I’m breathing a huge sigh of relief today. Perry’s vetoes did very little damage to the record of the 83rd Legislature. The veto of the Lilly Ledbetter Act was odd, coming at a time when Republicans are supposedly trying to strengthen their support among women, but whatever they might have achieved here in a positive direction was probably negated by the abortion fight in the special session.
The veto of the Ethics Commission Sunset Act was ridiculous. This is the kind of thing that drives me crazy about Perry. Why didn’t he just sign it and embrace it as his own? Dennis Bonnen did the best work he has done in years on that bill, with an assist from Charlie Geren. I think Perry vetoed it because of the “resign to run” requirement of railroad commissioners. Not good for Dan Branch.
No one should be surprised at Perry’s veto of SB 15, an attempt to rein in the UT regents that was destined for a quick kill. I can’t account for his veto of HB 3085, which sought to regulate wreckage and salvage yards in part of Harris County.
It’s what didn’t happen that we should all be grateful for. After grumbling that the budget spent too much money on education, Perry didn’t touch the restoration of the education cuts of 2011. I suppose it would have looked pretty silly if he had cut education funding after he had signed HB 5. Grade: A minus.
AP Photo | Austin American-Statesman, Ralph Barrera
