It’s hard to say which was the bigger surprise about the Senate’s support for a bill declaring a two-year moratorium on the Trans-Texas Corridor: that 24 of the 31 senators signed on, or that the bill’s sponsor is former highway commissioner Robert Nichols. The only senators who did not support
In “Cuckoo’s Nest Revisited,” which I posted yesterday, I wrote that Rick Perry’s office had a copy of the Texas Rangers report on the TYC abuse allegations for over a year and did nothing. My source was Senator Juan Hinojosa, who held hearings about the TYC scandal. Today, following a
Why is the House (soon to be followed by the Senate) so determined to impose the death penalty for repeat sexual assault offenders? It’s good politics, of course, but is it worth the risk of giving sexual predators a reason to kill their victims, and of having Jessica’s Law declared
The Governor’s Office has responded to my request for a chronology concerning the question, What did Rick Perry know and when did he know it? This is their version, which was provided in an interview.1. The Texas Rangers started an investigation in February 05. Less than a week later, TYC’s
When Sen. Juan Hinojosa held hearings last summer about a riot at a TYC facility in the Rio Grande Valley, he learned enough about the agency’s operations to recognize “a recipe for disaster.”Guards were being hired off the street with little education or training. Kids from ages 10 to 21
Readers who are interested in how the local community sees the TYC scandal might be interested in checking out this Web site. Some of the comments are from former TYC employees.
One of the principal objections of members of the SMU community who are opposed to the location of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum at the university is the president’s penchant for secrecy, as evidenced by his 2001 executive order that gives presidents broad powers to restrict public
The talk this week has been that more damaging information will emerge about sexual predators infiltrating Texas Youth Commission facilities (see here and here). I can’t confirm this. But I do wonder why Rick Perry waited until this week to take action. The chronology, as I pieced it
The focal point in the battle over the governor’s power to make policy through executive orders is Albert Hawkins. His renomination to the position of executive comissioner of Health and Human Services is now held hostage by the Senate Nominations Committee. Republican senators want Perry to rescind his order mandating
Former State Representative Debra Danburg has a Web site, debradanburg.blogspot.com, on which she writes about her recovery from cancer surgery in Galveston. I received an e-mail containing her latest posting:I’ve gotten dozens of cards from folks telling me they are checking it daily, and while I’m stronger every day, I
I thought I’d share with readers some of the talk I picked up in the Capitol today:* Among the concerns of House members that led to the postponement of the debate on Jessica’s Laws was the realization that the death penalty could apply to Catholic priests who have committed two
Today was a great day for the House of Representatives. Its leaders–and I don’t mean those in positions of power, but rather the unofficial leaders whom the body respects as guardians of the institution and the legislative process and public policy–stepped into a difficult debate over child predators and capital
For all the lobby firepower working on behalf of TXU, somebody forgot Rule Number One in dealing with the Texas Legislature: Never, never, never suggest that lawmakers don’t have the power to take legislative action. At least not out loud, as occurred in Monday’s phone call in which the principals
Gary Elkins’ proposal for a special session to override gubernatorial vetos is pending in the House Government Reform committee after a hearing on February 19. In presenting the bill to the committee, Elkins said, “I honestly believe if this bill gets to the floor, the House will vote for it
For all the outrage over the Trans-Texas Corridor in the Appropriations committee yesterday (see “Kicked in the Asphalt”), the list of bills in the Transportation committee does not offer much concrete hope (yuk, yuk) for change. Chairman Krusee has not even filed a bill dealing with the subject, which means
Ric Williamson and an entourage from TxDOT appeared before the Appropriations Committee today. Think of it as the first day of hunting season. Everyone wanted the Highway Commission chairman’s head. The two most frequent complaints were (1) that the footprint of the Corridor freeways was far too extensive and (2)
He who controls the purse strings at the Capitol controls state government. At least, that’s the theory. Whether it can be put into practice will soon be determined: Senate Finance chairman Steve Ogden has identified three state agencies that he hopes to radically transform through the appropriations process. In Ogden’s
In the 17 years that Jim Marston has been working for the Environmental Defense Fund, no other environmental issue has so galvanized the Texas public as TXU’s coal plant construction strategy and Rick Perry’s executive order fast-tracking the permitting process. Not only did prominent business leaders and Texas mayors join
An anonymous reader sent a response to my posting about Rick Perry, John Wilder, and the Doctrine of Unforeseen Consequences, which I think warrants publication in the main portion of the blog:Perry’s e.o [executive order–PB] applies to all permit applications, not just TXU. Saying it was for TXU is a
The governor issued a strong statement today in support of the bid by two private equity firms, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Texas Pacific Group, aided by Goldman Sachs, to purchase Texas Utilities:The sale of TXU to private equity firms maintains TXU’s previous commitment to a 20 percent reduction
The blogger.com site was out of commission from Friday night until this morning, which is why I was unable to post anything over the weekend.
The state auditor’s report on TTC-35, the first project in the massive Trans-Texas Corridor program, includes legislative recommendations that will provide the accountability, oversight, and transparency that have been notably lacking until now. While it is always true of legislation that “the devil is in the details,” there is
I just received a call from a legislator, a critic of the Trans-Texas Corridor, who was ecstatic about the state auditor’s report on the corridor that was released this afternoon (Friday). I’m on a borrowed computer at a party, so I’ll give you a few highlights: * “Weaknesses in the
Governor Perry’s spokesman Robert Black reacted to Austin judge Stephen Yelenosky’s issuance of a temporary injunction against the governor’s executive order speeding up the permitting procedure for new coal plants with a typically intemperate statement: “No one should be surprised that a single liberal Austin judge would rule against Governor
Following the example of the Texas Senate, House members agreed this week to exceed the state’s constitutional spending cap to pay for the promised $14 billion in local property tax cuts. Not to worry, though, since the House Rs assured us in a press release that SJR 20 is merely
One month after posting an approval rating in Texas of just 40%, with 58% disapproval, President Bush rebounded in SurveyUSA’s monthly tracking poll to 47% approval, 50% disapproval. Here are the numbers for Bush, Governor Perry, and senators Hutchison and Cornyn:Bush:47% approve50% disapproveI have been a big defender of SurveyUSA’s
Warren Chisum told the House that after the passage of HB 2, funding the property tax cut, that there will still be $5 billion over the base budget left to spend. I’m very skeptical about this. Remember, Dewhurst wants to set aside $3 billion to pay for the next round
The comment I heard most frequently yesterday about the fierce floor debate over SCR 20 (lifting the spending cap) was some variant on, “It’s only February but it feels like May”–meaning that seldom have the early days of a session been so filled with long and heated debate. This was
One of my favorite things about the Legislature is the colorful use of language. Yesterday provided two memorable examples:*In Appropriations, said amid praise of the executive director of the Funeral Services Commission: “He hasn’t had a pay raise since Moby Dick was a minnow.” I couldn’t tell from watching on
Everyone loves a good villain. Especially Texas lawmakers, who have always enjoyed heaping righteous indignation upon evil-doers before the captive audience of a public hearing. The classic example of this occurred a full decade ago, when former Continental Airlines CEO Gordon Bethune made a brief, but ill-advised, appearance before former
It’s Standing-Room-Only today at the Senate Business and Commerce meeting today where Chairman Troy Fraser has the undivided attention of the state’s electric power industry. Fraser has long been on the record complaining that incumbent utilities have thwarted competition by hogging too large of a market share and this morning
Amendment 1, by Leibowitz. Unless homestead exemption is achieved, schools cannot draw from Foundation School funds. Otto, so schools can’t draw money without a homestead exemption. We’re holding out schools hostage. Aren’t you telling us that they can’t get money to operate, unless we adopt a homestead exemption?The Democrats are
This is the bill to finance the property tax cut.Coleman questions Chisum –Back in 06, we raised three taxes to pay for the bill, cigarettes, used cars, business margins. How much did that raise? Chisum says $8B. Coleman–How much is the tax cut? Chisum says $14.1B. Coleman–Where does the difference
Tomorrow (Tuesday) the House will debate SCR 20, the vehicle for lifting the spending cap. At one point this seemed to be the make-or-break issue of the session, but now I think it will pass comfortably, with around 85 votes. The Democratic caucus leadership has made an all-out push to
From the moment that the votes were counted in the Republican primary last spring, it was clear that one of the themes of this session would be Dan Patrick’s campaign to build himself into a statewide candidate in 2010 and David Dewhurst’s efforts to stop him. Like boxing, this is
Here’s a quote from a member of the Texas congressional delegation during the debate over the Iraq resolution. Who said it? My guess was Chet Edwards. That is wrong.“I rise in support of the resolution, and in opposition to the escalation in Iraq … The biggest red herring in this
This is one bizarre session. The light-speed journey of SCR 20, the authorization to bust the constitutional spending cap, through the legislative process had the potential to generate a huge brouhaha, and while there was some skirmishing in both chambers, and undoubtedly will be more when the resolution comes to
Where’s the love?Yesterday may have been Valentine’s Day, but there was little love shown on the floor of the Texas Senate during the debate over the resolution allowing state spending to exceed the constitutional ceiling by some $14.1 billion in order to “buy down” local school property taxes with revenue
By now, just about everybody knows about the confrontation between Senate transportation chairman John Carona and Tx-DOT chairman Ric Williamson in the House Transportation committee. (Their exchange has been posted on YouTube by anti-toll activist Sal Costello.) Carona went to the committee meeting in the hope of getting Williamson
An Internet newsletter called The Politico currently features an exchange of ideas about the Democratic resurgence between two former Texas congressmen, Tom DeLay and Martin Frost. What you’ll find in this brief debate is more analysis than rhetoric. (If it were the other way around, I wouldn’t suggest that
At the risk of mixing my flag metaphors, David Dewhurst has apparently decided to strike his colors after no one saluted the spending cap proposal he ran up the flagpole this week.Dewhurst, facing mounting opposition from Senate Democrats and a few Republicans, has abandoned a plan to ask Texas voters
Who should make the decision of what is best for state colleges and universities–the institutions and their leaders, or Rick Perry? Should state institutions have the freedom to advocate for their needs, or can the governor dictate that they embrace and advocate his policies, even when those policies are not
With apologies to our favorite public radio show, “Car Talk,” here is the Puzzler Of The Day: Why does the Senate want to tackle the most important and most difficult issue of the session — voting to exceed the constitutional spending cap — the hard way, by requiring a vote
I knew it. If Rick Perry is for something, and there’s a lot of money involved, it’s a cinch that one (or more) of Perry’s pals is involved up to his neck. The Houston Chronicle reported yesterday that the idea for selling the lottery originated with Phil
I watched the Education subcommittee hearing on the Web this morning, and Kolkhorst and Branch wanted to know a lot more about higher ed funding–and, in particular, funding that has not previously been regarded as within the Legislature’s oversight–than the LBB has been providing. For example, they regard PUF funding
After writing about the battle between the governor and the Legislature over the legitimacy of executive orders, I remembered a story from my last year as a legislative staffer that seems pertinent. This dates from so long ago–1973–that conference committees actually met in public and debated issues in the open.
The election of Frank Corte as Republican caucus chair over Geanie Morrison was something less than an earth-shattering development, but the post-mortem was interesting. My assumption was that Morrison would win. She gets high marks as chair of Higher Education and she’s well liked. One explanation is that she is
The confrontation over Rick Perry’s executive order that all sixth grade girls should be vaccinated against the virus that is linked to cervical cancer is going to have far-reaching effects. If a governor can legally do what Perry is attempting–establish a program that spends money–the balance of power between the
I want to welcome my longtime colleague in covering the Legislature, Patricia Kilday Hart, to the blog. She will be posting on this site, but first we have some technology issues to work out. I’m going to publish her first post below, but later she will be posting here under
Is it just me, or does anybody else think that this is the weirdest session ever? Think of all that has occurred already: Ted Nugent at the inauguration; huge fights over routine matters (the House rules, suspending the 4/5 rule); bad ideas (an unconstitutional death penalty for repeat sexual predators,