’s running for office, he said: “We’re looking into that.” He added that the radio gig is not his main job, so “it’s not a big issue.”
Neil and his wife have three children, ages 10, 9 and 4.
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Former football standout seeks state House seat
Dan Neil’s resume includes starring as a University of Texas offensive lineman and winning two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos. Now, he wants to add Republican state representative to that list.
He’s filed paperwork with the Texas Ethics Commission to designate a campaign treasurer for a possible run for House District 48, the seat held by state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, Capitol Inside reported today. And Chad Wilbanks, who said he’s serving as a consultant to Neil, told me that Neil isn’t just considering running — he’s decided.
“He’s in the race,” Wilbanks said.
Neil had already laid some political groundwork. Earlier this year, he appeared alongside several Republican lawmakers at a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel Austin to announce the formation of a Texas chapter of GOPAC, a national organization that recruits and trains Republican candidates.
Neil is a member of the executive board of GOPAC-TX, whose chairman is state Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford.
The ex-football player also hosts a morning show on ESPN Austin 1530-AM. And Capitol Inside reported that he works as a sales representative for a manufacturing firm.
In the 1996 Statesman photo below by Tom Lankes, Texas’ Priest Holmes leaps through the air to score against Notre Dame, following the block of teammate Dan Neil.
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October 1, 2009
Houston legislator did sign no-tax pledge, but plans to retract
State Rep. Alma Allen, D-Houston, conceded this afternoon that she did sign the no-tax pledge circulated by Americans for Tax Reform in 2006.
Earlier today, she’d said her name was on the group’s list in error.
We spoke a second time after I fielded a copy of her signed version, fetchable here.
“I didn’t know no better at the time,” Allen said in our second conversation. She added that she plans to write the group asking to back off the pledge.
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September 15, 2009
Rep. Flores won't seek re-election
State Rep. Kino Flores, D-Palmview, said today he will not seek re-election.
The announcement comes two months after he was indicted by a Travis County grand jury. He is accused of omitting hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of income from financial statements that elected officials are required to file with the state.
The indictments — 16 counts of tampering with a governmental record and three counts of perjury — influenced Flores’ decision to resign after his term ends in January 2011, he said in a press release.
“At no point during my service have I intentionally or knowingly violated any state law or rule,” Flores said.
He also said: “I will not apologize for standing up for our region.”
Flores, a member of the House since 1997, is on the House’s budget-writing Appropriations Committee as well as the Border and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee.
“As my former boss, the late Bob Bullock, used to say, he left Texas better than it was,” Flores said in the press release. “Well, as anyone can see, there is no doubt that I will leave House District 36 better than it was. God bless Texas, and God bless District 36.”
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Rep. Lucio launches fashion line
When members of the Texas House and Senate return home after the biennial legislative sessions, many work as lawyers, ranchers or real estate developers.
Creators of hip clothing lines? Not so much.
But that’s the new profession of Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, a lawyer who is set to launch Ganas Clothing this week. Lucio, who says his hoodies and T-shirts are inspired by Latino culture, plans to debut his collection tomorrow, on Mexico’s Independence Day.
“The energy behind this unique urban style collection gives young, hip buyers the opportunity to celebrate Latino culture through fashion,” Lucio, co-founder and creative director of the company, said in a press release.
The company’s name, Ganas, is a versatile Spanish word that can mean desire or willingness. Items such as a $40 T-shirt featuring the Virgin of Guadalupe are available on the company’s Web site.
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August 28, 2009
UPDATED: Austin-area legislators split over John Sharp or Bill White for U.S. Senate
Without causing riots in the real world, two prominent Democrats have been striving to win the U.S. Senate seat Kay Bailey Hutchison has said she’ll quit in October or November.
Yet John Sharp and Bill White have divided Democratic legislators from the Austin area.
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August 25, 2009
Hale joining communications firm
Angela Hale, House Speaker Joe Straus’ communications director since his election nine months ago, is leaving to join a communications/PR firm.
In a just-released announcement, Hale said she will join Red Media Group as managing partner. Red Media is a strategic communications company with offices in Austin and Dallas.
Hale said she will specialize in public relations, public affairs, crisis communications and multi-media production.
“Angela did an outstanding job communicating the priorities of the Texas Legislature during the 81st legislative session,” Straus said in a statement included with the announcement.
“I was fortunate to have an experienced communications professional guiding me through my first session as speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Her years of dedicated service have truly benefited the State of Texas, and I know she will have great success in this new phase of her career.”
Prior to working for Straus, Hale served for six years as senior advisor and communications director to Attorney General Greg Abbott. During her tenure, the agency’s website was modernized and honored with the “Best Online Technology Award” by the Western Conference of Attorneys General.
A graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, Hale was previously an award-winning reporter at KTVT in Dallas/Fort Worth.
No immediate word on a replacement in Straus’ office.
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July 17, 2009
UPDATED: Rep. Flores indicted by Travis County grand jury
State Rep. Kino Flores, D-Palmview, was indicted by a Travis County grand jury on charges related to failing to disclose sources of income, gifts and other information that state officials are required to detail in personal financial statements, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg said today.
Her office said the six indictments include 16 counts of tampering with a governmental record — for which Flores faces up to two years in state jail and a fine of up to $10,000 — and three counts of perjury — for which he faces up to one year in state jail and a fine of up to $4,000.
UPDATE: Flores said in a statement today that he is “extremely disappointed” about the indictments and that he hopes to receive constituents’ support “throughout this unfortunate event.”
“At no point during my public service, have I intentionally or knowingly violated any state law or rule,” Flores said.
“I can assure you that I will fight (as) hard as I do for District 36 to clear my name,” he added.
To read the full indictments, click here.
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July 2, 2009
Straus: Length of session "just right"
House Speaker Joe Straus, speaking to reporters after the House adjourned this afternoon, said the two-day length of the special session “was just right.”
He said the fact that two measures on Gov. Rick Perry’s agenda passed but the third did not reflected the fact that in a very short special session, members wanted to come in and “pass the bare necessities” — things that should have been addressed during the regular session.
“I don’t think they were looking to delve very far into substantive policy matters,” he said.
The Legislature passed a bill keeping alive several state agencies and another that would allow the state to issue $2 billion in transportation bonds, but did not pass a measure that would have extended the state’s authority to enter into long-term contracts with private companies to build and operate toll roads.
When asked whether the governor had put pressure on him, Straus said: “None at all.”
Straus, a San Antonio Republican, said that he will be home for the Fourth of July and then has a family trip planned shortly after that — a trip, he joked, that probably won’t last much longer than the special session.
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July 1, 2009
Singing in the House
This morning, not long after the House convened for the start of the special session of the Legislature, several Austin-area representatives led their colleagues in singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin. He turned 38 today.
My talented colleague Jay Janner took this photo of some of the singers: Austin Democratic Reps. Mark Strama, Valinda Bolton, Elliott Naishtat and Donna Howard.
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Cornyn huddles with Mexican American caucus (no fireworks)
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, jawed with members of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus over box lunches in the Capitol today and there were mutual vows to hold additional meetings after a conversation that touched on jobs, health care, immigration policy and President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court—a choice Cornyn said he won’t decide to support or not until after Senate hearings.
I didn’t catch any indoor fireworks nor did Cornyn appear to let loose of any news.
Cornyn was credited with initiating the sit-down, which was open to reporters, by Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, who chairs the caucus (see a photo roster of members here). Martinez Fischer said Cornyn was the first U.S. senator to have a chat with the group.
Cornyn, asked why he sought such a meeting so many years after starting his career as an elected official in the 1980’s, said he realized he could have done a better job of reaching out to people.
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Rep. Corte's wife takes his place for special session
Valerie Corte was sworn in this morning at the start of the special legislative session as Temporary Acting State Representative after her husband, Rep. Frank Corte, R-San Antonio, was deployed to Okinawa, Japan. He is serving as a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps.
This is the second time Valerie Corte has been appointed to take her husband’s place while he has been deployed. She works in San Antonio in Frost National Bank’s financial management unit.
She said it’s “not as scary this time” but that this isn’t unfamiliar territory for her, as she’s married to an elected official.
She said her family has been lucky that many of her husband’s deployments have been during the Legislature’s off-season.
Voters approved a state constitutional amendment in 2003 that allows elected officials to appoint a temporary replacement if they are on active military duty.
Frank Corte is expected to return in mid-July.
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House State Affairs panel approves bill to keep agencies running
The House Committee on State Affairs has approved House Bill 2, a measure that would keep five state agencies running.
The vote was 12-0.
Lawmakers must periodically pass legislation to renew state agencies. The five agencies that had been set to expire are:
- Texas Department of Insurance
- Texas Department of Transportation
- Office of Public Insurance Counsel
- Texas Racing Commission
- Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation
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June 29, 2009
Dukes posts campaign finance reports
State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, has posted corrected campaign finance reports on her campaign Web site.
Dukes has long been promising to disclose details behind her campaign’s credit card purchases, and she told us last week that she’s not going to file corrected reports with the Texas Ethics Commission because it would be too costly to do so.
The ethics commission, which received a complaint against Dukes in 2007, considers the matter resolved because her campaign in December paid a $2,800 fine for failing to report required information.
Now, corrected reports from 2006 are on her Web site, along with an explanation.
“I apologize to anyone who felt I made a deliberate attempt to conceal information,” Dukes wrote. “That was never the case.”
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Straus: Session to last 3 days
House Speaker Joe Straus says he expects the special legislation that begins Wednesday to last just three days, and lawmakers can expect to be homeward bound by Friday.
Here’s the schedule Straus outlined for House members in a Sunday memo:
Today, three House bills are to be pre-filed that correspond to Gov. Rick Perry’s agenda: The Sunset scheduling bill for the transportation, insurance, racing and two smaller agencies; authorization of $2 billion in transportation bonds and creation of the Texas Transportation Revolving Fund, and extension of comprehensive development agreements to build roads.
On Wednesday, the Legislature will convene at 10 a.m. Those House bills will promptly be assigned to three House committees — Appropriations, State Affairs and Transportation— for the required public hearings.
On Thursday, the House is expected to have its first calendar for consideration. Committees are expected to have approved the bills the previous day, if everything goes on schedule.
On Friday, “if it is the will of the members to do so, we will conclude our business.”
According to the Straus memo, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, will author the transportation bond bill; state Rep. Carl Isett, R-Lubbock, chairman of the Sunset Advisory Bill, will carry the Sunset bill, and Transportation Committee Chairman Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, will carry the so-called CDA bill.
To expedite the three-day express schedule, a special briefing for House members and their staffs will be held at 1:30 Tuesday in the Capitol Auditorium to answer questions about the bills.
And the Senate? Senators contacted this morning say they may try to get their version of the bills approved by Thursday.
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June 11, 2009
UPDATED: Berman could drop bid for governor if Perry embraces ideas combating illegal immigration
East Texas Rep. Leo Berman lunched with Gov. Rick Perry today—as previewed in my Thursday column here—and gave him four bones to chew on that could lead Berman to cancel his declared plans to run in the 2010 GOP gubernatorial primary already expected to be headlined by the Perry face-off with U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Berman, R-Tyler, said afterward that if Perry embraces his suggestions related to illegal mmigration, “it would satisfy many of the people who have asked me to do this (run for governor). He’s got the money, the name, the position. I would probably endorse him and get out of the race myself.”
Berman has otherwise said he’d declare for governor around July 4.
UPDATE: Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle later confirmed the meeting, adding that Perry plans to get back to the representative.
By not running, Berman could spare the incumbent from losing the votes of voters greatly concerned about illegal immigration—a big deal if the March primary proves tight.
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June 2, 2009
Straus, in a calm vein, says he has no worries about agencies or road bonds
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus struck a characteristically calm tone this morning after the chaotic end of the 140-day regular session Monday, insisting that the failure of the House and Senate to agree on a resolution doesn’t mean much.
Straus said agencies will continue to operate and a special session may not be necessary. “It’s possible we could avoid one,” he said, deferring the topic to Gov. Rick Perry, who has the sole authority to call special sessions.
“I don’t consider this a crisis,” Straus said.
Perry, who has scheduled a news conference for 11:30 a.m., is not expected to call a special session.
Straus pointed out that it was the Texas Senate that failed to approve a House concurrent resolution intended to keep several agencies in business.
And he said some $2 billion in road bonds that didn’t get addressed by the House aren’t due to be issued until about the time lawmakers come into their 2011 regular session.
“Overblown,” he said of senators’ frets about the bonds.
There’s been no word today from Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
Fetch Straus’s list of legislative accomplishments 81ST SESSION ACCOMPLISHMENTS.pdf”>here.
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June 1, 2009
Racing commission chairman not worried about sudden phase-out
Rolando Pablos, who chairs the Texas Racing Commission, said today that he’s disappointed lawmakers didn’t act on legislation affecting the commission’s survival, but he’s not worried about a possible shut-down.
“We will continue to regulate without skipping a beat,” Pablos said. “I’m not worried.”
The commission is among several agencies whose futures were put in question when the House failed to act late Sunday on a catch-all measure continuing the departments—including the Texas Department of Transportation and Texas Department of Insurance—for two years.
Still uncertain is whether Speaker Joe Straus will let House members vote to bend their close-of-session rules—a step requiring a two-thirds’ vote—to act on the catch-all proposal before this session has to end at midnight today.
Though individual agencies might have other strategies written into law, the Texas Sunset Act provides for agencies that don’t get continued to go out of business after one additional year—in this instance, meaning Sept. 1, 2010.
There’s talk among members that the catch-all proposal could be revived, with two scenarios afloat:
—If Democrats get consideration of legislation to expand health insurance for children of the working poor, they’ll unite with a subset of Republicans to bring back the catch-all plan, or
—If the Republican leadership finds a way to ensure that sunset reviews of the Texas Department of Transportation and Texas Workers Compensation Commission are timed for the 2011 legislative session, members from both parties will go along with taking up the catch-all bill. That proposal now wouldn’t have the two agencies reviewed until the 2013 session.
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Straus concedes nothing, saying dead measures might be revived
A moment ago, House Speaker Joe Straus didn’t signal his plans for the last day of the regular session, but he did say the House has ample time and many options for reviving legislation—notably a catch-all bill keeping various agencies in business for the next two years.
There was speculation overnight that the death of that proposal would cause Gov. Rick Perry to call a summer special session. Agencies in limbo include the Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Department of Insurance, the Texas Racing Commission and the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation.
“There’s 14 hours almost to get through, with lots of options to consider,” Straus said. Asked to specify the options, he went silent.
Separately, House Parliamentarian Denise Davis said it would take a two-thirds’ vote of all members present for the House to do anything other than technical corrections on the session’s 140th day. Such a move, she said, would be up to the speaker and members.
The membership today includes the returned Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, who suffered a heart attack May 12. He arrived in a wheelchair before 10 a.m., made it to his desk on the floor and has since been enveloped by well-wishers—including a train of state senators that came over from the east end of the Capitol.
Earlier, Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, indicated he doesn’t expect any actions to revive legislation. He suggested the state can make it through to the next regular session despite the agencies in the catch-all measure going through a phase-out.
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Kuempel returns to the House
Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, has returned to the Texas House of Representatives on the last day of the legislative session.
Arriving by wheelchair, Kuempel entered the back hall of the House just before 10 a.m.
“Great to be here,” he said.
Kuempel suffered a heart attack in the Capitol a couple of weeks ago. The House members have been keeping close tabs on his recovery with regular updates from the dais.
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House adjourns without key votes
Missing a key deadline, the Texas House late Sunday failed to authorize the operations of the Texas Department of Transportation or to approve a safety-net bill to keep that agency and several others alive.
Unless the House fixes the problem today, the unexpected development almost assures that that lawmakers will have to return to Austin for a special session, since continuation of the agencies is a must.
Midnight Sunday was the deadline for the House to approve all final versions of bills. But when the clock ticked into today, time ran out for a vote.
House leaders vowed to suspend the rules and pass the safety net — House Bill 1959 — before the Legislature adjourns from its regular session by midnight today.
Late yesterday, with the deadline fast approaching, debate on the safety net failed to come to a vote. The clock passed midnight. A motion to extend the deadline failed to get a vote.
And amid chaos on the chamber floor, the House adjourned for the night.
Other agencies endangered by the lack of action are the Texas Department of Insurance, the Texas Racing Commission, the Texas Affordable Housing Commission and perhaps others. The continued operations of those had been assured in the safety-net bill.
House Speaker Joe Straus said that he would assume that there’s a risk of a special session but said that’s the governor’s call. He said he wasn’t expecting the House to adjourn without passing the safety-net bill and that there “may be some options on the table.”
“What’s a little chaos before we go home?” Straus asked.
State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, said that pending bills such as the expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program still stand a chance.
“Nothing’s dead” until the session is over, Coleman said.
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May 31, 2009
UPDATED: House signs off on windstorm insurance compromise, Senate action expected later
House members today approved the conference committee report shoring up a fund supporting hail and windstorm insurance coverage for coastal property-owners.
Assuming the Senate similarly OK’s the legislation, it’ll go to Gov. Rick Perry, whose threat to call a summer special session if lawmakers didn’t address the windstorm topic helped kick-start negotiations about 10 days ago.
Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, said a moment ago he expects Senate approval tonight. (UPDATE: The vote did not happen Sunday.) Referring to previous efforts to amend the windstorm law, Fraser said: “This represents six years of work, so we’re excited.”
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Burnam drops Keller impeachment resolution, for now
Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, today offered a “personal privilege” speech noting that his resolution calling for the impeachment of Court of Criminal Appeals Justice Sharon Keller is going nowhere this session (which ends Monday).
Burnam’s resolution has been pending since April 27 in the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee. In his speech today, Burnam said he chose not to try to use the procedure by which he could have tried to get the votes to bring the resolution to the floor despite the lack of committee action.
But he made it clear he still believes Keller should be removed from office for refusing to keep her court clerk’s office open on Sept. 25, 2007 to accept a late filing on behalf of Death Row inmate Michael Wayne Richard, who was executed later that day.
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct in February filed seven charges against Keller, accusing her of bringing “public discredit” upon the judiciary. The case will be heard later this year.
The Texas Ethics Commission is reviewing discrepancies in Keller’s financial disclosure filings.
Burnam said if neither state agency causes Keller’s removal from office he’ll try again in two years if he is re-elected to the House.
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Signing day in the House
One of the great Texas House traditions is signing autographs for each other. Members roam the floor with various large-format pictures and sketches and try to get all other colleagues to sign.
Makes a nice memento. And, some members say, is suitable for charitable auction.
Take a look as Alpine Rep. Pete Gallego, with a young assistant, worked the House floor today to get members to sign five copies of a large Capitol photo.
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Texas House: On the job
With one day to go in the legislative session, the Texas House convened at 1 p.m. today. Lots of empty chairs in the room, but let’s be kind and assume many members are elsewhere in the building working on important topics as scores and scores of House-Senate conference committees are addressing topics large and small.
Republican members huddled in the Speakers Committee Room for an hour-long caucus.
By mid-afternoon, the House was churning through and approving conference committee reports. Most were approved unanimously. One (HB2833) was approved by a 72-71 margin after Rep. Marisa Marquez, D-El Paso, assured colleagues the measure increasing county building code enforcement in unincorporated areas is not a statewide bill.
The bill applies only to counties with population over 100. That’s every county in Texas other than Loving.
The first House floor action today was a 15-page congratulatory and memorial calendar.
Samples: HR2644 honors Kirbie Day of Maypearl for being named National Polled Hereford Queen. HR2766 honors former Houston Chronicle political reporter Alan Bernstein (now with the Harris County Sheriff’s Department).
The list includes the usual congrats to folks passing a marriage milestone. Bedford Rep. Todd Smith won approval for his HR2769, an unusual effort noting a cluster of folks who have been married a long time.
Thirty-seven couples in the Euless community of Morrisdale Estates have been married at least 50 years. Something in the water?
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May 30, 2009
Fraser says rates will be fair to coastal residents in expected windstorm deal
Legislators who’ve been huddling on a windstorm insurance plan seem close to a deal that would moot Gov. Rick Perry’s threat of last week to call a summer special session on the topic.
And Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, said a moment ago that the plan being discussed will be fair on the windstorm insurance rates paid by coastal property-owners—a statement that coastal House members standing next to Fraser didn’t quibble with.
“We’re moving in the direction” of a deal, Fraser said.
Asked if there are any substantive stumbling blocks, Fraser replied: “We don’t have anything identified right now, but obviously the devil is in the details of getting it on paper.”
Asked when members of a House-Senate conference committee will meet in public on their differences, Fraser said: ” The unfortunate thing is we probably don’t have time to do that… I don’t believe there’s time for adequate (public) notice on this issue.”
Calling the result “very pro-consumer,” Fraser said: “The people of the coast are being treated very fairly.”
Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, said members are close to an agreement in principle. “People do want to solve it,” Hunter said.
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Texas asserts its sovereignty
Lawmakers in the Texas House sent the U.S. Congress a message on Saturday to mind its own business.
But just so no one gets the wrong message, House Concurrent Resolution 50 now says that Texas is still proud to be part of the U.S. of A.
The resolution “is about succeeding in the union, not seceding from the union,” said Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, the resolution’s author. “It is not a slap. It is a reminder.”
Creighton objects to Congress handing down unfunded mandates, exploding the federal deficit and the intruding into the state’s authority.
The measure, which passed 99 to 36, reaffirms the state’s sovereignty and its rights under the 10th Amendment.
Here is said amendment:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people
Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, cautioned that Texans need to be careful when talking about “state’s rights.”
“Growing up in the South, there are certain words that bring up certain emotions,” Coleman said, emotions connected to the denial of rights.
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House urges study of legalizing casinos and slot parlors in Texas
House members voted 98-36 today for a resolution urging House Speaker Joe Straus and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to create a House-Senate panel to conduct a post-session study of the direct and indirect economic impact of legalizing casinos and slot machines in the state.
Members amended the proposal, which awaits Senate action, by specifying that the study include the negative effects of expanded gaming, an idea advanced by Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land.
The resolution was authored by Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, who suffered a heart attack earlier this month and has been out of action. It was presented on the House floor by Rep. Mike “Tuffy” Hamilton, R-Mauriceville.
Asked about the study proposal’s chances of winning Senate consideration given that there are less than three days left in the legislative session, Hamilton said: “They have the ability to pass thousands of bills in the blink of an eye.”
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UPDATED: Windstorm's House negotiators huddling, awaiting senators
House negotiators assigned to work on a deal with the Senate on a windstorm insurance plan have been jawing for the past hour in a Capitol conference room.
As of 1 p.m., though, the room was devoid of senators, perhaps because the Senate hasn’t yet appointed its conference committee negotiators. (UPDATE: Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, walked in just before 1:30 p.m. And Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst named the Senate’s conference committee members: Sens. Mike Jackson, Fraser, Leticia Van de Putte, Glenn Hegar and Tommy Williams.)
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Electric coop measure falls at midnight deadline
At the stroke of midnight on Friday, House Bill 1243 turned into a pumpkin and a fairy godmother was nowhere to be found to save it or the electric cooperative measure attached to it.
Provisions to improve accountability in the electric cooperatives, including Pedernales Electric Cooperative, had been tacked on to the bill in the Senate. And Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, challenged whether that amendment and others belonged on the bill.
A lengthy confab at the dais followed by a postponement delayed a vote on whether to send the bill to a conference committee, called for by Turner, until shortly before midnight. That vote failed 48 to 90.
But by the time Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, stepped to the microphone to save the bill, it was too late.
Another half-hour of parliamentary hand-wringing ensued. But, in the end, the glass slipper didn’t fit.
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May 29, 2009
House requests conference committee on windstorm fund rescue plan
House members heeded Rep. Larry Taylor’s motion that they turn over legislation shoring up a windstorm insurance fund to a House-Senate conference committee. Taylor told House members before the action that the step was necessary to reach an agreement fending off a summer special session.
Speaker Joe Straus named Taylor to chair the House’s delegation to the committee, whose senatorial members are to be named later. The 10-person group will have to reach a deal in time to have the resulting plan printed and distributed to the House and Senate by midnight Saturday.
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Several agencies to live or die based on House Bill 1959
A “catch-all” House measure, posted here, will likely determine whether several state agencies live or die—including the Texas Racing Commission and an agency devoted to affordable housing.
The American-Statesman’s Mike Ward has learned that the proposal, sponsored by Sen. Glenn Hegar and Rep. Carl Isett, could be used to preserve the Texas Department of Insurance for at least two years (giving lawmakers a fresh crack at reviewing them in the 2011 session) if the agency’s authorization dies — and it may also keep alive the Texas Youth Commission if a new dispute over several items in its own sunset bill cannot be resolved.
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Perry signs bill to place Tejano monument on Capitol grounds
Gov. Rick Perry today signed a bill that allows a Tejano monument to be placed on the south grounds of the Capitol.
“It is fitting that we should devote space on the historic south grounds of our state capitol to commemorate the contributions of our Latino brothers and sisters throughout the ages,” Perry said. “This monument captures the essence of our state’s Hispanic history and the independent spirit of our entire state.”
Under State Preservation Board rules, the monument wouldn’t have been allowed, but the bill by Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, and Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, provides an exception.
Click here for more information about the bronze monument by artist Armando Hinojosa of Laredo.
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May 28, 2009
House honors Willie Nelson, Sara Hickman, other artists
The Texas House just honored the official state poets, musicians and artists. As arts reporter Jeanne Claire van Ryzin wrote yesterday on her blog , the Texas Commission on the Arts appointees include 2009 state musician Willie Nelson and 2010 state musician Sara Hickman.
The honorees are chosen “for the exceptional quality of their work and for their outstanding commitment to the arts in Texas,” says a resolution the House approved. To be eligible, artists must be native Texans or have lived in the state for at least five years.
The resolution says the artists selected “have all greatly contributed to the vibrant cultural life of the Lone Star State.”
Alas, Willie himself was not in the House to receive the honor.
(Photo of Willie Nelson by Deborah Cannon, Austin American-Statesman, 2008. Photo of Sara Hickman by Mark Rogers for the Austin American-Statesman, 2008)
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May 27, 2009
UPDATED: Straus files speaker candidacy papers for 2011 session
House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, who succeeded Rep. Tom Craddick as speaker in January after a frenzied pre-session tussle for the support of House members, intends to seek a second two-year term leading the 150-member body.
Straus, who’d previously not said he was sure to run for speaker again, filed paperwork today with the Texas Ethics Commission declaring his candidacy.
Fetch his filing here.
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UPDATED: House salvages property tax exemption for disabled veterans
House members today salvaged a South Texas legislator’s proposal exempting disabled veterans from paying property taxes on their homesteads.
The 145-0 vote may have been the first of a series of steps toward bringing legislation back to life that was otherwise doomed by the five-day Democrat-steered stall, ending at midnight Tuesday, that kept voter identification legislation from coming up on the House floor.
UPDATE: The House chief clerk’s office says about 30 amendments have been filed to change measures on today’s approximately 150-measure-long local and consent floor calendar. Since it’s unusual to amend such proposals, I’m guessing that many of the amendments (maybe all of them) will prove to be attempts to resurrect items felled by the Democratic stall.
A moment ago, members agreed with Senate amendments to House Bill 3613. The key amendment at issue was the insertion of Rep. Kino Flores’ exemption proposal for disabled veterans. After the vote, members applauded.
Next, Rep. Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, told members: “The oysters for lunch are now in the (members’) lounge.” I didn’t hear applause, but there were “mmmms.”
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May 26, 2009
Rep. Edmund "Lazarus" Kuempel: "There's no question I was dead"
State Rep. Edmund Kuempel, recovering from a recent heart attack that left him slumped in a Capitol elevator, seemed in good spirits tonight after getting a stent and defibrillator installed in surgery this morning.
The Seguin Republican, sitting up in his Austin hospital bed, said he doesn’t remember anything about suddenly getting sidelined two weeks ago tonight.
“There’s no question I was dead,” said Kuempel, whose treatment included being placed in a medically induced coma, a step partly explaining why his House floor deskmate, Rep. Gary Elkins, R-Houston, newly calls him Lazarus.
“I didn’t have a clue” about it, Kuempel said.
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House Democrats and Republicans keep blaming each other
Leaders of the House Republican and Democratic caucuses today continued to blame each other’s party for the slow pace in the chamber.
GOP caucus chairman Larry Taylor of Friendswood called the Democrats “whiny kids,” saying Republicans can’t let them take up bills out of order or the rules will be meaningless.
“If we give into their demands this go-round, we’re going to have to deal with this every time there’s an issue they don’t want to talk about,” Taylor said. “The rules have been here in place for many, many years.”
Taylor’s comments came after House Democratic leader Jim Dunnam of Waco told reporters that Democrats have repeatedly tried to bring up bills but have been blocked by Republicans.
“They won’t let us vote on the things that the people want us to vote on,” Dunnam said. “It’s disappointing.”
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Windstorm inaction could leave private insurers paying bulk of claims for two years
Gov. Rick Perry let it be known last week he intends to call a summer special session if lawmakers fail to send him a plan shoring up the fund providing windstorm and hail insurance coverage for residents of 14 coastal counties and a slice of Harris County.
Still, windstorm legislation looks likely to die short of House floor action because the proposal sits behind the spotlit voter identification measure that Democratic leaders don’t want to take up; they’ve been slow-going dozens of otherwise non-controversial local and consent measures since Thursday evening to ensure the House doesn’t reach the ID measure before today’s midnight deadline for House action on Senate proposals.
Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, said today he’d been assured by Perry aides Monday that Perry is still thinking about starting the session next Tuesday June 2, the day after the 140-day regular session comes to a close.
Perry has an alternative, however, which would be to leave the windstorm law as it is.
Jim Oliver, general manager of the non-profit Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, said Tuesday: “As far as us getting money to pay claims, there won’t be any problem at all.”
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Health updates on Rep. Kuempel, former Rep. Alvarado
State Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, is resting comfortably after having surgery to have a pacemaker put in, said state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth.
Kuempel, who has been hospitalized since having a heart attack at the Capitol on May 12, is doing well but is pretty tired, Geren said.
Meanwhile, former state Rep. Leo Alvarado, who has been battling throat cancer, is now in hospice care at home, according to Democratic Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, who holds Alvarado’s old San Antonio seat.
“They’ve stopped his treatment and he has received his last rites,” said Martinez Fischer said. “If you could please keep Leo and his family in your prayers.”
Alvarado, also a Democrat, served in the House from 1993 to 2001.
These AP photos show Alvarado (left) and Kuempel (right).
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Rep. Raymond: 'Don't ask me to betray my beliefs'
In an emotional speech on the House floor, Rep. Richard Peña Raymond, D-Laredo, said he’ll work to delay consideration of a voter identification measure — and he wanted his colleagues to understand why the measure is so personally offensive to him.
Like other Democrats, Raymond sees the proposed requirement that voters show additional identification at the polls as voter suppression.
Raymond spoke about how when he was a child, his father paid a poll tax.
“I grew up watching people’s rights being suppressed, people’s rights being taken away from them,” Raymond said.
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It's red tie day in the House
Red ties were waiting on each House member’s desk when they arrived today, and representatives wasted no time putting them on themselves and each other.
The ties are in honor of State Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, who favors the red ones, and the distribution was orchestrated by his office and his wife, Billie, an aide tells us.
“This is Billie Hopson saying, ‘Go red ties!’” Hopson told his colleagues.
The men of the House ditched the ties they were wearing in favor of the red ones, and the women got creative. Rep. Angie Chen Button, R-Garland, used hers as a sash around her waist.
Hopson is in the picture above.
Pictured below are Button, Republican Rep. Tryon Lewis of Odessa and Republican Rep. Tim Kleinschmidt of Lexington.
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May 25, 2009
House Dem leader fires back at Speaker Straus
State Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, leader of the House Democratic Caucus, said the pace of the legislative session isn’t the Democrats’ fault.
His comments to reporters came after House Speaker Joe Straus criticized Democrats’ tactics to slow down the flow of legislation in an effort to avoid debate on a voter identification measure.
“I don’t see it as any level of obstructing,” Dunnam said. “We are fighting for the rights of the people that live in our districts to vote.”
Dunnam said that Democrats have tried to bring up legislation about windstorm insurance and tax breaks for disabled veterans but that the speaker didn’t let them. (Republicans signed a pledge that they wouldn’t bring up bills out of order).
“So who’s obstructing who?” Dunnam said. “We’re ready to vote on those things.”
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House approves resolution targeting Vietnamese flag
The Texas House today unanimously approved a resolution targeting the Vietnamese flag, which many Vietnamese Americans find offensive. The measure now goes to the Senate.
The flag — red with a yellow star in the center — reminds Vietnamese Americans of the violence during the Vietnam War and of a government that “still oppresses their own people,” said State Rep. Hubert Vo, D-Houston, the sole Vietnamese American member of the Texas Legislature.
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Straus criticizes Dems' tactics
House Speaker Joe Straus today criticized Democrats for slowing down legislation by dragging out discussions on bills.
“The more they talk, the more explaining they have to do,” Straus told reporters today.
He said that though the Democrats’ tactics during the past few days — talking during nearly all of the 10 minutes allowed for noncontroversial items on a list called the Local and Consent Calendar — are technically allowed, they are holding up important legislation. Normally, items on the Local and Consent Calendar fly through the House, but the Democrats have been trying to avoid consideration of a controversial voter identification measure.
“Local and consent calendars has been, until this moment, a matter of trust among members, and that trust has been abused here,” Straus said. “Perfectly legitimate and within the rules, but it’s not something that I would like to encourage happen again.”
This afternoon, the House has moved on from the Local and Consent items and is — slowly — debating how to change the state’s automatic-admission law for public universities.
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One lawmaker's outcry: 'I am so bored'
Shortly after midnight in the Texas House. One rep’s computer screen tells the story.
The House finally adjourned at 12:51 a.m. Back to work Monday at 10 a.m. Among the day’s scheduled highlights is consideration of the higher education automatic admission law, commonly known as the Top 10 percent law. At 9:30 a.m. on the Capitol south steps, the ladies of the House will gather for a group photo.
Unclear if there was a connection, but adjournment came not long after Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, went to the back microphone and asked this question: “Is the chair advised we’re out of Blue Bell?”
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May 24, 2009
Texas House: Home again
Call off the search dogs. Don’t pay any ransom demands. Forget about putting their pictures on milk cartons.
Your state representatives have been found! (See entry below).
Here’s a video showing the mad scramble to get back into the chamber for a record vote late Sunday night when a colleague called for strict enforcement of the rules, a procedure that bars reps from casting votes for their absent neighbors. You actually have to be on the floor to vote.
The move immediately raised attendance on the floor, and got lawmakers back in time for a later vote (not the one that incited the mad dash) on SB1145, which, for the first time, establishes an official way to fold the Texas flag.
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Texas House: Anybody home?
So many votes. So few members on the floor.
The Sunday night scene in the Texas House of Representatives. See if you can spot your rep.
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House: It's official
The House floor slow-down inflicted by House Democrats trying to fend off consideration of the GOP-backed voter ID bill has not stopped lawmakers from doing one of the things they do best - designating official things.
The House on Sunday approved SCR5, designating the Texas Medal of Honor Memorial at Hill College in Hillsboro as the official State Memorial to Texas-Born Medal of Honor Recipients.
Also approved was SCR11, making Bridgeport the official Stagecoach Capital of Texas, though it didn’t come without some questions from Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, who wanted to know more about Bridgeport, which is in Wise County. So that killed a few minutes.
A few minutes later, a vote was postponed as House members considered SCR40, making Grapevine the Christmas Capital of Texas. There was extended discussion comparing Christmas in Grapevine and Christmas in Arlington. Turns out Christmas is a big deal in both of those cities. And just as the vote was supposed to happen, it was postponed as some members complained their hometowns also might want to be the Christmas Capital of Texas. So all of that ran some clock.
And after all the talk, a compromise could not be reached an SCR40 was withdrawn without a vote.
Yet later, HCR181 got the OK, making the section of the Brazos River Basin in Somervell County the official Scenic Riverway of Somervell County.
Also OK’d was HCR188, designating Roanoke as the Unique Dining Capital of Texas.
And finally, HR2011 won approval, making the Mills County Goat and BBQ Cook-Off (complete with its “ever-popular best-dressed goat contest”) an - not the - official Texas State Goat Barbecue Championship.
On Saturday, SB909 was approved, designating the first week in October as Monarch Butterfly Week.
And you thought they weren’t getting anything done. Shame on you.
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House adjourns after long, slow day
The House adjourned until 1:30 p.m. Sunday, but not before Democrats made a late-night attempt to bring up a few bills out of order.
Shortly before midnight, Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, and Rep. Kino Flores, D-Palmview, wanted to bring up bills including one that would provide a homestead tax exemption for disabled veterans.
About 60 Republicans — more than a third of the House — had signed a pledge not to allow bills to move out of order. That pledge expired at 11:59 p.m. Saturday, and there was another pledge with a similar number of signatures that went into effect first thing on Sunday.
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May 23, 2009
House gives tentative OK to Carson Starkey bill
On any other day, the bill may have sailed through the House with little discussion.
But tonight, because of a political battle going on in the chamber, the legislation in honor of a former Austin High School honor student who died of alcohol poisoning got thorough deliberation on the House floor.
Senate Bill 1344 by Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, would add alcohol awareness curriculum to health classes in middle school and high school.
It’s not that the measure faced a lot of opposition — it easily won tentative approval from the House tonight. But since the Democrats are stalling consideration of a voter identification bill by dragging out debate on items that usually speed through the House, the legislation in honor of Carson Starkey, like many other bills, got extra attention. Starting Friday and continuing all day today, Democrats have been using nearly all of the 10 minutes allotted to talk about each bill.
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GOP caucus rejects offer to change calendar, Taylor says
After about a half-hour meeting of the House Republican Caucus, chairman Larry Taylor of Friendswood said Republicans rejected a proposal from Democrats to move the voter ID bill and the Texas Department of Insurance sunset bill to Tuesday’s calendar.
“There’s a commitment to follow the rules on behalf of our caucus,” Taylor said after their meeting. “We’re just saying, ‘Let’s just follow the rules that we set at the beginning of the session.”
That means Democrats will continue to talk extensively about each bill on the local and consent calendar. And there are a lot of those bills left. As of 6:20 p.m., they’re on page four of the 16-page calendar.
There is likely concern among Republicans that pushing voter ID to Tuesday would allow Democrats to run out the clock by breaking a quorum.
At any rate, Taylor said, the voter ID bill isn’t going to come up before Tuesday anyway.
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Temporary curiosity: The Democratic-majority Texas House
It so happens that for at least this day, Democrats outnumber Republicans among Texas House members on the chamber’s floor—a fact that prompted some Democrats to privately speculate that’s why Republicans objected to moving up action on a proposal related to windstorm insurance coverage. (The reputed GOP fear: Democrats would succeed in amending the measure completely to their liking.)
Based on election results, House Republicans outnumber Democrats by 76 to 74.
But Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, has been out for more than a week due to a heart attack. And today, Reps. Frank Corte, R-San Antonio, Bill Callegari, R-Katy, and Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, were among five absentees when members voted on a motion at 12:43 p.m. That left the body at 74-72 Democratic.
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Democratic memo says they care about insurance while Republicans focus on voter identification
A memo issued today to “interested parties” by Democratic leaders of the Texas House frames their position on moving up certain items on the House calendar and not others.
Fetch it here.
Side note: It’s possible that not all House Democrats oppose action on stepping up ID requirements for voters at the polls.
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UPDATED: Democratic-Republican jockeying over House agenda resumes
Democrat-steered chubbing (or as reporter Jason Embry neatly put it here, “excessive talking”) in the Texas House intended to slow action on locally oriented measures hasn’t yet resumed on the House floor today.
But the chubbing is expected to pick up again as part of an unusual strategy that could prevent the voter ID proposal from ever coming up before Tuesday’s midnight deadline for House action on Senate proposals.
UPDATE: Slogging through the local calendar resumed about 1 p.m. Members had gotten through less than 10 proposals by 2:15 p.m.
Meantime, Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco, who leads the House Democratic Caucus, just registered his plans to make a motion just before noon that would move up several major measures for debate today. UPDATE: Before 1 p.m., a motion by Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer to act on windstorm legislation failed despite drawing 74 votes; it needed 100 for it be moved up the calendar. There were 70 “no” votes.
I wrote earlier that Dunnam’s motion wasn’t expected to prevail and suggested readers think of it more like a cannon shot in what could be a days-long public-relations war between House Democrats and Republicans over who’s going to merit responsibility for the death of dozens of measures placed on the body’s calendar behind the politically divisive ID plan.
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Austin Rep. Donna Howard brings a minute's peace to House chamber
Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, performed the duty of delivering what’s typically a morning prayer at the start of today’s House floor session—though she made it clear that her invocation wasn’t necessarily any reference to any particular religion.
Calling for the “guidance we need to do our best work,” Howard reminded members of the First Amendment’s protection of religion of all kinds. Then she brought a complete peace to the chamber by asking for a minute of silence.
Listen to her invocation and House members’ pledge of allegiance to the U.S. flag by clicking here.
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May 22, 2009
Let the 'chubbing' begin
It didn’t take long today for House Democrats to go into stall mode as they try to work against Saturday’s scheduled consideration of the voter ID bill. The more time the Dems can kill, the less chance the House will ever get to the voter ID bill.
Filibusters are not allowed in the House. But ‘chubbing’ - the name given to the fine art of wasting time - is unavoidable. Democratic chubbing began with the first bill on a 22-page list of supposedly uncontested bills and congratulatory resolutions.
The first bill involves creation of a municipal utility district in Waller County. Sponsor Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, was peppered with questions by Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth and a foe of the voter ID bill.
“I’m not as familiar with water districts as some members are,” Burnam told Zerwas, asking for an explanation of such districts.
Another Burnam question about the proposed Waller County Municipal Utility District Number Nine: “Does the number nine indicate there are already eight districts in Waller County?”
Under House rules, a bill on the local calendar is withdrawn if an opponent keeps the discussion going for 10 minutes. Burnam made it clear he planned to go about nine-and-a-half minutes, which would not kill a colleague’s bill but would run as much clock as possible.
Aware of what was going on, Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, raised a point of order in an effort to kill off all 200 or so bills on the consent calendar. Huddles broke out on the House floor. Miller then temporarily withdrew the point of order so business could continue. But he still wants a ruling on it.
Many Republicans then retreated to the Speakers Committee Room for a strategy session.
More chubbing: Rep. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio, went to the back microphone to seek medical advice from Zerwas, a physician.
“I’m taking a Z-Pac for sinus congestion,” Gutierrez announced, seeking Zerwas’ professional opinion.
Gutierrez also said “My doctor says I have a large uvula.”
This isn’t over.
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Kuempel update
There’s continued positive news about the progress of Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, who collapsed recently in a Capitol elevator after suffering a heart attack.
“It’s unbelievable how well he is doing,” Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth and a Kuempel buddy, told the House today.
The doctors want to get Kuempel to a speech therapist. Geren said Kuempel’s reaction was “Hell, I can’t talk anyway why are they going to do that.”
Surgery is scheduled for next week to install a defibrillator to keep Kuempel’s heart pumping properly.
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May 21, 2009
Voter ID, insurance agency measures set to top Saturday's House calendar; will they be delayed yet?
Word is spreading tonight that legislation stepping up identification requirements for voters at the polls has been set for consideration by the Texas House on Saturday. It’s also the No. 1 proposal on the House’s intended Major State Calendar for that day.
I am told that the same calendar has the leadership’s seemingly must-have proposal to keep the Texas Department of Insurance in business—plus the resurgent concurrent resolution ballyhooed by Gov. Rick Perry, and authored by Rep. Brandon Creighton, emphasizing state sovereignty.
The voter-ID decision was reached via a vote that I’m told broke 7-5 along party lines (Republicans for, Democrats against) by the House Committee on Calendars this evening.
Yet perhaps it doesn’t guarantee the ID measure will be considered on Saturday, given how slowly items have been moving through the House lately.
A thought: It’s worth watching Friday to see if House Democrats, most of them opposed to the ID proposal, exert special effort to slow action even more on the bills piled up on the calendar already, including the unresolved proposals affecting college admissions and whether Texas should take in at least $555 million in offered federal unemployment compensation aid.
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First Maldonado bills heading to governor
Two bills by freshman state Rep. Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock, are heading to the governor’s desk.
House Bill 1789 would help Taylor and Hutto to maintain and upgrade recreational facilities such as sports complexes, parks and hike-and-bike trails, she said. It would do that by adding those cities — and roughly 50 others, including Pflugerville — to a list of cities allowed to use the hotel-motel occupancy tax they already collect to promote local tourism.
Maldonado said she is proud that the measure “will have a direct impact on two growing Williamson County communities - Taylor and Hutto.”
“It is vital that we continue working to find ways to increase economic development opportunities like this in Eastern Williamson County to help the region prosper as it grows,” she said.
The other measure, House Bill 1332, would hold students responsible for lost or damaged electronic textbooks. Students are already held responsible for regular textbooks.
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Bush resolution: The recount
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. There’s been a recount in a vote involving ex-President Bush.
Let the record show that the Tuesday House vote approving a resolution honoring Bush was not the 136-1 landslide as announced on the floor.
Turns out it was 131-7, still a comfortable margin for a resolution that has had a bit of a bumpy ride.
Here’s the deal: After the vote, Rep. Carol Kent, D-Dallas, entered a statement into the record noting she missed the vote because she was at a committee meeting. As permitted by the rules, her yes vote was added to the tally.
And six House members entered statements saying “I was shown voting yes… .I intended to vote no.” Not sure what happened in this case, but misrecorded votes sometimes happen when a lawmaker is away from his or her desk and a colleague casts a vote for him or her.
The six who meant to vote no (along with Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth) were Reps. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston; Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City; Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin; Aaron Pena, D-Edinburg; Richard Raymond, D-Laredo; and Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin.
The resolution now heads to the Senate.
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May 20, 2009
UPDATED: Close to 50 House Democrats oppose floor action on voter ID measure
House Democrats, aware that a voter ID measure is likely to land on the House’s floor calendar later this week, warned at a midday press conference today that they’re not going to click their heels if Republican leaders let the politically volatile issue reach the floor.
A pending measure, already passed by the Senate, would require voters to present a photo ID at the polls or two documents indicating their identities. Republicans say the change will ward off fraud, while Democrats generally say it’s intended to deter turnout by some voters.
Rep. Jim Dunnam, who leads the 74-member House Democratic Caucus, said today: “We are going to protect the voting rights of our constituents.”
Asked to specify what he meant by “protect,” Dunnam didn’t elaborate, though there’s speculation that members dead-set against the ID proposal could leave the House chamber when it comes up, potentially depriving the 150-member body of the quorum needed to take action. Such a move could prove riotous and endanger other Senate measures, which under House rules must be considered by the House by the end of the day Tuesday to survive.
Click below to see the news conference. Click continue reading for more.
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May 19, 2009
Sovereignty resolution stalled
House foes of a resolution affirming Texas’ sovereignty scored a victory - perhaps a temporary one - Tuesday evening when Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, successfully raised a point of order ending consideration of HCR50.
Thompson’s point of order involved procedures used by the House committee that sent the resolution to the floor.
Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe and the sponsor of the resolution, says he hopes to have it back on the floor as soon as the committee can approve it again. Could be as early as Wednesday, says Creighton.
The resolution, backed by Gov. Rick Perry, has been interpreted - misinterpreted, says Creighton - as a move toward Texas secession.
“In my letter to the membership that I sent in February, it was very clear, it had nothing to do with seceding from the union,” Creighton said. “It had everything to do with succeeding in the union. And a strong independent Texas makes for a very strong national government and strong union.”
Here’s Creighton and Thompson talking about the measure Tuesday evening.
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House OK's lawsuit in Denton State School injury case
The House voted 139-0 today to allow the Chishty family of Dallas to sue the state to seek damages for injuries incurred by Haseeb Chishty while he was at the Denton State School.
The background is here.
The state has sovereign immunity against most types of lawsuits, which means people must get the Legislature’s approval to sue a state agency.
The House approved a similar resolution for the Chishtys late in the 2007 legislative session and it never made it to the Senate floor. Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, feared a similar outcome this year. The resolution has been buried on the House calendar since May 2.
Burnam today got the House to move the resolution higher on today’s calendar so it could be considered. Now it heads to the Senate.
Farhat Chishty, Haseeb’s mom, watched the proceedings on her computer in Dallas.
“I was holding my breath and just focusing on the screen,” she said, noting, however, “We still have a long way to go.”
Here’s Burnam talking about his strategy prior to the vote and, after the vote, talking about what happens next.
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Kuempel update
A positive, upbeat report today from Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, about his friend Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, who is recovering from a heart attack suffered at the Capitol last week.
“They took the tubes out of his throat and he is talking,” Geren told House members, adding that Kuempel recognized and spoke with family members. “He is just doing better. Thank you so much for your prayers.”
Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston, followed with a prayer of thanks for Kuempel’s recovery.
“We thank you for staying with us and walking with us and consoling us in the midst of our trials with our own Ed Kuempel,” Edwards said in his prayer.
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May 18, 2009
McCall confident voter ID legislation will reach House floor
Rep. Brian McCall, who chairs the agenda-setting House Committee on Calendars, expressed confidence this afternoon that the politically volatile voter ID measure will reach the House floor in time for action before the session ends.
I’d recently heard the floor debate could be lined to take place this Friday. McCall said that’s possible, but cautioned that the committee hasn’t yet set that day’s calendar.
Generally, McCall said, “it will be (debated) on the floor. Too many people want it passed and too many people want it killed. It’s probably half and half. It will be heard.”
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May 15, 2009
Rep. Geren: Rep. Kuempel coming out of coma
Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, blinked on command today, Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, just told his colleagues.
Kuempel had a heart attack late Tuesday at the Capitol and has been hospitalized since then. He has been in a medically induced coma, colleagues have said.
“He is responding, he’s coming out of the coma,” Geren said.
He thanked colleagues for their prayers, and members applauded.
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Kuempel's family to House members: 'We need your prayers'
State Rep. Mark Homer, D-Paris, just told his House colleagues that he went to the hospital this morning to visit state Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, who collapsed at the Capitol earlier this week.
Homer said “things are still good and stable, and everyone’s hoping for the best.”
He read a letter to House members from Kuempel’s family.
“He loves and adores every single one of you,” the letter said. “There is no doubt in our minds that your prayers are being heard.”
The letter continued: “Today is a critical point in his recovery and we need your prayers now more than ever.”
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Last call for House bills on House floor
A bit of the flavor on the House floor late Thursday night as members churned toward the midnight deadline for action on House bills. The legislative session ends June 1, but any House bill that did not make it to the floor by midnight is dead.
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May 14, 2009
The Stephen F. Austin, Sul Ross, Sam Houston Preservation Act
The Texas House on Friday, probably, will strike a blow to preserve the names of some of the state’s all-time greats.
HB425 by Rep. Wayne Christian, set for Friday’s local, consent and resolutions calendar, would bar changing “the names of certain public institutions of higher education that are named after state historical figures.”
Here’s what the bill analysis says: “Some colleges and universities in Texas have been renamed, either to reflect an affiliation with a university system or for other reasons. In certain cases, renaming has resulted in the loss of a name with historical significance and has caused an adverse reaction on the part of some aggrieved alumni.”
It’s one thing to change Southwest Texas State University to Texas State University. But it would be another if a change took Stephen F. Austin’s name off the state university in Nacogdoches (that’s Steve on the right) or Sam Houston’s off the state university in Huntsville or Sul Ross’ off the state university in Alpine.
Hence, HB425, which bars a name change “in a manner that removes the name of (an) established historical figure from the name of the institution.”
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House set to consider 'pork chopper' bill
State Rep. Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, is giving his House colleagues stickers that say: “I (heart) Pork Choppers! Pigs can’t fly, but hunters can!”
Hunting feral hogs by helicopter is already legal by landowners in some circumstances, but the House today is scheduled to consider a measure by Miller (House Bill 836) that would allow landowners to rent out seats in their helicopters so that others could shoot them as well.
There are some two million feral hogs in Texas, and supporters of Miller’s measure say the hogs damage crops, spread disease to livestock and tear down fences, according to a House Research Organization bill analysis.
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Temporary tag bill dead
With the end of the legislative session drawing near, it’s time to take the pulse of issues that have drawn some attention this year.
San Antonio Rep. Frank Corte says his effort at helping the state develop better temporary tags for vehicles is dead, a victim - according to Corte - of a misimpression that it was a “single-vendor” bill. That’s the negative title given to a bill intended to help one business.
Not true, says Corte, noting the legislation would have opened the door for many vendors who wanted to make money on a new system of temporary tags.
We wrote about the effort - and a Jarrell businessman’s part in it - back in April. Here’s the story.
And here’s a video about the guy.
And see the ill-fated, never-came-out-of-subcommittee HB1251 here.
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May 13, 2009
Standing ovations for House doctors
As the House prepared to adjourn tonight, representatives gave a standing ovation to Rep. John Zerwas, a Richmond Republican and doctor who attended to Rep. Edmund Kuempel after Kuempel collapsed last night at the Capitol.
State Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, spoke emotionally about Zerwas’ work to aid Kuempel, R-Seguin.
Zerwas “showed up, and didn’t leave him, and stayed with him, and worked incredibly hard, and I think we all owe him a huge debt of recognition and gratitude,” Gallego told his colleagues.
Representatives also stood and clapped for freshman Rep. Mark Shelton, R-Fort Worth. Shelton, also a doctor, also helped last night, Gallego said.
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Cohen abandons attempt to rework strip club fee
State Rep. Ellen Cohen, D-Houston, today abandoned an attempt to rework a strip club fee that’s being challenged in court.
She said “it was clear there was an attempt to find a point of order” — a type of parliamentary maneuver — to kill her measure. So she postponed her measure until after the end of the legislative session, effectively abandoning it. She said she decided to focus instead on fighting for the fee that’s being challenged in court.
The Legislature in 2007 passed a $5-per-patron strip club fee that Cohen proposed. The money was supposed to go toward health insurance for low-income Texans and programs to prevent sexual assault and help victims.
But a judge struck it down, and this year, Cohen proposed tweaking the fee. The state is appealing.
Cohen’s proposal this session was to lower the fee to about $3 per patron and to direct the money only to anti-assault programs, not health insurance. Last year, State District Judge Scott Jenkins found that the state showed a link between strip clubs and sexual violence but failed to show a link between strip clubs and a lack of health insurance.
Meanwhile, the Legislature is considering a measure that would repeal the 2007 fee.
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Colleague: Kuempel had 'massive heart attack'
Here’s the scene on the Texas House floor this morning as members awaited word on the condition of Rep. Edmund Kuempel, who collapsed at the Capitol late Tuesday night,
Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, told colleagues that Kuempel suffered a “massive heart attack.”
See entries below for other developments concerning Kuempel, one of the most popular members of the House.
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Kuempel proposal for voter approval of casinos derailed
Rep. Edmund Kuempel’s proposal asking Texas voters to legalize casinos and slot parlors in the state won’t be taken up by the full House this week, meaning his hopes of testing voter interest in expanded gaming are dashed.
Kuempel, R-Seguin, chairman of the House Committee on Licensing & Administrative Procedures, had expressed hope at midday Tuesday that his measure would be placed on the House calendar for Thursday, the last day for House members to consider contested House bills and proposed constitutional amendments.
But House Joint Resolution 137 was derailed by getting “tagged” in the House Committee on Calendars. Tags are secretive maneuvers that enable members of the agenda-setting panel to slow legislation from reaching the floor calendar.
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Straus' office: Kuempel remains in intensive care
State Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, “remains in intensive care in stable condition,” according to a statement just released by House Speaker Joe Straus’ office.
“The next 24-48 hours are critical,” the statement said.
Kuempel collapsed at the Capitol last night and was taken to University Medical Center at Brackenridge.
“His family has asked that colleagues and friends not visit the hospital at this time, but asks everyone keep Edmund in their prayers,” the statement said.
Here’s Straus after a morning trip to the hospital where Kuempel is being treated.
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Classic Kuempel
Back on March 19, when the House had yet to pass a substantive bill, Rep. Edmund Kuempel - who collapsed last night at the Capitol - was asked about the lack of progress.
Classic Kuempel. Serious about the House, but not taking himself too seriously.
Take a look.
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May 12, 2009
Rep. Kuempel collapses at Capitol
The Texas House adjourned abruptly tonight after state Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, was found collapsed in a Capitol elevator.
A House sergeant-at-arms, Jennifer Irby, said she had found Kuempel, 66, in an elevator about 10:30 p.m. Rep. John Zerwas, R-Fulshear, who is a doctor, attended to Kuempel.
As an ambulance waited outside the Capitol, lawmakers including House Speaker Joe Straus crowded around elevators just outside the Rotunda. Shortly before 11 p.m., a stretcher emerged from the elevator area, and Kuempel was taken to University Medical Center at Brackenridge, several representatives said. Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, then led lawmakers in a prayer.
Officials at Brackenridge did not release information about his condition early Wednesday morning.
Zerwas said that when he reached Kuempel, he was unresponsive, was not breathing and had no pulse. Zerwas said he oversaw CPR until EMS arrived. He said a defibrillator was used to shock Kuempel about eight times.
By the time Kuempel left for the hospital, he had a heart rhythm and a pulse, and though he was not breathing entirely on his own, he had “some spontaneous breathing,” Zerwas said. Zerwas said it could have been a primary cardiac event but could not say for sure.
“I would be very cautiously optimistic,” said Zerwas, an anesthesiologist.
Kuempel was first elected to the House in 1983. He is chairman of the House Committee on Licensing and Administrative Procedures. He represents Gonzales, Guadalupe and Wilson counties.
cmaclaggan@statesman.com; 445-3548
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House gives final approval to 'Brianna's Law' for youth camps
The Texas House today gave final approval to a measure that would increase oversight of certain youth camps.
State Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, filed the bill because of the January death of 11-year-old Brianna Plehn at a Spicewood horse camp.
More than 600 short-term camps — such as weekend soccer camps or daylong horseback riding camps — would be newly licensed and inspected under the measure, according to an estimate by the Department of State Health Services. The department already licenses more than 500 youth camps.
The House vote was 81-66. The measure now goes to the Senate.
In January, Brianna and five other children were riding in the bed of a pickup truck driven by horse camp owner Lynda Mescher, when the truck rolled over, authorities have said. Brianna was pronounced dead at the scene.
Bolton has said that Mescher had been doing doughnuts — driving in circles — when the truck flipped at Grelle Recreation Area in Burnet County.
Mescher was indicted by a Burnet County grand jury last week on charges of manslaughter and injury to a child in connection with the incident, according to the district attorney’s office.
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UPDATED: Chairman Kuempel requests study of gaming while still pushing casino amendment this session
It looked earlier today like Rep. Edmund Kuempel, R-Seguin, had given up on House approval of a proposed constitutional amendment that would have asked voters to sign off on slot parlors at horse and dog race tracks and casinos around the state and on Indian lands.
Not quite, he advised at the noon hour, adding that he’s still intending to get his proposed amendment to Thursday’s House calendar in hopes of raising the 100 House votes needed to send the amendment to the Senate.
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Driver's ed for 18-24-year-olds
The Texas House, zipping through a list of local and consent bills, today voted to make 18-24-year-olds take a driver’s education course to get a driver’s license. The provision would apply only to first-time applicants.
The bill specifies a six-hour course. Supporters note statistics showing elevated death rates among drivers in the targeted age group.
A similar bill recently made it to the Senate floor but was pulled down by Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, after Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, raised questions abut the cost and availability of the courses, and whether the state should be forcing adults to take driver’s ed.
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May 11, 2009
House passes booster seat bill
Children under age 8 riding in passenger vehicles would have to sit secured in a booster seat or car seat under a measure the Texas House passed today.
Under current law, children under age 5 and shorter than 36” have to sit in child safety seats. The legislation sponsored by Rep. Allen Vaught, D-Dallas, says that children under age 8 would have to sit in the seats unless they are 4’9” tall.
The House voted 99-44 to give final approval to the bill. The Senate has already passed the measure, Senate Bill 61 by Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo. The House made minor changes to the bill, so the differences between its version and the Senate one would have to be worked out before the bill goes to the governor.
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Bolton emergency district amendment fails
A proposed constitutional amendment to provide more taxing authority for emergency service districts fell two votes shy of passing Monday.
The proposal by Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, needed to get the approval of 100 House members to move the constitutional amendment to the Senate. Last week, the measure was 10 votes short of the required threshold and Monday’s vote was the final opportunity to get over the two-thirds hurdle.
Even after a one-by-one verification of the tally, the 98-vote count did not budge. Bolton, however, said she might be able to breathe new life into House Joint Resolution 112.
Emergency service districts — which Bolton referred to as “volunteer fire departments all grown up” — serve unincorporated areas mostly around big cities. Travis County has 12 emergency districts that provide fire and emergency response to the communities outside Austin.
The districts’ tax rate for operations is capped at 10 cents per $100 of assessed property value. The constitutional amendment would allow emergency service districts to add up to 5 cents to their property tax rate with approval from local voters. That additional tax money could only be used for capital expenses, such as equipment and buildings.
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Chairman says committee-approved voter ID plan unlikely to pass full House
Chairman Todd Smith of the House Committee on Elections said the voter ID measure that cleared his committee during the House’s lunch break today probably won’t survive if it’s voted on as is by the full House, which is divided 76 to 74 Republican-Democratic.
“I just don’t think the votes are there,” Smith said, adding that the chances of House members approving the latest version without changes are less than 50 percent.
Click ‘continue reading’ for more. Click below to see the committee meeting and hear Smith’s post-meeting comments.
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May 8, 2009
Menendez says poker proposal probably dead for session
Rep. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, has a proposal to authorize public poker games and tournaments in Texas on the House’s floor calendar. But he said at midday he won’t push for action unless GOP Gov. Rick Perry signals he’d sign such a plan into law.
Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle has said Perry opposes any expansion of gambling and that the poker legislation—viewable here—looks like an expansion of gambling.
“For the third session in a row,” Menendez said, “I think poker’s dead.”
He said that when the legislation comes up on the calendar, he’ll ask that it be postponed 12 hours, after letting colleagues know that the governor’s apparent opposition is at issue.
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May 7, 2009
Bush resolution withdrawn again
For the second time, a House resolution honoring former President George W. Bush has been yanked from consideration on the floor.
But this time, says sponsor Rep. Doc Anderson, R-Waco, the resolution was a victim of error, not opposition.
Anderson said his HCR62 was “inadvertently” placed on a congratulatory calendar today in the House. He had it withdrawn and plans to come back to the floor with HCR168, the updated version that made changes sought by Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, a Bush foe who thought the original version seemed to congratulate Bush for torturing folks.
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May 6, 2009
Debate over license plates resurfaces
State Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, this afternoon tried unsuccessfully to give Texans the option of buying a license plate that says “Pro Family, Pro-Choice.”
He tried to tack his amendment onto a bill that would create a Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. The House approved the bill but not his amendment.
Burnam’s attempt came a day after House members amended the same bill to give Texans the option of buying license plates that say “Choose Life” as well as license plates that say “Choose Adoption.” The Senate has already approved creating “Choose Life” license plates, something that Gov. Rick Perry supports and is a priority this session for anti-abortion groups.
Burnam said he expected his amendment to fail but that he wanted to make the point that he is opposed to political messages on license plates. He said he hopes that both the “Choose Life” and “Choose Adoption” license plates will not make it into the final version of the bill.
“You shouldn’t politicize license plates,” Burnam said.
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UPDATE: Revised voter ID proposal circulates; chairman nixes call for hearing, but is reconsidering
UPDATE: Don’t count on a House committee vote on the voter ID legislation today. Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, said he’s still waiting to see if he can corral enough votes to do so. But he isn’t intending to hold any additional hearings, though nearly three dozen House Democratic leaders (every Democratic committee chair and vice chair plus the speaker pro tempore) sent a letter to him today.
The Democrats’ letter closes:
While some components of the bill may have been discussed previously in committee, the public has not had the opportunity to give voice to their opinions regarding the comprehensive new bill.
Smith said at the House’s lunch break he hadn’t seen the letter. But, he said, “I’m probably not amenable to a hearing.” Noting that lawmakers have already held more than 24 hours’ worth of hearings on the ID issue, Smith said: “There’s no reason to have any more.”
UPDATE: Smith said later he could yet hold a hearing. He was fuming after lunch at what he described as resistance to his latest draft from Reps. Betty Brown, R-Terrell, and Linda Harper Brown, R-Irving, who he said told him they now want the committee to send the House solely the Senate-approved version of Senate Bill 362.
Smith said he can’t go with the Senate version because it wouldn’t accommodate the concerns of the handful of House Democrats and Republicans he’ll need to get a majority’s approval on the House floor.
Also, he said: “I’m frustrated at seeing the target move.”
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May 5, 2009
House chair says members "don't have gun" to heads on voter ID proposal
Rep. Todd Smith, the Euless Republican who helms the House Committee on Elections, said today he’s still trying to gather the five committee votes he needs to send a voter ID measure to the full House. Smith, you’ll remember, initially said he hoped to win the committee’s sign-off on his approach sometime last week.
Noting that House rules permit members to act on Senate bills for three weeks’ more, Smith said: “We don’t have a gun to our heads. I’m going to give the members of the committee time to get comfortable with a proposal.”
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May 4, 2009
Cockfighting bill: The view from the House gallery
Lots of talk about rights and property in the gallery on Monday as the House advanced the bill making it illegal to attend a cockfight.
Here’s what some foes of the bill had to say.
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Should Texas have one railroad commissioner instead of three?
Texas voters would get the chance to decide whether the state should have a single railroad commissioner rather than three, under a measure the House considered today.
The vote was 91-47 in favor of HJR 62. That’s enough supporters to allow the House to give it final consideration but short of the 100 needed to put the measure on the ballot this fall. If the House gives it 100 votes during the final vote — and the Senate approves it, too — Texas voters would decide whether to amend the constitution to reduce the number of commissioners to one.
The proposal is by Rep. David Farabee, D-Wichita Falls, who said having one commissioner would be more efficient than three.
The Railroad Commission is Texas’ only state agency with three elected officials, according to the House Research Organization. Having one commissioner instead of three is expected to save nearly $1 million a year by eliminating salaries and benefits for commissioners and their staffs.
The House is expected to soon consider related legislation that would change state law on the number of commissioners if voters approve amending the constitution.
The Legislature is also considering changing the name of the Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates the state’s oil and gas industry, to the Texas Energy Commission.
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May 3, 2009
Great moments in ghost voting
This one is for Capitol oldtimers. Anybody who can’t believe that something happened on camera and is not available on YouTube may want to move on to something else.
But if the name Frank Eikenburg rings a bell, you might be interested.
In 1983, the then-Plano lawmaker became permanently linked with ghost voting, the practice in which House members push each other’s buttons on the voting machines.
Coincidentally, Eikenburg was in the House last week when the American-Statesman was talking to folks about the machines purchased by the House - but never put into usage - as part of an effort to cut down on ghost voting. See the story here.
Looking dapper in his in seersucker suit, Eikenburg reminisced about his long-ago moment of infamy. The late Carole Kneeland, then with WFAA-TV of Dallas, had caught Eikenburg on camera pushing an absent member’s voting button. But far more embarrassing for Eikenburg was what happened when Kneeland confronted him about what he had done.
Eikenburg, saying nothing, stared into the camera for what seemed like an eternity. It was so awkward that when deer talk to each other abut being caught in the headlights they refer to it as being like Eikenburg caught on the camera.
Back in the House last week along with other ex-members for Speaker’s Reunion Day, Eikenburg was able to laugh about the long-ago incident.
He insisted there were no political repercussions back home about it..
“But my wife and friends always gave me grief,” he said.
Eikenburg said he pushed the button for a colleague who was upstairs in the House gallery with visiting students. The member, whose name Eikenburg could not recall, used a hand signal to relay how he wanted to vote.
It was not an isolated incident, Eikenburg said, noting that during one late-night, early-morning House session he cast votes for 22 members on one bill.
That night, Eikenburg recalled, instead of the usual “Have all members voted?” announcement prior to slamming the gavel, then-Speaker Billy Clayton asked, “Eikenburg, have you voted all the members?”
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May 1, 2009
UPDATE: House gives final approval of ban on selling toy-like lighters
The Texas House today gave final approval to a measure banning the sale of cigarette lighters that look like children’s toys.
That would include lighters that look like “cartoon characters, guns, watches, weapons, furniture, sports equipment, tools, holiday decorations, musical instruments, vehicles or toy animals or play musical notes or have flashing lights,” the bill said. The author, Mando Martinez, D-Weslaco, amended the measure to add lighters that look like telephones to that list.
Cigarette lighters made before 1980 would be exempt, and the measure does not apply to lighters used for fireplaces or grills.
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New flag for Texas governors?
Thanks to Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, the House on Saturday is scheduled to consider a bill that would establish an official flag for Texas governors.
HB2500 would designate the 1839 pilot flag of the Republic of Texas as that flag.
Current law says Texas governors “may adopt” an official flag. Alas, they have not, leaving the state without an official flag to fly at official gubernatorial functions.
Dunnam aims to erase that void. See him and the flag in video below.
And Dunnam - sponsor of a bill aimed at having the state buy the Pease Mansion in West Austin to convert it into the Governor’s Mansion - is not kidding about also having a bill concerning how to fold the Texas flag. Read it here.
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April 30, 2009
When dinosaurs roamed the House
Texas House action during debate on HCR16, which selects a new dinosaur as the official state dinosaur.
Offered with no comment, but some special effects to enhance the moment.
And yes, Rep. Hamilton does seem to say that dinosaurs are “instinct.”
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Groups already opposed to voter ID legislation reject latest version
Advocacy groups long skeptical of Republican-steered efforts to toughen voter identification requirements at the polls issued a statement today opposing the revised version of Senate Bill 362 unveiled this week by Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, chairman of the House Committee on Elections. (See the Statesman story on the revisions here.)
Cutting to the heart of their beefs, the groups write:
(Smith’s rewrite) forces the most disadvantaged Texans who do not have preferred identification to rely on an unreliable provisional ballot, which may count if the signature matches that on their voter registration card. There are numerous problems with this approach. Many older voters and those with disabilities have non-traditional signatures, which are less likely to match. Also, the signature board is led by a political party official, not by an independent individual trained in signature matching. In the end, the legislation falls short of its objective of reaching compromise and consensus and addressing access as well as security.
Groups backing the statement are: ACLU-TX, Advocacy, Inc., Common Cause Texas, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the Texas Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and the Texas NAACP.
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The dinosaur walk
That’s what they call it when former House members return to the chamber to be honored on Speaker’s Reunion Day.
It’s also the only day when lobbyists - in the form of ex-lawmakers now laboring in lobby world - are allowed in the chamber while the House is in session.
Here’s the scene today, including a heated debate between ex-Speakers Gib Lewis and Pete Laney on who was a better speaker.
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April 29, 2009
UPDATED: All but five House Republicans resist latest voter-ID plan
There’s no way of telling yet if what played out today in the House was merely a moment of political posturing or a sign that the voter ID legislation that left the Senate six weeks ago is headed for the rocks in the House.
The moment/sign: By the end of the same day that Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, let loose of his version of the voter-ID proposal—see previous blogs here and here—71 of the House’s 76 Republicans had committed to a statement of principles, posted here indicating that any ID proposal must take effect at the “next possible uniform election date,” meaning this year. The signing members also say the proposal needs to require voters to present photo IDs, period (none of that Senate-approved language permitting two other documents indicating a voter’s identity).
Smith’s rewrite wouldn’t impose the ID requirement at the polls until the elections of 2013. And like the Senate version, it includes language providing for voters to present other identifying documents.
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Two more wrinkles in revised House voter ID measure
Rep. Todd Smith’s substitute version of voter ID legislation includes at least two notable wrinkles beyond not imposing the requirements until 2013:
—Smith envisions any voter who doesn’t completely fulfill the ID requirements getting to cast a ballot that would be counted later than regular ballots, if their signature at the polling place matches their signature on the voter’s voter registration application or another public record in the possession of their county’s voter registrar.
A twist: Smith’s rewrite leaves the verification of signatures to local signature verification committees consisting of five voters or more, chosen on nomination by the local Democratic and Republican county chairs. Each board is to be chaired by a nominee from the party whose gubernatorial candidate drew the most local votes in the latest governor’s election. The committees would be appointed by the early voting ballot board, which I suspect exists now in each county.
—Smith’s version would not take effect unless the Legislature appropriates $7.5 million in 2010-11 to register voters.
Forecast: Smith makes a move to get his measure through his committee as soon as Thursday. Succeeding there, he brings his approach to the House floor by next week or the week after; a fierce debate will ensue.
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Key Republican's voter-ID proposal would not take effect for four years
Rep. Todd Smith, chairman of the House Committee on Elections, has started circulating his substitute version of a Senate-approved proposal requiring voters to present photo IDs or other identifying documents at the polls.
One headline: Smith’s plan doesn’t impose tougher ID requirements until elections occurring after Jan. 1, 2013. That change—potentially relieving Democrats concerned that an immediate ID hurdle would hurt their chances in the 2010 elections—amounts to a major concession by the Euless Republican, who has said he’s intent on reaching a plan that wins both Republican and Democratic House votes.
I’m perusing the rest of the Smith version now and will update if more leaps out.
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Purell for All!
Dr. John Zerwas, R-Fulshear, offered some free medical advice to his colleagues in the House of Representatives to avoid the swine flu: wash your hands.
Better yet, he said, douse them with Purell hand sanitizer.
According to Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, the legislators will have all the Purell they need, courtesy of the Texas Medical Association. What a perk.
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April 28, 2009
Rep. Smith's voter ID revisions surfacing Wednesday; he disputes any GOP blow-up
I blogged earlier a speculation on House Republicans possibly blowing up over Rep. Todd Smith running with his version of voter ID legislation. Smith, R-Euless, chairman of the House Committee on Elections, just called to say fuhgedaboudit.
Smith confirmed, though, that he plans to unveil his long-awaited rewrite of the Senate-approved voter ID legislation on Wednesday in hopes of passing it out of the elections committee this week.
Smith declined to share details of his version until, he said, he has a chance to run them by committee members. But he said today’s reactions from Rep. Betty Brown, R-Terrell, and 50 other Republicans were perfectly appropriate efforts to frame the ID issue for their respective constituents back home.
“Nothing wrong with that at all,” Smith said. “I can’t draft a bill that would be the first choice of every member of the Republican caucus. I am going to draft a bill that I believe can pass.”
Nitty-gritty: Smith said he plans to pass out copies of his version on the House floor Wednesday morning, going public after that.
Of today’s GOP caucus meeting, Smith said: “It was all very civil.”
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Looming Republican blow-up over voter ID in the Texas House?
Could be you can blame this one on a reporter (me) because I’m not on the floor of the Texas House; I’ve been focused on Vice President Biden’s Austin visit today when it looks like I’d have benefited from trolling among legislators about the simmering voter ID fight.
My point: From my vantage point away from the pink dome, I’m hearing from Capitol sources that Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, privately told GOP colleagues today he’d reached closure on his intended-to-be-a-compromise version of voter ID legislation and might even issue an afternoon press release saying so.
To which, some Republicans reportedly reacted: “Whoa, Nelly (or Toddy).”
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April 24, 2009
House: Workers should pay commute costs
Texas taxpayers would stop paying for the commuting costs of state employees with take-home cars under a bill approved 133-0 today by the Texas House.
The measure — House Bill 2097 by state Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas — would require employees at state agencies who are assigned take-home cars to reimburse the state for driving those state vehicles for personal use — including commuting to and from work.
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
A study last month showed that every month in Texas, more than 1,300 state employees at 95 state agencies commute to work in state-owned cars, racking up hundreds of thousands of miles each year.
The tab to taxpayers: More than $3.8 million during the past fiscal year at just four agencies.
“Most Texans have to pay for their own personal trips and errands, to get back and forth to work,” Hodge said. “State employees should, too. The taxpayers should not be footing that bill.”
Law enforcement officers with take-home vehicles would be exempt.
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House approves increasing compensation for people wrongfully imprisoned
People wrongfully imprisoned would be entitled to more compensation from the state under a measure the House passed today.
House Bill 1736 would increase the compensation from $50,000 to $80,000 per year of incarceration. There is an identical bill in the Senate.
Patrick Waller of Carrollton, who served 16 years for crimes he did not commit — aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping — was among several wrongfully convicted men sitting in the House gallery. He said he was thrilled the House approved the measure.
“Of course, I could never be repaid for the time I served, but … at least the state’s saying, ‘We wrongfully convicted you. At least we’re helping you get your life back on track,’” Waller said.
See Waller, below, and Rep. Helen Giddings, D-Dallas.
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House gives final approval to pulling data from public view
The Texas House this morning gave final approval to a measure that would pull information about school employees — such as home addresses and dates of birth — from public records.
Teachers’ groups like House bill 2491 by Rep. Diane Patrick, R-Arlington, because they say their private information should be confidential. But journalists, who often use dates of birth to identify people with common names, say that dates of birth should remain in public records.
The vote was 107-18. The measure now goes to the Senate.
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April 23, 2009
Chairman expects post-session study on gambling in Texas
Chairman Edmund Kuempel of the House Committee on Licensing & Administrative Procedures said today that while he’s still working on a consensus proposal to legalize expanded gambling in Texas, he expects to urge legislative highers-up to order up a post-session study of how the state could or should proceed to permit casinos and/or race track slot-machine parlors.
“We’re going to do a study one way or the other,” Kuempel said, though he noted that the final decision on a study will naturally lie with House Speaker Joe Straus and maybe Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
Earlier this month, it seemed like the push for expanded gaming in Texas had stalled. Kuempel said today he continues to work on a proposed constitutional amendment, but remains short of anything that would draw the 100 House votes needed to send a plan to the Senate.
“We’re just in a holding pattern,” he said.
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April 22, 2009
House members tend to post-football wounds
State Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, is roaming the House floor today with a basket of Icy Hot, Tiger Balm and painkillers.
Last night, House members played a flag football game at Frank Denius Fields at the University of Texas.
“There are a lot of wounded warriors on the floor this morning,” said Bolton, one of two women who played. (Kristi Thibaut, D-Houston, was the other).
Though no one ended up in the hospital this year — there have been serious injuries in the past — state Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, said he got kicked in the calf.
“I will recover,” Anchia said.
Bolton, who was on the winning team, said she made a key defensive play — when Austin Democrat Mark Strama threw a pass to Thibaut, “I flagged her,” Bolton said.
In this photo, Bolton, left, shows her basket to Rep. Carol Kent, D-Dallas, who did not play.
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April 20, 2009
House sends Office of State-Federal Relations bill back to committee
The Texas House today opted not to take a vote on a proposal to dissolve the Office of State-Federal Relations and move its duties to the governor’s office. Instead, after more than 45 minutes of debate, representatives sent the measure by Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Van, back to committee for tweaks.
Flynn argued that his proposal would streamline lobbying activities.
But Rep. Tommy Merritt, R-Longview, said that since the office would have the same budget — $1.5 million for the two-year budget cycle — in the governor’s shop as it did as a stand-alone agency, there would be no streamlining.
Merritt said the proposal amounted to taking $1.5 million and giving it “to the governor so he can go play around in Washington, D.C.”
Some representatives said they were concerned about having less legislative oversight of the state-federal relations office.
“We seem to be giving away all of our authority here in this House to the governor’s office,” said Rep. Joe Heflin, D-Crosbyton.
But Frank Corte, R-San Antonio, a supporter of the measure, said that other entities already in the governor’s office must answer to the Legislature.
As my colleague Jason Embry reported in First Reading this morning: “The agency was a point of controversy a few years ago when it was revealed it had contracted with two lobbyists who had ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay. The legislation under consideration in the House today would put a number of restrictions on the state hiring outside lobbyists in Washington.”
Near the end of the debate, Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland, veered away from serious discussion to make reference to Gov. Rick Perry’s comments last week about secession — comments that got Texas skewered on late-night TV.
“If we secede, can we use this office as a base for our ambassadorship?” Keffer asked.
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Thanks, President Bush (second attempt)
Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson, R-Waco, is back with his second shot at winning legislative approval for a resolution honoring ex-President Bush.
His first attempt hit a roadblock when Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, had it removed from a calendar of unopposed congratulatory and memorial resolutions last month.
Burnam objected to two passages, one noting that Bush “oversaw the development of new antiterrorism tools that have been instrumental in breaking up terrorist plots and preventing another attack on American soil.” Sounds like that includes waterboarding, says Burnam.
He also didn’t like the phrase that said Bush “worked with European partners to fight terrorism.” Lots of Europeans were not on board with Bush, Burnam notes.
Anderson has removed both passages. The bill is set for a Tuesday committee hearing.
Here’s Anderson and Burnam talking about it.
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April 14, 2009
Tense moment at FLDS hearing
Here’s some of the testimony at House Human Services Committee hearing today on what went on at the FLDS compound in Eldorado before state officials raided it.
First, Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Anne Heiligenstein talks about what her agency found.
Next, FLDS member Willie Jessop likens DFPS to Hitler.
And then, Chairman Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, tries - unsuccessfully - to get Jessop to talk about what went on between adult men and underage females at the compound.
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April 8, 2009
House Passover policy clarified
House Speaker Joe Straus’ spokeswoman told us last week that Straus had asked committees not to meet past 5 or 6 today because of Passover, which begins tonight.
But today, state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, announced on the House floor that though representatives should be respectful of fellow members and witnesses who need to leave early for Passover, committees don’t have to adjourn early.
“Go as late as you need to go — we’ve got plenty of work to do,” said Geren, chairman of the Committee on House Administration.
Straus spokeswoman Angela Hale said today that Straus’ policy was intended to give Jewish House members time to get home.
“It doesn’t mean we’re shutting down the entire House,” she said.
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The office Texas can't get rid of
Why, you may ask, did the Texas House today consider a bill that would abolish the office of inspector of hides and animals?
Didn’t Texans already vote on a constitutional amendment to abolish that office in November of 2007?
Yes. And that constitutional amendment passed.
But the office that most Texas counties haven’t filled for decades is still mentioned in several places in state law.
Lawmakers trying to get rid of the office in 2007 needed to pass two pieces of legislation — a resolution to put the measure on the ballot and “enabling legislation” to remove mentions of the office from the Election Code, Local Government Code and Agriculture Code.
The resolution passed, so the measure made it to the ballot, but the enabling legislation died in the Senate.
So Rep. Joe Heflin, D-Crosbyton, brought the enabling legislation back this session to try again.
The House gave his proposal final approval today. It now goes to the Senate.
“We finally got rid of an agency!” exclaimed state Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, R-Parker.
The office was created in 1871 “to aid in the prevention of cattle theft by providing a thorough inspection of all the hides and animals that were shipped out of the county,” according to an official bill analysis.
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April 6, 2009
VIDEO: Voters make the case for and against an ID mandate
Watch our video prepared in advance of the House’s two days of hearings on a voter ID measure here:
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Fort Worth Democrat says voter ID mandate should cause sleepless nights
A Fort Worth Democrat framed the simmering debate on voter ID legislation in a provocative way this afternoon.
Rep. Marc Veasey, who is African American, told colleagues he believes the ID requirement would result in fewer black, Hispanic and poor voters going to vote.
“This is about skimming enough votes so that some people can’t get elected,” Veasey said. “Can you really sleep with yourself at night knowing that if this bill passes, most of the people denied the right to vote are going to be black, brown or poor?”
Earlier, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Elections and a leading Democratic opponent to a proposed photo ID law for voters at the polls framed two days of House hearings that were just getting started this afternoon in contrasting ways.
Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, the panel chairman, said he’s approaching testimony by invited witnesses today hoping to hear about the extent of individuals impersonating other voters at the polls in Texas and nationally; how to enhance the security of elections while expanding access to the polls; and evidence an ID measure approved by the Texas Senate last month would decrease or drive up turnout.
Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, revisited his conclusion after years of testimony that there have been no cases of in-person voter impersonation in Texas. A bigger problem, Anchia suggested, is likely fraud by individuals abusing mail-in ballots.
But the “big beast in the room,” Anchia said, is light turnout by voters in general.
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April 2, 2009
Maldonado skips chicken dance, passes her first bill in House
Freshman State Rep. Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock, passed her first bill in the House today with just a bit of hazing by her colleagues.
Several House members asked her teasing questions, and one — Rep. Veronica Gonzales, D-McAllen — tried unsuccessfully to get Maldonado to do the chicken dance.
But finally, Maldonado succeeded in getting fellow representatives to support House Bill 1332, which would hold Texas students responsible for damaged or lost school-issued electronic materials. Now, students are held responsible for textbooks; her measure expands that requirement to include electronic textbooks and other technological equipment.
“My bill, if made law, will ensure our schools have the maximum amount of funds to use in the classroom and will add a level of responsibility for our students to take care of the school’s property,” Maldonado said.
Maldonado has been the joint author of a bill that the House passed, but this was the first bill that passed for which she was the primary author. The measure now goes to the Senate.
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Texas license plate to honor Notre Dame?
Here we have Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, talking about his bill that would establish Texas license plates honoring Notre Dame.
Quite a Notre Dame alumni contingent out in Alpine, says Gallego. Watch below for the current headcount.
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April 1, 2009
Straus asks House committees to end early for Passover
House Speaker Joe Straus has asked his chamber’s committees to wrap up meetings next Wednesday by about 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. so that those observing Passover can get home by sundown, according to his spokeswoman, Angela Hale.
This appears to be a new policy. During the 2007 session, before the San Antonio Republican was speaker, several House committees met late on the first night of Passover. One panel met all night, finishing the following morning after 4 a.m., according to minutes posted on the House Web site.
Straus’ San Antonio rabbi, Barry Block, said of the Passover policy by Straus, Texas’ first Jewish speaker since statehood: “Good for him. He gets a big check mark for that, a big check mark!”
Block was on the House floor today to give the daily invocation. During his remarks, he also praised Straus, saying, “With such a man at the helm, surely this House can seize the day.”
Worth noting: The House will not be in session on Good Friday (April 10) and the Monday (April 13) following Easter, Hale said.
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House passes measure to curb veto power
The House today passed a measure that would allow Texas voters to decide whether to allow the Legislature to override gubernatorial vetoes in short sessions after regular legislative sessions.
The House voted 131 to 16 to approve a resolution by state Rep. Gary Elkins, R-Houston, that would put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot. The resolution now goes to the Senate.
Elkins said that although the Legislature has the authority to override a gubernatorial veto, legislators rarely get that opportunity because the session is typically over by the time the governor vetoes most bills.
“This will bring the power back to the people,” Elkins told his colleagues.
The House passed a similar measure in 2007, but it died in a Senate committee.
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March 31, 2009
Lawmakers talk about teen pregnancy
The House Public Health Committee today considered a couple of bills aimed at reducing Texas’ teen pregnancy rate by making changes in the state’s sex-education curriculum.
San Antonio Rep. Mike Villarreal’s HB 1567 would require all instruction concerning condoms and contraception to be “scientifically accurate.”
San Antonio Rep. Joaquin Castro’s HB 741 would mandate “abstinence-plus,” an approach that pushes abstinence as the best idea but acknowledges it may not always be a real-world alternative.
Below, Villarreal and Castro talk about why teen-pregnancy rates are high among Hispanics.
Hispanic families have to do a better job of talking about sex, says Villarreal.
And, he says, poor folks often lack other forms of recreation.
Watch below as Villarreal answers a question about whether teen pregnancy is a disproportionately large problem among some groups.
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March 30, 2009
Smithee: Rainy day fund won't be source to restore windstorm insurance fund
Rep. John Smithee has backed off his recent proposal to let a state insurance fund borrow up to $1.5 billion from the state’s rainy day fund in the event of a hurricane-like disaster.
Smithee, R-Amarillo, chairman of the House Committee on Insurance, said today he shifted from his initial proposal—blogged about here—in recognition that Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst isn’t supportive of schemes to tap the rainy day fund for such a purpose.
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Capitol closed-door meeting: Should women vote?
About a dozen female House members went behind closed doors at the Capitol today to discuss the Tigua tribe’s ban on female voting in tribal council elections.
You might be surprised to hear what some of the lawmakers said after the meeting about the ban.
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March 27, 2009
Head Aggie defends grant
Here’s Texas A&M University System Chancellor Mike McKinney defending the $50-million grant that Aggie Gov. Rick Perry helped steer to his alma mater. This is the grant that has House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts all worked up about whether it was properly handled.
Watch the video. Don’t miss the “jerk” quote from McKinney, a former House member.
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UPDATED: Travis County district attorney to review missing papers case
Travis County authorities intend to review the possible destruction of documents believed to have vanished from the Texas House parliamentarian’s office after the 2007 legislative session.
UPDATE: Rep. Chuck Hopson, who heads a House panel that heard from a Department of Public Safety investigator on Thursday, said Friday night: “My hunch is that they (the documents) probably got tossed when they cleaned out that office. What we don’t know is if (employees) were instructed specifically to throw those papers or (any) government property away.”
Gregg Cox, director of the Public Integrity Unit in the Travis County District Attorney’s office, told me Thursday he’d met with a representative from the Texas Rangers, an arm of the DPS which has looked into the matter at the request of the House Committee on General Investigating & Ethics, which is chaired by Hopson, D-Jacksonville.
Cox said he expects to field information for his review within a week. Uncertain, Cox said, is whether he launches his own investigation into possible tampering with government records.
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March 26, 2009
What's Medicaid?
At a House committee hearing last week, Rep. Gary Elkins, R-Houston, asked “What’s Medicaid?”
Seemed like a very elementary question for a member of the Human Services Committee.
Below is Elkins’ explanation, offered today, of the question. It was not as it seemed, he says.
To see Elkins ask the question click here and scroll three hours and three minutes into the hearing.
The operative quote is “What’s Medicaid? I know I hear it. I don’t really know what it is. I know that’s a big shock to everybody here in the audience.” Listen to the discussion before and after the quote to make your own judgment on Elkins’ explanation.
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Safety first
The House today sent to the Senate a bill that would allow state employees to divert from the shortest route between two points to the safest route between two points.
The bill by Rep. David Farabee, D-Wichita Falls, amends state law that now says state workers are reimbursed only for the cost of “the most cost-effective route between the origin of the state employee’s travel and the final duty point of the state employee.”
Farabee’s bill amends the law to allow reimbursement for “the most cost-effective reasonably safe route.” More specifically, the bill says reimbursement will be made for “the route that provides the safest road conditions.”
The official House analysis of the bill says “Many times, state employees are forced to travel at night on poorly lit roads, which increases the chance of a vehicle collision with wildlife. Other times, state employees may need to deviate their travel in order to avoid extreme weather or other hostile conditions.”
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Voter ID hearing in daylight forecasted and Democrat may fashion deal
Anyone interested in testifying on the voter ID legislation awaiting House review will likely get a chance in daylight.
That detail popped this week along with word that a West Texas Democrat is working on a compromise plan conceivably sparing the House from a partisan bloodbath.
Rep. Todd Smith, who chairs the House Committee on Elections, wants that panel to hear invited testimony April 6 with members of the general public welcome to speak April 7.
Smith, R-Euless, said he intends the two-day approach to spare legislators and speakers from yakking through the night—in contrast to the Texas Senate, which grinded through a marathon hearing this month. After the hearing, Senate Republicans approved Sen. Troy Fraser’s proposal requiring voters to present a photo ID or two other identifying documents at the polls and sent it to the House.
Smith said today: “I didn’t like the fact that the public didn’t have a chance to testify until the wee hours.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Joe Heflin of Crosbyton is drafting an approach that he believes could bring members of both parties together. Early this week, he outlined some of his ideas to Smith, who didn’t reject any ideas out of hand, though he said today he wants to hear testimony on their feasibility and potential costs before making commitments.
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March 25, 2009
Democratic leader quaffs shots in committee hearing, but...
Rep. Jim Dunnam of Waco, leader of the House Democratic Caucus, stunned observers at a hearing this afternoon by lining up what looked like shots of whiskey on the members’ dais in the hearing room and then gulping down several to buttress a point about the cumulative impact of air pollution.
But rest easy, Temperance League.
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A milestone for Rep. Maldonado
Freshman State Rep. Diana Maldonado, a Round Rock Democrat, passed her first bill today — but her real hazing is yet to come.
Maldonado is a joint author of House Bill 1822 by State Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton. The measure seeks to make utility bills easier to understand.
The House took up that legislation today, the first day that any substantive bills were considered. Maldonado said she had to call members of her staff to find out if she was supposed to go up to the microphone with Solomons to explain the bill, but they told her Solomons was going to handle it. The bill passed.
“It’s definitely exciting to see how the process works,” she said.
A few minutes later, when fellow freshman Rep. Chris Turner, D-Burleson, was at the microphone introducing his first bill, Maldonado saw up close what she could face when she explains a bill for which she’s the primary author. (She passed one such bill out of committee last week).
Turner, flanked at the front microphone by Maldonado and other freshmen, got some serious heckling from House veterans who lined up at the back microphone.
State Rep. David Leibowitz, D-San Antonio, teased Turner about how his bill on unemployment compensation adds only 11 words to state code — but the official bill analysis (an explanation of what the bill does) was more like 250 words.
And state Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, who is African American, said to Chris Turner, who is white: “Mom and Dad wanted me to say, ‘Congratulations.’”
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House actually considers actual legislation
For the first time since it convened in January, the Texas House today voted on actual legislation, as opposed to congratulatory and memorial resolutions.
Let us celebrate the moment.
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The speaker speaks
Speaker Joe Straus speaks. On the top 10 percent law. On voter ID. On a special session. On life as the speaker.
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House passes film incentives bill
The Texas House today gave preliminary approval to a bill that would loosen restrictions on a state program that hands out incentives for the production of projects such as films, television shows, commercials and video games in Texas.
The measure by state Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, and others was the first substantial measure passed by the House this session. It passed quickly with no debate on the House floor.
“It’s a tremendous honor to have the first bill,” Dukes said.
The measure would lower the minimum amount that must be spent in Texas for a project to qualify for a state grant, lower the percentage of the project that must be shot in Texas and include educational and instructional videos in the grant program.
Similar legislation has been filed in the Senate, and Gov. Rick Perry has asked the Legislature to increase the amount of money it spends on the incentives.
Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle said Perry was pleased the House passed the bill, which she said “adds flexibility so that Texas can better compete with other states for film projects.”
Dukes said the proposal would have a “huge impact” in Austin.
“It will assist Austin in more productions coming to the city, a greater impact on the local economy with jobs,” Dukes said.
But Patrick Dixon, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Texas, said incentive funds are “fundamentally unfair.”
“All industries should be treated equal under the law,” Dixon said in a statement.
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March 24, 2009
Pitts to try to curb Perry spending authority
Allison Castle of the Governor’s Office says there’s nothing wrong with how her boss moved state money around to get a $50-million grant for a drug research facility at Texas A&M, his alma mater.
Yes there is, says House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie. Legal? Yes. But, if Pitts has his way, not for much longer.
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Appropriations chairman questions A&M grant
House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, is none too happy about Gov. Perry’s decision to transfer $50 million from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund to Texas A&M - the gov’s beloved alma mater - to pay for a new vaccine and drug therapy research program.
Perfectly legal, says Pitts, but curious.
“There’s a whole lot that we don’t know,” says Pitts, questioning whether the grant money was intended for use to build buildings. “Somebody informed me about the deal and I didn’t feel like I got the answers to my questions last week so I told them I’d call them back this week.”
Later today, Pitts’ committee with question people from Perry’s office and others involved in the decision.
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March 23, 2009
Bush honor stalled in House
Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson, R-Waco, wants the House to honor former President George W. Bush. Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, doesn’t think it’s such a good idea. Burnam’s opposition forced Anderson to withdraw the resolution from a recent House calendar.
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Corpus Christi legislator shepherds shield-law deal
In talks overseen by Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, journalists and district attorneys evidently found common ground on a change in law intended to shield Texas reporters and their notes and video from disclosure in some cases. If the reported deal holds, it’ll amount to a breakthrough for journalism groups that have sought a Texas shield law for several sessions.
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March 19, 2009
Slow-starting session: Eltife envisions an early trip home, Martinez Fischer forecasts $50,000 donation
I wrote today here that this legislative session started very slowly with legislation backed up in both wings of the Capitol.
Then again, Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, recently told me the Senate will get its version of the 2010-11 state budget to the House before Easter, leaving sufficient time, he hopes, for negotiations toward a compromise incorporating federal stimulus dollars.
Other comments for today’s column (including a predicted $50,000 donation) stuck in my notebook, which I’m shaking out here.
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Video: Halfway home in the Texas House
We’re at about the halfway point of the 81st Texas Legislature. Let’s head into the Texas House for a progress report. Here’s a hint. Sum total of substantive bills approved to date: Zero.
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March 18, 2009
Democratic group based in DC casts Texas House Republican as akin to Tom DeLay
The Lone Star Project, steered by an influential Democratic strategist based in Washington, casts state Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, as a “Tom DeLay-style political thug” in an e-mail sent today urging opposition to voter ID legislation heading to the House from the Texas Senate.
Smith, who chairs the House Committee on Elections, is expected to shepherd the ID legislation through the House.
Today, Smith reacted to the Lone Star Project’s e-mail blast by likening the project’s chief, Matt Angle, to Rush Limbaugh, though Smith shortly backed off his comment because, he said, it gives Angle too much credit.
Smith initially said: “People like Matt Angle are as harmful to the interests of the Democratic Party as people like Rush Limbaugh are to mine.”
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March 13, 2009
Proposed windstorm changes could affect rainy day fund, coastal residents
Coastal homeowners would pay more for windstorm insurance and be required to purchase federal flood coverage under a sweeping plan filed this week by the chairman of the House Committee on Insurance.
In the event of a hurricane driving down the balance in the state’s last-resort insurance fund overseen by the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, Rep. John Smithee’s proposal envisions the state lending up to $1.5 billion from its “rainy day” fund to cover claims.
The fund, which serves Texans in 14 coastal counties and a portion of Harris County near Galveston Bay, was depleted last year by claims associated with Hurricane Ike.
“We have to do something,” Smithee said. “We’re going to have significant problems with a major storm this time,” both in initially covering claims and ultimately replenishing the TWIA fund.
Smithee said the plan was deliberately filed as House Bill 911 to signify that windstorm coverage is an emergency.
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March 12, 2009
Texas Rangers looking into documents reported missing from House parliamentarian's office
The Texas Rangers are looking into hundreds of documents reported missing from the House parliamentarian’s office, officials said today.
Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, chairman of the House Committee on General Investigating & Ethics, said the panel turned over the mystery of the missing files to a law enforcement agency March 5.
Hopson declined to name the agency. But separately, Tela Mange, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, confirmed that the Rangers, an investigative division of the agency, are reviewing the matter.
Hopson said of the investigators: “We hooked them up with a bunch of people who have knowledge of the event.”
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March 9, 2009
Death penalty moratorium, amen
In offering today’s prayer in the Texas House, the Rev. Michael Piazza of Dallas used the podium to lobby for a moratorium on the death penalty.
Just briefly.
Before starting his prayer, Piazza, pastor of the Cathedral of Hope church, noted that more than 1,000 members of his congregation had signed a petition seeking a moratorium, and asked lawmakers to consider such a move.
After the amen, there was no rush to do so, in the state with the nation’s most active execution chamber.
So far this year, Texas has executed 10 convicted killers with two more are slated to die by lethal injection this week.
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March 6, 2009
UPDATED: Abbott under fire from Democratic legislator over voter ID
Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, asked a colleague today to look into alleged voter irregularities in a 2008 school board election in Progreso in South Texas—and also whether Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office failed to pass along its knowledge of the allegations in response to inquiries from Anchia and state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin.
Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, chairman of the House Committee on General Investigating & Ethics, said the panel would look into the matter. writing:
If our committee sees real evidence of voter impersonation in Hidalgo County, I will immediately forward it to the proper authorities for further investigation and prosecution. In addition, allegations that legislators and local prosecutors were kept in the dark about possibly bogus claims of voter impersonation are serious and will be pursued.
Abbott’s office said Friday night the allegations in question remain under investigation. Spokesman Jerry Strickland said they also were included in lists of referrals sent the lawmakers—though mistakenly under the name of another county (some heck of a typo, it appears).
Strickland said that “because of a clerical error, the Hidalgo County election fraud case referenced by Rep. Anchia was labeled as a Dickens County case. The clerical error was neither committed by an investigator, nor a lawyer—and is immaterial to the investigation or prosecution of this or any other case.”
Anchia’s alarm probably reflects intense watchfulness in advance of next week’s Texas Senate hearing on a proposal requiring Texas voters to present a photo ID or other self-identifying documents before voting. Republicans generally embrace the move as a step against election fraud; Democrats suspect the change is a backdoor move toward discouraging some oft Democratic-leaning elderly and minority voters, lacking photo IDs, from turning out.
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March 3, 2009
UPDATED: AT&T signs on to "air" Texas House proceedings, starting in April
Score a victory for state Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, who’s credited by AT&T for the company’s plans to put Texas House proceedings on its U-Verse video service for TV viewers around Texas. The service, which employs fiber-optic lines, is currently available in Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston, Austin and Lubbock, with Midland/Odessa lined up next, AT&T spokesman Kerry Hibbs said today.
Castro, as noted here last month, hopes to see both House and Senate floor debates cablecast statewide. He’s still hoping cable companies come around to picking up some of the costs of doing that — which were estimated by a Texas Cable Association representative at about $401,000 during testimony today.
UPDATE: Fetch the cable group’s breakdown of costs by clicking here.
AT&T, meantime, now plans to put House floor sessions on its Channel 99 starting in April. Hibbs said the company awaits the House’s formal OK to put gatherings on its fiber-optic system.
Castro said: “I wanted us to get our foot in the door. I don’t think we can wait for perfection. I am confident that we will make it work with the (other) cable companies.”
Unsaid: Castro probably bets on the cable companies ponying up some of the equipment and satellite signal costs, with the state possibly picking up some costs in the 2010-11 state budget.
Some 28 states televise their legislative sessions. (Austin cable customers have had access to channels showing House and Texas Senate sessions for years.)
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February 27, 2009
Dunnam: Stimulus bucks might slow budget a tad
State Rep. Jim Dunnam, the chairman of a special House committee studying the federal stimulus windfall, said this morning that working through the complexities of the fed bucks could possibly delay a House vote on a state budget by a little.
Even so, the Lege should be able to get everything worked out during the 180-day legislative session, he said.
“House BIll 1 probably won’t be to the floor in 90 days … but we’ll get our work done,” he told reporters during a morning briefing. He said it’s also possible the budget can be drafted and taken to the floor on time, if the drafting process keeps moving.
To make that happen, Dunnam’s panel will meet almost every day for the next three weeks — in hearings at the Capitol and out in Texas, and with a possible fact-finding trip to Washington — so the House can get its version of the budget together in time for a full debate.
No immediate word from House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, on how much, if any, delay he forsees with working out all the details of gettng the stimulus money merged into the state’s two-year spending plan.
So far, though, no one is even considering that s special legislative session may be necessary to get all the details worked out.
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February 26, 2009
Key chairman senses no conspiracy in parliamentarian's missing papers
The chairman of the House committee entrusted with looking into matters involving possibly criminal misbehavior said today he’s aware of hundreds of documents reported missing by the House parliamentarian—as reported here.
But Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville and chairman of the House Committee on General Investigating & Ethics, said he doesn’t sense a conspiracy afoot.
“We’ve got a lot of documents moving around this place,” he said, referring to the Capitol.
Hopson added that he’ll poll his committee members about the missing documents to see if they wish to look into the matter.
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February 25, 2009
Dutton asks Straus to reconsider ruling on swapping committees
State Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, today asked for a reconsideration of Speaker Joe Straus’ decision that House members are not allowed to switch committees.
Straus said House Parliamentarian Denise Davis will do some research and report back tomorrow.
Last week, state Rep. Joe Driver, R-Garland, wanted to trade his spot on the normally desirable Appropriations Committee, saying he’s “just not a numbers guy.” Waco Democrat Jim Dunnam raised the issue on the House floor, and Straus denied Dunnam’s request to allow a motion to consider letting members trade spots.
Since then, Dutton has taken up the cause. Today on the House floor, he asked Straus where in the rules it says House members can’t switch committees.
Straus responded: “The assignment of committees involves interpreting the rules.”
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Turner: Ensure state budget shows where stimulus money is going
House Appropriations Chairman Jim Pitts, R- Waxahachie, told members of the chamber today that he’s committed to ensuring that the state budget is transparent and shows how exactly Texas plans to spend money from the federal stimulus package.
But State Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, addressing Pitts on the House floor, said that he’s concerned that there won’t be such transparency if House members are forced to vote on the budget before two House panels monitoring the federal stimulus money have had time to complete their work and make recommendations.
Turner told Pitts that having House members vote on the appropriations bill before the committee completes its work and without House members knowing exactly where the stimulus money will go “does a disservice to every member of this House, to the people that they represent and to the state of Texas.”
Turner asked Pitts to commit to waiting until the committee’s work is done before bringing the bill to the House floor for a vote. But Pitts said he plans to bring the bill to the floor around Easter time because of timelines the House is required to follow for the state budget.
“We’re only here 140 days,” Pitts said.
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February 18, 2009
Speaker won't allow members to switch committees
Speaker Joe Straus won’t allow House members to switch committees, it was announced this afternoon.
“It’s never happened before and it’s not going to happen now,” said Angela Hale, the speaker’s communications director. “The committees are done.”
The unusual request came up on the House floor Wednesday.
Waco. Rep. Jim Dunnam, the leader of the House Democrats, asked whether Straus would recognize a motion to suspend the rules to consider letting members to trade spots on various committees.
It was unclear how many members might be looking to swap, but Garland Republican Joe Driver said he wanted off Appropriations.
“I’m just not a numbers guy,” he said. He said he didn’t ask for the assignment and the speaker’s office didn’t check with him before naming him to the budget-writing panel.
The brief exchange between Dunnam and Straus didn’t have the tension of last session when Dunnam frequently questioned then-Speaker Tom Craddick, but it hinted of some unhappiness among a handful of members with committee assignments.
Straus ran for speaker on a platform of empowering members. But allowing members to swap committee assignments would set a precedent and could create a domino effect.
“When you move one domino,” Hale said, “it could topple others.”
Dunnam insisted he’s not trying to challenge the new speaker.
“I know a number of members would like to switch (assignments),” he said. “The question is, if two-thirds of the body is willing to let two members do this, why not?”
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House Republicans elect officers
Texas House Republicans on Wednesday elected Rep. Larry Taylor of Friendswood as chairman of the their caucus.
Other officers are Geanie Morrison of Victoria, vice chair; Linda Harper-Borwn of Irving, treasurer; and Tan Parker of Flower Mound, secretary.
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House members want to trade assignments
Rep. Joe Driver has a coveted assignment to the House Appropriations Committee he’d like to give up.
“I’m just not a numbers guy,” the Garland Republican admitted. So Driver was surprised when Speaker Joe Straus named him to the budget-writing committee without checking with him first.
Driver would like to swap committee assignments with another member, but that became a sticking point Wednesday on the House floor.
In fact, it was almost like old times: Waco Rep. Jim Dunnam peppering the speaker with questions as he did last session when Rep. Tom Craddick was speaker.
Dunnam wanted to know if Straus would consider a motion to allow House members to trade committee assignments. It would take a two-thirds vote of the House to suspend the rules to allow the unusual proposition.
There was an implication that more people than Driver might take advantage of the do-over. How many was unclear.
Straus ran for speaker on a platform of empowering members. But allowing members to swap committee assignments could open up a Pandora’s Box.
Straus’ response to Dunnam echoed Craddick’s from last session when Dunnam was questioning whether Craddick would allow a motion to remove him from the leadership post.
“Not at this time,” Straus kept saying.
That may have bought the speaker some time to work on the issue behind-the-scenes.
“That was a short honeymoon,” cracked Rep. Harvey Hilderbran.
But the brief back-and-forth didn’t have the tension behind it that the old Dunnam-Craddick standoffs provided.
Dunnam insisted he’s not trying to challenge the new speaker.
“I know a number of members would like to switch (assignments),” he said. “The question is, if two-thirds of the body is willing to let two members do this, why not?”
Dunnam said he had heard that some of the committee assignments had been made by mistake.
If true, Dunnam said, “Let’s fix it.”
A do-over, however, would be unprecedented.
Straus had no immediate comment.
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February 12, 2009
No free lunch from lobbyists at Appropriations
Lobbyists will not be allowed to curry favor with Appropriations Committee members through barbecue and burgers, the newly minted chairman announced at a meeting Thursday afternoon.
Chairman Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, said lobbyists would not be permitted to provide food for the committee nor will food that is dropped off be accepted, Pitts said.
Instead, Pitts said he would provide meals if the committee worked through lunch or dinner.
He might need to add breakfast to that list since Pitts plans to begin hearings on Monday at 8 a.m.
First up, major budget drivers in education along with the conditions of the state’s pension and investment funds. The topics on Tuesday will be criminal justice and transportation.
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Centex Delegation's Committee Assignments
Valinda Bolton: County Affairs, Land & Resource Management, Local and Consent
Dawnna Dukes: Appropriations; Culture, Recreation & Tourism
Dan Gattis: Business & Industry; Technology, Economic Development & Workforce
Donna Howard: Culture, Recreation & Tourism (vice chair); Higher Education; House Administration
Tim Kleinschmidt: Agriculture and Livestock; Culture, Recreation & Tourism; and Rules & Resolutions
Diana Maldonado: State Affairs; Defense & Veteran Affairs
Elliott Naishtat: Human Services; Public Health (vice chair)
Eddie Rodriguez: Public Safety; Technology, Economic Development and Workforce
Patrick Rose: Human Services (chair); House Administration (vice chair); Higher Education
Mark Strama: Technology, Economic Development and Worforce (chair); Energy Resources
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House committee assignments official
Here are your key House committee assignments:
Speaker Pro Tempore: Rep. Craig Eiland, D-Galveston
Appropriations: Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie
State Affairs: Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton
Calendars: Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano
Higher Education: Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas
Public Education: Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands
Natural Resources: Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland
Human Services: Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs
Business and Industry: Rep. Joe Deshotel, D-Beaumont
Energy Resources: Rep. Jim Keffer, R-Eastland
Transportation: Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso
Environmental Regulation: Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana
Technology, Economic Development and Workforce: Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin
See the full list here.
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February 11, 2009
Speaker announces staff
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus today announced the appointment of new senior staff members.
Executive Staff:
Clyde Alexander, Chief of Staff: Alexander represented an East Texas district in the House as an Athens Democrat for 14 years, stepping down in 2003. Before assuming the Chief of Staff position, he served as a top adviser to the Speaker in the transition to the Speaker’s Office.
Lisa Kaufman, Director of Budget and Policy/General Counsel: Kaufman previously served as the General Counsel to State Senator Robert Duncan and Committee Director for the Senate State Affairs Committee for 10 years. Most recently, she briefly worked as the Executive Director and General Counsel for the Texas Civil Justice League.
Angela Hale, Director of Communications: Before joining the Speaker’s staff, Hale served as the Communications Director for Attorney General Greg Abbott. She is a former award-winning reporter who covered politics for a Dallas-Fort Worth area television station.
Jesse Ancira, General Counsel and Senior Tax Adviser: Ancira served as Director of Partner Relations and Tax Counsel for DuCharme, McMillen and Associates prior to being named General Counsel and was Associate Deputy Comptroller from 1998 to 2007.
Amy Chamberlain, Executive Assistant: Chamberlain formerly served as assistant to House Parliamentarian Denise Davis and Chief of Staff for Representative Jim Pitts. Her experience includes work with the Texas Judicial Council and Senate Jurisprudence Committee.
Senior Policy Advisors:
Shelly Botkin, Natural Resources
Janna Burleson, Criminal Justice
Craig Chick, Business and Regulatory
Jennifer Deegan, Health and Human Services
David Durden, Insurance
Meredyth Fowler, General Government
Andrea Sheridan, Education
Senior Budget Advisers: Andrew Blifford and David Kinsey
Also named by the speaker were: Fred Guerra, Press Secretary; Kevin Robnett, Deputy General Counsel; Julia Stribling, Director of Constituent Services; Ashley Kaden, Junior Policy Adviser; and Kari Torres, Special Legislative Assistant.
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February 6, 2009
Speaker strikes calmer tone on UT bonuses
Speaker Joe Straus today struck a different tone from other state leaders when discussing bonuses paid to the University of Texas Systems’ outside investment company.
He said Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst didn’t ask him to sign a letter questioning $3 million in bonuses paid to employees of the University of Texas Investment Management Co.
Straus said he hadn’t read the contract which called for bonuses based on performance.
“I don’t know what the deal is, but if the deal was to pay the guy a bonus for performance and he performed, then if you’re going to not follow through, don’t make those kind of deals in the future,” Straus said. “My first reaction is to kind of calm down, read the fine print, and see what is appropriate there.”
UT regent Robert Rowling, who also led the UTIMCO board, resigned both positions Thursday after withering criticism from state senators over the bonuses, including $1 million paid to UTIMCO CEO Bruce Zimmerman.
The bonuses, which were paid in November, were based on the performance of two investment funds during the year that ended June 30, before the financial markets tanked.
The Permanent University Fund posted a 2 percent gain and the General Endowment Fund gained 2.4 percent from July 2007 to June 2008.
Since then, the the funds have followed the markets down.
The $8.8 billion Permanent University Fund and the nearly $5 billion General Endowment Fund declined 27 percent during the 2008 calendar year. Zimmerman said U.S. public equity markets overall declined about 35 percent for the year.
Watch video from Straus’ media breakfast here.
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February 5, 2009
Mezzo-soprano, once targeted by House members, is celebrated
Barbara Smith Conrad of Texas, the African American mezzo-soprano whose presence in a University of Texas opera once stirred an outcry from white members of the Texas House, was celebrated by the House today. The event took place half a century after an East Texas legislator’s objections to her appearance in the UT production of “Dido and Aeneas” prompted the university to take her out of it—though she remained a university student.
Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, recapped the episode, saluting Conrad’s talent, skills and strength before adding: “We welcome you back to the Texas House of Representatives with open arms.”
Conrad answered an honorary resolution with warm words and by singing “Amazing Grace.”
Listen to her remarks and singing from the front of the House this morning here. Move to about the two-minute mark for the singing only.
“Y’all behave now,” Conrad said as she left the House. She’s due to be similarly honored in the Senate next week in the same resolution carried by Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin.
Read much more about her here. The resolution honoring her appears here.
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February 4, 2009
Speaker to host reporters
Speaker Joe Straus is hosting reporters for an informal breakfast Friday at the Speaker’s Capitol Apartment.
The event continues the new speaker’s attempts to change the tone after Tom Craddick’s six years as House leader.
Straus was elected by House members last month on a promise of empowering individual lawmakers, particularly committee chairs (which, by the way, are expected to be named late next week).
So far Straus has taken a low-key approach toward the news media. Friday’s session is to give him a chance to get to know the reporters better and exchange ideas about House coverage.
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Friendswood legislator seeking to be GOP caucus chairman
State Rep. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, seeks to succeed Rep. Frank Corte, R-San Antonio, as chairman of the party’s House caucus. His declaration, and an appeal for support, is landing in Republican members’ boxes today.
Taylor writes:
This session and the election cycle to follow are very important for our Party and for our cause. In order to be successful, we must be united, organized, and prepared to get our message to all Texans. It will require all of us utilizing our various talents and skills, and working together in a unified and coordinated effort. One person cannot do all these things alone, so my efforts will be directed towards putting together a team that will lead us into the next decade.
Separately, Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, told the American-Statesman’s Laylan Copelin today that he might run for caucus chairman. Gattis said he’ll wait until Speaker Joe Straus makes committee assignments before deciding whether to make the chairman’s bid.
Corte told caucus members last week he’s not seeking another two-year round as chairman. Like Taylor, he was aligned with former Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland. Taylor has stood out to me in past sessions as a staunch social conservative, especially against attempts to expand legalized gambling.
Fetch Taylor’s letter to members here.
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February 3, 2009
Speaker's circulation problem
Why was Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, seen flipping through a newspaper at the House podium after the chamber adjourned?
Straus said he’s unable to get his hometown paper, The San Antonio Express-News, in Austin, so when a San Antonio lawmaker brought him one this morning, he had to give it a quick look.
We think he went straight to the sports section.
With newspapers retrenching, few out-of-town newspapers circulate in the capital city.
And yes, we offered him a subscription to the Austin American-Statesman.
Straus said he already subscribes.
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House GOP Caucus looking for new leader
San Antonio Rep. Frank Corte confirmed today that he is not seeking re-election as chairman of the Texas House GOP caucus.
“It’s good to pass the baton around,” Corte said.
Corte said the fact that fellow San Antonio Rep. Joe Straus is speaker did not figure into his decision.
He said some people thought it would be good to have the speaker and the GOP caucus leader from San Antonio. Others thought Corte might be put in the awkward position of criticizing a member of his local delegation.
Corte said he’s interested in helping rebuilding the House GOP majority and thought he could do that better outside the caucus leadership.
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February 2, 2009
House wants statewide exposure
Ninety-seven Texas House members are asking Texas cable and satellite providers to televise legislative sessions statewide.
“This is the logical next step in making state government more transparent and accountable,” said Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio.
Here’s the letter and signatures.
Currently, only residents in Austin can view House proceedings on television. Other areas of Texas are limited to watching the House on the Internet.
At least 28 states broadcast their legislative proceedings statewide, Castro said.
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January 29, 2009
House committees: How late is late?
Texas Speaker Joe Straus told House members today to submit their committee preferences by Monday.
Straus will then tackle committee assignments.
The House traditionally takes longer to organize than the smaller Senate. This year the process may take longer than usual because Straus only became the presumed speaker eight days before the session started.
So how late a start are we talking about?
In 2003 and 2005, then-Speaker Tom Craddick named committees by the 17th day of the session. But he had the advantage in 2003 of knowing he was going to be speaker two months before the start of the session. In 2005, he was the incumbent speaker with no challenger.
The 2007 comparison might be fairer. Craddick survived a contested speaker’s race on the first day of the session. That delayed committee assignments until the 25th day.
Straus still has time. A week from Friday, Feb. 6, will be the 25th day of this session.
No official word yet on what is Straus’ personal deadline for naming committees.
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Craddick: The Happy Warrior
Anyone who expected former Speaker Tom Craddick to sulk after he lost the speakership doesn’t know the Midland Republican.
During Wednesday’s debate on the House rules, a jovial and relaxed Craddick moved among members, discussing the proposals.
Craddick has never been one to make speeches, but old allies huddled around their former leader, seeking advice. After all, who better to ask? Craddick’s 40 years in the House of Representatives makes the Midland Republican the most tenured member and one who has seen it all.
And, yes, politics does make strange bedfellows. Some members appeared suspicious when Waco Rep. Jim Dunnam, the leader of the House Democratic Caucus and frequent thorn in Craddick’s side, urged the House to designate one committee to request any money available from the federal stimulus package.
Craddick supported Dunnam’s effort and urged others to vote for it.
Near the end of a long day of debate, Craddick visited with his successor, Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, on the House floor.
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January 28, 2009
Voter ID rule may come up in House today
A House rule is pending that would be pay back to Senate Republicans who exempted voter ID from that chamber’s two-thirds procedural rule.
The House rule has not been offered yet, but it reportedly would say the House would not vote on any bill that cleared the Senate without a two-thirds procedural vote until the appropriations conference committee report is done.
The Senate began this legislative session by exempting Voter ID from the longtime tradition of requiring two-thirds of the senators to agree to debate a bill.
Speaker Joe Straus is negotiating with House Democrats to prevent a showdown over the proposal.
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House: First squabble represents 'democracy'
The Texas House rolled over Rep. Burt Solomons, the speaker’s point man on the rules, this afternoon.
The chamber refused, by a vote of 82-65, to stop an amendment by Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, which moved the issue of electric and telecommunications into the State Affairs Committee.
Last session that vote would have been interpreted as a repudiation of then-Speaker Tom Craddick, but members quickly said today’s vote is just a reflection of the House exercising its will.
“I think this may be the new normal,” said Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, echoing several other members. “It’s not a referendum on the speaker. It’s an expression of the will of the House.”
Speaker Joe Straus has promised to give members greater say. But he had approved Solomons’ approach on the rules before the debate began.
Solomons initially suggested eliminating the Regulated Industries Committee, spreading the electric and telecommunication issues over several committees.
He compromised after the House objected behind the scenes.
But Solomons argued that Turner’s amendment went too far, tying the speaker’s hands on where he could refer the bills.
Turner and others disputed that, saying bills dealing with renewable energy, for example, could be sent to the Environmental or Energy committees.
The vote reflected an unusual coalition. Waco Rep. Jim Dunnam, the leader of the Democratic Caucus, and Weatherford Rep. Phil King, a Republican who had chaired Regulated Industries, were on the same side (moving electricity and telecommunications bills into State Affairs.)
It split the Central Texas delegation.
Strama, Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, Donna Howard, D-Austin, and Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, voted with Solomons.
On the other side: Austin Reps. Valinda Bolton, Dawnna Dukes, Elliott Naishtat, Eddie Rodriguez, all Democrats, as well as Diana Maldonado, D-Round Rock, and Tim Kleinschmidt, R-Lexington.
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House rolling back some rule changes
The Texas House seems poised to roll back some of its original rule proposals.
The State Affairs committee will return as a major committee with 15 members and the primary jurisdiction over the telecommunications and electrical power industries. The original proposal by Rep. Burt Solomons had scattered the issues over several committees when Regulated Industries was eliminated.
The Texas Youth Commission will be moved back under a renamed Corrections and Public Safety Committee.
Solomons also clarified how legislation will be handled when it is returned to the House with Senate amendments that might not be germane to the bill’s topic. He said the speaker will return the bill to the Senate with permission of the author or the full House.
Some members had worried that the speaker, in effect, could kill legislation if the House did not have a say in the matter.
The House broke for lunch until 1 p.m. as they wait for more amendments to be drafted for Solomon’s main floor amendment.
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January 27, 2009
House rules: Straus' first test
Speaker Joe Straus has his first test Wednesday.
It will be Rep. Burt Solomons at the front microphone, but the rules he’s proposing were approved by the speaker.
Judging by reaction at Tuesday’s closed-door session on rules, Wednesday’s debate could be a test of the Straus honeymoon. It’s also a test of the gumption of the opponents.
Questions were raised in the closed-door session about splitting up the duties of Regulated Industries over several committees. Speculation — fueled by envy — is that Solomons may be chairman of Business and Industry where some of the key business of Regulated Industries could come to rest.
There’s another issue: Why should the speaker be able to reject legislation with Senate amendments that are not germane? Some members fear that tactic could be used to kill bills without House input.
In the past, the House had the choice of appointing a conference committee or not.
Discussions are continuing Tuesday night. It may still be worked out. But don’t be surprised if the rules debate takes longer than it should.
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New push: Keep TYC under Corrections
Late word this evening of a push by House Democrats and some Republicans to keep the Texas Youth Commission under the jurisdiction of the House Corrections Committee.
Proposed House rules slated for debate tomorrow would have moved the troubled agency under the oversight of a new Juvenile Justice Committee, instead of Corrections which has been holding Youth Commission officials’ feet to the fire about reforms.
Agency officials have bridled at the continuing oversight.
At a meeting this afternoon, most House Democrats are reported to have supported keeping the agency under Corrections, along with the state’s other juvenile corrections programs such as the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission.
Instead of having a Juvenile Justice Committee, a Public Safety Committee is being supported to have oversight over state law enforcement agencies.
No word on whether the new push has enough votes to get the proposed House rules changed before they are adopted tomorrow.
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January 26, 2009
House committee change moves TYC
Proposed changes in House committees to be unveiled this afternoon would silence one primary critic of continuing management miscues at the Texas Youth Commission.
Under the change, the House Corrections committee would lose its authority over the Youth Commission. It would be moved to a new Juvenile Justice Committee, which would also oversee the Office of Independent Ombudsman.
In the past two years since a sex-abuse and coverup scandal, the Corrections Committee has pressed Youth Commission officials hard to fully implement reforms — too hard, agency officials have complained. They have continued to drag their feet at being held accountable for continuing problems, committee members and staffers have countered.
The change comes as the Sunset Advisory Commission recently recommended a merger of the Youth Commission and the state Juvenile Probation Commission, a change that both agencies — and some aides to Gov. Rick Perry — have opposed.
With Perry’s reelection ginning up for 2010, he’s not looking for continued headlines from an agency he wants to claim he’s fixed.
By ending the Corrections Committee’s authority over the Youth Commission, the agency could perhaps get an easier ride in the House this session. But that won’t help in the Senate, where the Criminal Justice Committee appears to want to keep the heat on the Youth Commission.
Opponents of the change say it is reprisal for Corrections Committee members, especially Chairman Jerry Madden, R-Richardson, demanding continued accountability from Youth Commission officials.
Supporters claim Madden and others have pushed too hard and should get the boot. Word is circulating fast and furious this afternoon that Madden, a longtime supporter of deposed House Speaker Tom Craddick, may get the boot as chairman of House Corrections.
Several potential problems with the House change, its opponents say: It proposes allowing both the Juvenile Justice and Corrections Committees to have oversight over the Special Prosecution Unit, and it will leave the Corrections Committee involved at some level, because members of the Corrections Committee serve on the new Senate-House Criminal Justice Legislative Oversight Committee.
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Motorcyclists descend on Capitol
About 2,000 motorcyclists from across Texas rode to the Capitol today to speak with their lawmakers about key legislative issues.
At 1 p.m. fellow biker and Rep. Norma Chavez, D-El Paso, will read a resolution in the House honoring motorcyclists and their work with the Legislature. This is the eighth time the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association has held its legislative day.
Among the association’s top issues:
— Maintaining a separate fund for motorcycle education. Bikers pay an extra $8 for their license plate renewal, a fee that is supposed to be earmarked for teaching motorcycle safety, said Sputnik, founder and chair of the motorcycle organization. For about four years, the money has been funneled into a general fund instead, he said, and bikers are owed about $8 million for rider education.
— Toughening failure to yield citations. Inattentive drivers face a $25 failure to yield ticket when they strike motorcyclists, bicyclists or pedestrians, Sputnik said. While motorcyclists will lobby for bills that will ban cell phone use while driving, they also want to see stiffer punishments for failure to yield. “We want them to have to pay so they remember it,” Sputnik said.
— Blocking the sobriety checkpoint bill. In the past three sessions, lawmakers have stopped a bill that would allow police officers to search people and their vehicles after being pulled over at checkpoints to catch drunken drivers. The bill will reappear this year under a new name, but still “it’s an open search warrant,” Sputnik said.
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Fewer committees under proposed House rules
There are five fewer committees in the Texas House under the proposed new rules.
Government Reform is merged into State Affairs; Judiciary into Civil Jurisprudence; Law Enforcement into Criminal Jurisprudence and Law Enforcement; Local Government Ways and Means into Ways and Means; and Pensions and Investments is merged into Financial Services and Pensions.
Regulated Industries was eliminated and its duties spread over five committees. A new committee, Technology and Workforce Training, was created.
There will be 35 committees instead of the previous 40.
Several committees will have more members.
The important Appropriations Committee will have 29 members, up from 27. Calendars will grow from 11 to 13. State Affairs and Ways and Means will increase from 9 to 11 members.
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House rules address absolute authority
The kind of stand-off that occurred between then-Speaker Tom Craddick and the Texas House is unlikely to happen again under a draft of new House rules.
The rules are expected to be discussed by House members behind closed doors on Tuesday afternoon and debated publicly on Wednesday.
One provision addresses the so-called ‘absolute authority’ issue.
In 2007, Craddick refused to allow a vote on a motion to remove him. Under this draft, it makes it clear that such a motion is privileged and should be considered. If a speaker still refuses, the member can appeal to the full House by gathering 76 signatures.
Other rule highlights include the return of seniority to the Appropriations Committee. Craddick did not allow senior House members to use their seniority pick to become members that important committee.
Also, if a vacancy occurs in the parliamentarian’s office, a majority of the House must approve the replacement if the Legislature is in session. That addresses Craddick’s surprise appointment of former Rep. Terry Keel after Parliamentarian Denise Davis quit over the absolute authority controversy during the final days of the 2007 legislative session.
The rules also would make it harder to kill a bill on a point of order unless an analysis by the Texas Legislative Council is materially or substantially misleading.
These changes are included in an abbreviated version of the House rules circulated Friday by Rep. Burt Solomons. He said he intends to file the full resolution later this morning.
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January 22, 2009
House to take up rules on Wednesday
The Texas House has scheduled the vote on its rules for Wednesday.
Lobbyists and members are waiting to see how Speaker Joe Straus will restructure the committees in the rules.
Rep. Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, has taken the lead on developing the rules. He expects to file them for public viewing Monday morning.
The rest of the week’s schedule: House returns at 1 p.m. Monday. Convene Tuesday to hear Gov. Rick Perry give his State of the State address to a joint session.
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January 14, 2009
House warning on Senate rules
It may be all peace and goodwill in the House, but some members of the lower chamber are feeling feisty about what the Senate is doing.
If the Senate really eliminates the two-thirds rule to take up voter ID and redistricting, then the House might retaliate with its own three-fifth rule.
In other words, the House rules could be written to require a three-fifths vote to get a bill on those topics out of committee or through the Calendars Committee.
Waco Rep. Jim Dunnam, the leader of the House Democratic Caucus, said a rule change is a real possibility if the Senate “thinks voter ID and redistricting are the two most important issues in Texas right now.”
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January 13, 2009
Tweet off at high noon
Mike Ward and I will be Tweeting proceedings as the session opens in the Senate and House, respectively. Watch it at statesman.com/virtualcapitol or chase us individually through Twitter.com. I’m under gardnerselby and Ward is under mikestatesman.
Can someone win a Tweet-Off?
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Session's start means babies, food and drink
The start of a legislative session can feel like a fresh beginning for many reasons.
This morning, for instance, San Antonio Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer’s office seemed like the place to start a stroll around the Capitol. He and his wife, Elizabeth Provencio, are new proud parents of Francesca Maria Provencio Fischer, who was born two Sundays ago.
Fischer’s staff smartly lined up four photos featuring one of the state’s youngest constituents. Framed pix sit just inside the door of Fischer’s office in the Capitol Extension.
Here’s one:
But opening day is also all about eating with the folks who voted you into office. Nearly every member makes arrangements for food to be available to visitors.
This morning, Cynthia Ann Carrizales in Rep. Joaquin Castro’s office watched over a desk covered with sandwiches and sweets. She estimated Castro spent $800 or so on the spread, available to anyone dropping by.
Here she is with the spread:
I spotted Rep. Mike Villarreal walking into his office, where he was greeted by visitors from his hometown San Antonio school district.
The visitors were passing out a 16-point priorities’ list. (Sixteen points!).
“You’ve got to keep asking,” said Carmen Vazquez-Gonzalez, the district’s executive director of governmental and community relations. “Eventually you’ll get it.”
Below, Villarreal (back to camera) hugs two board members:
Amid the food spread around member offices, there’s always something to sip. I spotted a carton-carrying fellow representing political consultant Bryan Eppstein who said he was delivering bottles of champagne to selected House members and senators.
A closer look at his liquid goods:
Soon the House and Senate will get down to business. The public is invited.
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Hale expected to be Straus spokeswoman
Angela Hale, the communications director for Attorney General Greg Abbott, is expected to take a similar job with Speaker-apparent Joe Straus, according to a source on the Straus transition.
Hale did not return a phone call this morning seeking comment.
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January 8, 2009
Davis may be poised to return to Texas House
In what could be seen as a poke in the eye to soon-to-depart House Speaker Tom Craddick, Austin lawyer Denise Davis looks poised to return to the Capitol at the request of incoming Speaker Joe Straus. Most likely, though, the move won’t be finalized until he’s elected speaker at the start of the session Tuesday.
Nobody’s talking about it officially, but I heard from an authoritative source today that she’s expecting to help Straus grow into the leadership post, meaning a stay at least through the 140-day session; she’s already helping him make the transition.
I’m told she’ll probably be filling the advisory job she gave up toward the end of the 2007 legislative session—House parliamentarian.
Memorably, Davis resigned that job suddenly toward the end of the session after advising Craddick that she believed House rules and state law did not give him absolute power to recognize House motions for a floor vote on his leadership. Davis, now on leave from working in the Austin office of Baker Botts, has not spoken publicly about her departure.
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December 21, 2008
State representative loses brother, nephew in fishing accident
Staffers for state Rep. Roberto R. Alonzo, D-Dallas, today announced that two of the representatives family members — older brother 58-year-old Ramon Alonzo and 4-year-old nephew Elisha T. Alonzo — have died.
According to a statement released Sunday, they were on a family fishing trip Saturday in Crystal City. Ramon Alonzo jumped in the water after his 4-year-old grandson accidently fell in. Both drowned.
Funeral services were pending Sunday evening.
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December 11, 2008
Gattis files method to remove speaker
Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, is filing a constitutional proposition that would allow for the removal of a House speaker.
Last session the House erupted over Speaker Tom Craddick’s refusal to recognize a motion to remove him. The issue has simmered since then and is one of the undercurrents in the current speaker’s race.
The proposition by Gattis would require 100 House members to agree to remove a speaker instead of just a 76-member majority.
Gattis said his proposal tries to straddle two concerns: Making the hurdle high enough to avoid a continuous speaker fight but also preventing the kind of standoff that occurred last year when Craddick refused to recognize the motion.
“We don’t want a speaker-of-the-week,” Gattis said. On the other hand, “You could have a speaker who shut down the process.”
Gattis, who says he’s uncommitted in this year’s speaker’s race, said a constitutional amendment is necessary instead of just addressing it in the House rules which can change every two years.
“When the wind changes,” Gattis said, “it wouldn’t change.”
Craddick’s re-election is being challenged by 11 candidates so far.
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December 5, 2008
Central Texas freshman legislator lands last in seniority
Attorney Tim Kleinschmidt of Lexington, a Republican elected to the Texas House last month, sustained a rookie setback this week when he landed last in seniority among 17 incoming members who haven’t served in the House before.
Punch line: Kleinschmidt will get last pick among the newbies when it comes to office space, desks on the House floor and parking.
Diana Maldonado, elected to the House from Williamson County, didn’t fare much better. She’s third-to-last among the new members in seniority.
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November 4, 2008
Two races that must make Craddick nervous
Two surprises in early returns in state House races:
Kristi Thibaut is beating Rep. Jim Murphy by about 1,000 votes in Houston.
Rep. Linda Harper-Brown is losing by about 700 votes in the Dallas area.
If Republicans lose either or both of these seats, it’s very bad news for Speaker Tom Craddick.
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September 18, 2008
Houston legislator with flooded district slates Austin fundraiser
I wrote in today’s newspaper about some candidates for state office postponing fundraisers due to Hurricane Ike. Houston Rep. John Davis, a Republican seeking re-election against Democrat Sherrie Matula, isn’t yet one of them.
Davis intends to stick with plans for a fundraiser Oct. 7 at the Austin Club near the Capitol, his consultant said today, though that could change in light of Hurricane Ike.
Matula has similarly hoped to have an October fundraiser in Austin, though her campaign manager said today that plan is on hold at least through this week.
The consultant, Allen Blakemore, said that because campaigns and fundraising are compromised in the Houston area by Ike fallout, candidates need events in other cities to prepare for the Nov. 4 election.
Blakemore said Davis has been focused lately on making sure supplies are delivered to constituents in low-lying communities hard hit by the hurricane.
Davis’s district takes in all of part of the Clear Lake area, Taylor Lake Village, Seabrook, Shoreacres, El Lago, League City, Nassau Bay, Pasadena, Webster, Friendswood and La Porte.
“He had a lot of flooding,” Blakemore said. “And most of his district is without power and has still a lot of flooding and cleanup work to be done.”
Generally, Blakemore said, “you’re going to see folks from the Houston area looking to other parts of the state to do campaign fundraising… With little ability to raise funds in the district, with campaign activities in the district and throughout Houston suspended, you have to look elsewhere — and Austin is a logical place to look.”
Martha Griffin, Matula’s campaign manager, said the challenger has shut down fundraising and campaigning this week, though the Democrat has intended to hold an Oct. 2 fundraiser in Austin.
Griffin stressed that unlike Davis, Matula has not sent out invitations to the October event. She said Matula is also not hunting sponsors at this time.
Griffin said the campaign will revisit political plans next week.
Griffin said: “It seems irresponsible for Davis to be going ahead with a fundraiser that’s sponsored by lobbyists at the same time his district is flooded, we have widespread power outages and frankly, nobody we know has heard from John Davis in terms of helping the community.”
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September 5, 2008
Rep. Berman considering running for governor
State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said today that he’ll run for governor at the end of the 2009 legislative session if he doesn’t succeed in passing legislation targeting illegal immigrants.
“If we can’t get anything done next session because it’s blocked, I will run for governor at the end of the session,” he said in an phone interview from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, where he landed early this evening after attending the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.
Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office today released a document showing Berman has requested Abbott’s official opinion on whether a House member would lose his seat if he announces his candidacy for governor during the first year of a two-year term.
Berman said he wants to keep his House seat and that if Abbott rules that he would have to give up his seat to run for governor, that would factor into his decision whether to run.
Berman would like to penalize employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. He’s also proposing a surcharge on money wired to Mexico.
“We have almost two million illegal aliens in Texas and no one’s doing anything about it,” Berman said. “A lot of people are very concerned, including myself. It’s costing Texans $4 billion a year and we think something needs to be done.”
The cost of illegal immigration is disputed; for example, a state comptroller’s report said undocumented immigrants added $17.7 billion to the gross state product in 2005.
During the 2007 legislative session, a package of anti-illegal immigration bills by Berman and other Republicans died in the House State Affairs committee. Chairman David Swinford, R-Dumas, said after meeting with lawyers from Abbott’s office that at least 20 bills were either unconstitutional or trumped by federal law.
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August 21, 2008
Naishtat challenger drops out
Jim Hasik, the Republican candidate for House District 49, has dropped out of the race, GOP officials said today.
Hasik, who was challenging incumbent Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, “withdrew due to personal reasons,” said Hans Klingler, spokesman for the Republican Party of Texas.
Tina Benkiser, chairman of the state party, will not replace Hasik, Klingler said.
Hasik was not immediately available for comment.
No Libertarian is running for the seat, so Hasik’s withdrawal leaves Naishtat without an opponent.
Blogger Mean Rachel poked fun of Naishtat recently for not having a campaign Web site. (He replied to her that a Web site is “obviously long overdue.”)
But now that he has no opponent, maybe his transition to the modern age has become a bit less urgent.
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July 31, 2008
Rep. Delisi steps down early
State Rep. Dianne White Delisi, a Temple Republican who is not seeking re-election, resigned today.
“I resign my seat to District 55 Texas House of Representatives effective July 31, 2008,” she told Gov. Rick Perry in a letter today. “Governor, over the years, I have admired your leadership to Texas … Best wishes to you and Anita in future years.”
Delisi, chairwoman of the House Committee on Public Health, said she is pursuing several new opportunities, including a position at Delisi Communications (her son Ted and daughter-in-law Deirdre’s firm).
She said she spent today packing up her office, feeling “gratified, thankful and a bit wistful” after 18 years in the House.
“I’m excited about the future,” she said. “Politics is always about the future, so that’s really been my life.”
Delisi’s term would have ended in January with the swearing-in of the new representative elected in November.
Instead, Gov. Rick Perry will call a special election to fill Delisi’s seat for the rest of her term, gubernatorial spokeswoman Allison Castle said; it will take place along with the general election in November.
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July 17, 2008
Naishtat challenger fails to raise funds
State Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, is the fundraising leader in the House District 49 race — but that may not be saying much.
Naishtat raised $2,125 between January and June, spent $25,450 and had $218,409 on hand, according to the latest campaign finance reports. He has represented House District 49 since 1991.
Republican challenger Jim Hasik has raised $0 since January, spent $8 and has $0 on hand.
No Libertarian is running for the seat.
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Howard leads Waggoner in fundraising
State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, has a big financial advantage over Republican challenger Pam Waggoner, the latest campaign finance reports show.
Howard, who has represented District 48 since 2006, raised $89,915 between January and June and had $160,869 on hand as of June 30. A former nurse and Eanes school board member, Howard’s committee assignments include a post on the House Higher Education Committee.
Waggoner, who defeated Dr. Joe Donnelly in the Republican primary, raised $9,631 in the same period and had $11,266 on hand at the end of last month. She owns an insurance company and is a former Leander school trustee.
Libertarian candidate Ben Easton has not raised or spent any money and has $0 on hand.
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July 2, 2008
Dukes recovering from surgery
State Rep. Dawnna Dukes, an Austin Democrat, is recovering from surgery she had on Monday morning at Seton Hospital, her office said today.
Dukes had a laparoscopic myomectomy and a hysteroscopic myomectomy. A myomectomy is the removal of fibroids in the uterus. It is an alternative to a hysterectomy, the removal of the uterus.
“She expects a full and complete recovery prior to the next legislative session,” a statement from Dukes’ office said. Dukes was released from the hospital Monday afternoon.
The statement said that the procedures were scheduled “during a time period that would have the least amount of negative impact on her legislative duties.”
In 1997, the Legislature passed a bill by Dukes that requires patients to be informed of the risks of a hysterectomy.
Want to send a card? Here’s her address: P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX, 78768
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June 11, 2008
Party for Waggoner to be held at former opponent's home
Hillary Rodham Clinton is backing her former rival for the Democratic nomination for president, Barack Obama, and here in Central Texas a couple of Republican former opponents for a state House seat are sticking together.
A party this weekend for House District 48 candidate Pam Waggoner will be held at the home of her former rival in the Republican primary, Dr. Joe Donnelly.
Donnelly, who lost to Waggoner in March, sent out an Evite for an event he called “Meet and Greet Pam Waggoner.”
“Joe, you are too kind,” Waggoner wrote in an Evite post showing she will attend. “I look forward to the evening.”
Waggoner, who lost her Leander school board seat last month, will face incumbent state Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, in the House race this fall.
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May 22, 2008
Payroll padding 'theft'
A Dallas lawmaker angry over the “ghost employee” scandal in the Texas House is providing the latest ante in the growing political fight.
In a letter today to the Employees Retirement System of Texas, Rep. Jim Jackson, R-Dallas, seeks a list of all former state elected officials who “who after leaving office were listed as full-time employees with any state agency” that makes them eligible to pad their legislative pension benefits.
Under current state law, former lawmakers and other elected officials who are members of the so-called “elected class” can count work they do for state agencies — and the Legislature itself — in boosting up their state pension.
Retirement pay for the “elected class” is not based on their actual salary, but on the six-figure salaries of state district judges. Lawmakers make only $600 a month.
Writes Jackson: “This is not a political issue, but an ethical one. This is not about pay, but about principle. Employees and elected officials receive very different retirement benefits, and elected officials should not be able to transfer their benefits back and forth when the rest of the 200,000 state employees and retirees cannot.
“A former elected official should not be able to to accrue retirement benefits in the elected class when not holding office.”
In the two-page letter, Jackson also blasts a new way for allowing former lawmakers who are on the House payroll to accrue additional service time to increase their pensions — the so-called “on call” designation that several lawmakers have reclassified full-time employees who were putting in far-fewer hours.
Of the “on-call” classification — which House officials said does not officially exist — Jackson minced few words:
“This despicable practice lines the pockets of undeserving former members who continue to build their pension yet perform little or no work … Whether or not this ‘ghost worker’ issue has been a longstanding practice of the House or is a member-to-member courtesy is irrelevant to me; it is unfair and wrong for elected officials to receive this kind of undeserved benefit
“This practice amounts to little more than theft.”
Look for this latest development to spur new political jockeying in the already fractuous House.
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'Ghost worker' hearing short
The House General Investigating and Ethics Committee made short work of a scheduled hearing on the issue of ‘ghost workers’ being employed by lawmakers.
Starting 20 minutes late, Committee Chairman Larry Phillips, R-Sherman, gaveled the hearing open and then adjourned almost immediately so as not to interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation by the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.
Before ending the session, though, Phillips noted the legal authority for the committee to investigate the matter — which he said has “called into question the integrity of the House of Representatives” — and to note that House Speaker Tom Craddick’s office does not review or receive copies of personnel forms, as some lawmakers had earlier claimed.
He also said the status of House internship programs should not be affected, because interns are not “ghost workers,” just low-paid employees.
Flanked by the other two committee members who showed up — Reps. Kevin Bailey, D-Houston, and Ken Paxton, R-McKinney — Phillips said he anticipates the panel will take the lead in changing House rules and even state law to ensure that “ghost workers” never show up on the House payroll again.
Controversy over the “ghosts” began a month ago after the Austin American-Statesman disclosed that at least three lawmakers had full-time employees on their staffs who were working only a few hours a month — including two former lawmakers.
Today’s abbreviated hearing came after the Travis County prosecutors issued a warning letter Wednesday to the House Civil Practices Committee, which on Monday had initiated its own probe into the matter — even though one of its employees was one of those named in the Statesman report.
In the letter, Gregg Cox, director of the DA’s Public Integrity Unit, cautioned the committee not to interfere with the ongoing criminal investigation. Under state law, anyone who would testify or provide documents to a legislative committee while claiming that the information could incriminate them could not prosecuted for a crime.
After receiving the letter, the Civil Practices Committee agreed not to do anything in its inquiry that could compromise the DA’s investigation. Phillips said he has also talked to the DA’s office.
“There’s not going to be any interference from this committee,” he said. “We are recessed subject to the call of the chair. Right now, I’m not sure when we’ll get back together.”
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May 21, 2008
House job reforms urged
Three lawmakers targeted by investigators for allegedly having “ghost employees” on their payrolls on Wednesday proposed significant reforms in Texas House employment rules — including a ban on former lawmakers who have been working low-level jobs to gain a lucrative legislative retirement.
In a public letter to all their colleagues, Reps. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco; Garnet Coleman, D-Houston and Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, proposed a change in House rules requiring all full-time House employees to work full-time.
“No member of the elected class (i.e. elected officials and former elected officials and others designated as such) shall be eligible for retirement accrual within that retirement class (this would apply to all State agencies) unless they are then holding a State elected position,” the letter states.
In addition, a new job designation of “on-call” should be created for part-time workers who work only when called upon by lawmakers; overtime, vacation and sick leave would be accounted for on a monthly basis for the first time, and “no full-time employees shall be permitted any outside employment … “
The last proposal could create a problem for House Parliamentarian Terry Keel, among others, who currently have other jobs.
In the letter, the three lawmakers also blasted plans by the House General Investigating Committee to hold a closed-door hearing Thursday on the “ghost employee” issue. “Secret meetings blind the public to the workings of their government,” the letter states, objecting “in the strongest possible terms to sinister ‘star chamber’ proceedings that deny public access.”
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April 24, 2008
UPDATED: Arrangements for Lena Guerrero
Robert Earley, who was Lena Guerrero’s deskmate when they both served in the Texas House, has relayed the funeral arrangements for the former Travis County legislator:
Public visitation with the family is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday at Mission Funeral Home, 6204 S. First St. in Austin, with a rosary to follow at 7:30 p.m. in the funeral home’s Serenity Chapel.
A Mass is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday—this is an updated time—at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 1206 E. Ninth St., followed by internment at the Texas State Cemetery. There will be a reception at the cemetery after that.
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Lena Guerrero dies
Lena Guerrero of Austin died Wednesday night in her sleep, a close family friend, Tom Duffy, said early Thursday. The former Texas House member and appointee to the Texas Railroad Commission was 50.
Guerrero was the youngest-ever president of the Young Democrats of Texas at age 21. She won election to the House in 1984 and served as an Austin representative until 1991. Energetic and intellectually curious, she quickly became a player on many fronts.
In January 1991, Gov. Ann Richards appointed Guerrero as the first Hispanic and first woman on the Texas Railroad Commission, targeting her for higher statewide office.
But Guerrero’s aspirations melted down when, while seeking election to the commission seat, she was forced to admit she had lied about having a University of Texas degree. Republican Barry Williamson easily defeated her.
Guerrero, one of several Texas Hispanic leaders who saw their promising political careers dissolve in the same generation, later called it a “pretty loaded question” when asked to analyze the effect of the Hispanic leaders’ falls from grace. (Former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros and Former Texas Attorney General Dan Morales were undone by criminal charges while in office, Cisneros for lying to the FBI about payments he made to a mistress and Morales for steering money from a lucrative state settlement with tobacco companies to a lawyer-friend.)
“I think that you ought to expect the first layer of Latinos to be overly reviewed, to be highly at the front of the effort to be questioned excessively,” Guerrero said. “If any of us had done a number of the things that some of these other people — Democratic or Republican people — have done, we would have not been treated alike and have not been treated alike.”
Guerrero, speaking in 2000, three years after surgery for removal of two malignant brain tumors, looked forward, not back.
“What happened to Lena Guerrero is not nearly as important as what are we doing to grow Latinos and Latinas who can run and win and serve in public office and be leaders,” she said. “I don’t think we are spending enough time cultivating them.”
Permalink | Comments (150) | Post your comment Categories: Comings and goings, Democratic politics, House, Texas Railroad Commission
April 9, 2008
Speaker candidates give through Parent PAC
Your blogger is now paid to follow the circus in Washington and not Austin, but as any good addict will tell you, it’s hard to stop paying attention to Texas House races. So indulge me.
I was reading about Tuesday’s runoff this morning on Burkablog and thought that Paul had an interesting, and accurate, observation. The folks who are considered public education advocates are not having a good election year, and certainly not compared to the monster year they had in 2006.
I went to check on the latest financial report from Texas Parent PAC, the group that is largely funded by H-E-B’s Charles Butt and that has been highly critical of the way the state’s leadership has handled public education, on issues ranging from vouchers to teacher pay. The PAC did not appear to play in Tuesday’s runoffs, which were all on the Republican side.
But they did play in the March 4 primaries. And their most recent report indicates that their funders include several House members who are running for speaker, including Jim Pitts, Byron Cook and Jim Keffer. This money was used to help some incumbents but also some challengers to Republican incumbents.
I’m no lawyer, but I’m wondering how this is different from Speaker Tom Craddick’s giving to the Texas Jobs and Opportunity Build a Secure Future PAC earlier in the primaries, which delivered big checks to several incumbents who are friendly to Craddick. Craddick’s check is the subject of a complaint filed by Texans for Public Justice, which says Craddick violated a state law that prohibits a speaker candidate from trying to aid his candidacy by financing the campaigns of other House candidates. That complaint was also the subject of a front-page story in the Statesman.
Here are a few differences that I see: First, Craddick gave from his campaign to the Jobs PAC, while the other speaker candidates gave their own money to Parent PAC. Second, he gave in much larger amounts — while they were writing checks to the tune of $5,000, Craddick was writing them for $250,000 from his campaign. Also, the Jobs PAC had been dormant for many months before Craddick and a few allies stepped in, while Parent PAC has been a much more steady, active PAC over the last few years.
Still, it is surprising that, considering it’s supposedly a taboo for House members to campaign against each other, that the Parent PAC contributions have not received more attention.
Please, tell me in comments: What other differences am I missing?
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March 5, 2008
Dippel wins in a blowout in Dist. 17 race
In the Democratic primary to fill the House District 17 seat, La Grange agriculture consultant Donnie Dippel outdistanced Bastrop resident Latreese Cooke.
Final tally: Dippel 68 percent, Cooke 38 percent.
Dippel will now face Lexington lawyer-rancher Tim Kleinschmidt in the November genereal election, to see who replaces rice farmer Robby Cook in the House.
