Burnt Orange Report

Rep. Ana Hernandez Sworn Into Office

By Phillip Martin

In a ceremony on the House floor this afternoon, Ana Hernandez was sworn into the office of State Representative of District 143. Rep. Hernandez replaces the seat vacated by the unexpected death of Rep. Joe Moreno back in May.

Rep. Hernandez was sworn in by Rep. Paul Moreno (D - El Paso), a fellow Mexican-American and senior member of the House of Representatives. During her brief speech, Rep. Hernandez told the story of how, after she won the special election a few weeks ago, she drove around the district and thought of all the people she now represents, and how eager she is to begin fighting for their families and their futures. She thanked her supporters -- many of whom joined her in attendance, as well as many House Democrats -- and promised to do her best for her district.

On behalf of the BOR crew, I'd like to wish Rep. Hernandez all the best as she begins her work representing House District 143.

Intern Wanted

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Legislative Internship with Sen. Zaffirini

When: Fall semester
Where: Texas Senate (Office of Senator Judith Zaffirini)

Description: Responsibilities would include policy analysis, assisting other legislative staff, preparing briefing memos, etc.

Qualifications: Master’s student, excellent written communication a must, should have interest in finance, education, health and human services, etc.
Specifics: Unpaid

Contact: Brent Whitaker
Phone: 512/463-0121
Email: brent.whitaker@senate.state.tx.us

ActBlue In Texas

By Byron LaMasters

I'm pleased to see that ActBlue has chosen Texas as one of the Next Five States to activate for accepting donations online through ActBlue. Once Texas is activated, you'll be able to easily donate online to Democratic candidates in Texas legislative races. However, they need some help to get all of the legal work straightened out, so if you can, help activate ActBlue in Texas.

"As long as I'm speaker, we're not going to do it."

By Phillip Martin

Q. Which of the following should be done to fix our public schools?
A. Keep school board elections out of gyms on an odd Saturday in the spring
B. Move money away from textbooks to technology
C. Offer vouchers for private school education
D. All of the above

If you answered D, you must be House Speaker Tom Craddick, who is quoted in an article in Sunday's Midland Reporter Telegram as saying not to expect more money for our public schools anytime soon. In his own words: "As long as I'm speaker, we're not going to do it."

Touting Perry's 65% plan and the need for increased accountability, Speaker Craddick insisted that the state cannot afford to put more money into the "bottomless pit" of public education. However, as the Waco Tribune-Herald recently noted, Governor Perry's decree that the state should be allowed to micromanage every school in Texas not only defies local control, but arrogantly presumes that the needs in cities are the same as those in rural areas across Texas. That 65% doesn't factor in teacher aides, transporation, or nurses, just to name a few of the many "non-classroom" needs of our public schools.

What's more, the increased cry for accountability is the worst of political rhetoric. As one rural Superintendent from Jacksonville recently noted, superintendents already administer 48 different tests to their students every year, not to mention countless other accountability measures placed on them by state and federal mandates.

Why, then, do Republicans continue to push for meaningless reforms that will do nothing to help our schools? Two recent editorials give us some direction:

First, a recent Houston Chronicle editorial (it was archived, so the link is to a Texas education blog that posted it) titled "Perry's order on spending says more about own failings than about school districts'" talks about how foolish the 65% order is, and how its primary aim seems to be preventing school districts from suing the state:

Under Perry's order, school districts would have to account for what they spend on lobbyists and lawyers to sue the state for a constitutional school finance system. If Texas had responsible leaders and legislators, the school districts would have no need to petition the government for redress of grievances.

Gov. Perry's order serves two useful purposes. It demonstrates his indifference to the plight of public education, and it draws a bold diagram of how desperate that plight grows in Texas' leadership vacuum.

Secondly, a Fort-Worth editorial points out that maybe, just maybe, the Republican's want our schools to fail. In fact, Superintendent Kyle Collier of Pottsboro even bluntly accused state officials of trying to "de-emphasize public schools and make us fail so much that they have to pass vouchers."

Can we ever expect the Republican leadership to stop failing our schools and start investing in real reforms for our public schools? In Craddick's own words: "As long as I'm speaker, we're not going to do it."

DeLay's Fate in Grand Jury's Hands TODAY!

By Damon McCullar

From today's Austin American Statesman:

U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's leadership post is on the line today as a Travis County grand jury is expected to consider indicting DeLay on conspiracy charges, several lawyers familiar with the investigation said.

Hot damn! Looks like the rat is finally getting his due.

Lege Suggested the Education Commission

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

This summer, in an amendment to the Property Tax Bill offered by Sens. Kyle Janek, R-Houston, and Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth (originally designed to strip the partnership tax from the bill because it 'looked like an income tax on professionals') a 15 member commission was suggested to study business taxes in the interim. The last time such a commission was actually formed was in 1991 where one of its suggestions was to create a state income tax.

The concept of creating commissions is not really a novel concept in itself. In addition, in the case of school finance in Texas, it's an excuse for non-existent leadership. Perry doesn't have a clue so he's creating a commission to look into it while removing Sharp from the picture. The lege didn't have a clue so Republicans suggested a commission to look into later. I don't know if Chris Bell had a clue either when he suggested the idea, though it did get rid of a primary opponent.

The commission itself is a symbol of failed political leadership in Texas and the fact elected officials don't want to take responsibility for suggesting the tough tax proposals. Better to let the commission suggest it, and implement it (or bash it) without taking any personal heat and all the credit.

Rep. Jim Solis to Retire

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Democratic Rep. Jim Solis of San Benito has announced his plans to retire from the Texas House (HD38) according to Quorum Report. Elected back in 1992, Solis has headed up a number of important committees and issues in the lege, listed in his press release (pdf). He does say that he won't rule out running for other public offices in the future and will continue to stay involved in politics.

His district is 63-37 Dem/Rep, though he won his past election with 68% of the vote, and even Marty Akins managed 53% against Carol in 2002, which was the low point for any candidate then.

Ten Best Laws You Should Know About

By Phillip Martin

On Thursday, hundreds of new bills passed by the 79th State Legislature will be put on the books. This week, newspapers and TV stations will begin their run down of major legislation, mostly looking at worker's comp, public utilities, telecom reform, budget changes, and the lack of any school or tax bills.

Here is my list of ten bills I think are very important but probably won't get as much attention as they deserve (some will, but most won't). Be sure to check Pinkdome tomorrow morning, to see their list of the ten best bills.

Here's some of the best things the 79th Texas Legislature accomplished:

10. Learning Financial Skills in High School

Going into college, I barely knew how to write a check, let alone manage my finances. HB 492 by Rep. Woolley will change that, though, as it requires that high school students -- at some time in their education -- be taught personal financial skills. Whether you're figuring out how to put together enough money to pay the bills or how to save up for grad school, this bill should help all students early on in life.

9. Student Regents Legislation

I know this one has been covered a lot by our friends at the Daily Texan, but it is important to note that, with the passage of SB 34 by Sen. Zaffirini, state campuses must allow one student onto the Board of Regents. While the student cannot vote and cannot affect the quorum of the meeting, at least now we got a foot in the door.

8. No Viagra for Sex Offenders

A recent nationwide study reported that sex offenders around the country receive discounted prices on sexual enhancing drugs by purchasing them through state-sponsored Medicaid programs. Rep. Hopson put an amendment onto SB 1188 -- an all-encompassing Medicaid reform bill by Sen. Nelson -- to stop registered sex offenders from receiving state-sponsored erectile dysfunction drugs, thereby saving the state millions of dollars a year in health care costs.

7. Cleaner School Buses

Tail pipe exhaust can make the inside of school buses extremely hazardous for children going back and forth from school, especially students in rural areas.

HB 3469 by Rep. Hochberg aims to reduce the diesel exhaust emissions from school buses, a small, but important, action to keep the air clean and safe for Texas school children.

6. The Donor Education, Awareness, and Registry Program (DEAR)

According to the bill analysis for HB 120, a new person is added to a donor transplant waiting list every 13 minutes, and every day, 17 people die while waiting for an organ transplant. Currently, there is no statewide registry for organ donors.

HB 120 by Rep. Dawson establishes DEAR to make it easier for the state to track organ and tissue donors in Texas, in hopes of saving more lives.

5. Screening for Cervical Cancer

In Texas, the mortality rate for women with cervical cancer is 30% higher than the national average. HPV is an early indicator of cervical cancer, which is almost 100% preventable.

HB 1485 by Rep. Thompson requires that insured Texans have access to HPV screening with no deductibles or co-pays, in hopes of reducing the number of deaths caused by cervical cancer and improving the health of women across the state.

4. Improvement of Colonias

For those who don't know, colonias are extremely poor communities along the Texas border, many of which are without such basic services as plumbing and electricity.

HB 775 by Rep. Gonzales will ensure that ORCA grant money given to certain political subdivisions be set aside for installing street lights. SB 827 by Sen. Zaffirini and Sen. Ellis creates a statewide classification system to identify colonia areas and track the progress of state-funded projects in those areas. SB 1202 by Sen. Lucio and Sen. Ellis expands the number of people and projects that can coordinate to improve conditions in the colonias.

3 & 2. Better Care for Sexual Assault Victims & Survivors

Law enforcement agencies are not required to request a forensic medical examination for victims of sexual assault, supposedly because many people request examinations that were not assaulted. Forensic medical examinations can collect evidence concerning the assault, which can help both in curing the victim and catching the criminal.

HB 544 by Rep. Naishtat and Rep. McClendon states that any victim of a sexual assault that requests an examination within 96 hours of a sexual assault must receive the examination, unless the request comes from a person with repeated false claims and there is no evidence of assault.

Another bill I wanted to point out is HB 677 by Rep. Thompson, which is aimed at improving emergency room conditions for sexual assault survivors. It requires the state's department of health services to coordinate and implement uniform policies across all emergency service health care facilities, to ensure that any victim of sexual assault receives prompt, professional care and attention.

1. Meth Prevention

Five years ago, 1,821 people in Texas were treated for methamphetamine abuse. Last year, that number had jumped to over 11,000. The skyrocketing use of meth, especially in rural areas of the state, poses serious health and safety risks to local communities.

HB 164 by Rep. Berman and SB 66 by Sen. Nelson both create tougher drug laws to help reduce and prevent the manufacture and use of methamphetamine drugs.

Rural Superintendent Speaks Out

By Phillip Martin

In an article titled "Who's to Blame for the in the Legislature's Failure" in the Jacksonville Daily Progress, Dr. James Largent, the superintendent for Rusk ISD in East Texas, asks why legislators like Speaker Craddick and Rep. Berman continue to blame educators for the failure of the Texas Legislature to pass any school reform bills. Some highlights:

Regarding the failure of the Legislature to pass anything - the last time I looked, educators didn't have a vote on the floor of the capitol. If we did, we would have voted for the Hochberg amendment, or the Eltife/Ellis plan. While neither was perfect, they would have been beneficial to ALL students and educators in our great State, instead of providing unfair benefits to a few districts and adding millions of dollars of unfunded mandates as HB2 would have done.

Dr. Largent goes on to discuss the accountability he already faces:

We have TAKS tests, SDAA I and II tests, Performance Based Monitoring, Transportation and Food Service audits, TPRI results, LPAC's, ARD's, LEP's, IEP's, AEP's, PEIMS reporting and many more state and federal programs that we must account for on a daily basis. In addition, we receive the Financial Integrity ratings and our yearly financial audit. And some in the legislature say all we want is more money with NO ACCOUNTABILITY? That is a ludicrous statement made by people who obviously do not know or care what we do on a daily basis.

While Mr. Berman and others were calling for "education reform" we all watched as they introduced (once again) vouchers, a cap on recapture (to allow already wealthy districts to retain more dollars and widen the funding gap between rich and poor school districts), a later school start date and November elections for school board members. These are just some of the "reforms" they proposed, none of which has anything to do with helping educators teach students...

In the end, legislators like Craddick and Berman led the way in denying educators a much deserved raise, watered down the teacher retirement system, and then as a final farewell, gave all educators a kick in the teeth by blaming us for the failure of the legislature to act, while at the same time giving themselves a nice pension increase.

Add this to the list of rural and conservative voices speaking out against the failure of the Republican leadership to lead.

*from the Jacksonville Daily Progress*

Who's to blame for the Legislature's failure?

By Dr. James Largent - RISD Superintendent

I have remained silent as I have seen several articles lately in which Speaker Craddick and locally, Representative Berman of Tyler, blamed the Legislature's failures on educators. After seeing the ad Mr. Berman ran in the Tyler paper last week once again blasting educators, I just could not remain silent any longer.

Regarding the failure of the Legislature to pass anything - the last time I looked, educators didn't have a vote on the floor of the capitol. If we did, we would have voted for the Hochberg amendment, or the Eltife/Ellis plan. While neither was perfect, they would have been beneficial to ALL students and educators in our great State, instead of providing unfair benefits to a few districts and adding millions of dollars of unfunded mandates as HB2 would have done.

While some misguided and misled legislators were calling for more accountability, our staff was going through the mounds of paperwork and test results from the 48 tests we are required to administer to our students. These data are broken down by grade level, subject area, learning objective, ethnicity, economic level, etc., and we must "hit the mark" in ALL areas or else we are deemed failures by people like Mr. Berman.

Two weeks later, we got another report letting us know whether or not we made "Adequate Yearly Progress" as part of the No Child Left Behind project...again, more mounds of data to digest and more plans to produce to address areas of concern. We have TAKS tests, SDAA I and II tests, Performance Based Monitoring, Transportation and Food Service audits, TPRI results, LPAC's, ARD's, LEP's, IEP's, AEP's, PEIMS reporting and many more state and federal programs that we must account for on a daily basis. In addition, we receive the Financial Integrity ratings and our yearly financial audit. And some in the legislature say all we want is more money with NO ACCOUNTABILITY? That is a ludicrous statement made by people who obviously do not know or care what we do on a daily basis.

While Mr. Berman and others were calling for "education reform" we all watched as they introduced (once again) vouchers, a cap on recapture (to allow already wealthy districts to retain more dollars and widen the funding gap between rich and poor school districts), a later school start date and November elections for school board members. These are just some of the "reforms" they proposed, none of which has anything to do with helping educators teach students. This is in addition to our testing program that has gone from TEAMS to TAAS and now TAKS, and every time schools across the state show that we can meet the expectations, the bar gets raised and a new series of tests are developed along with a new series of unfunded mandates. It appears that the current leadership in Austin wants us to fail so they can demand more "reforms" and "accountability." Most of them having nothing to do with helping public school students, but more to do with advancing the political agendas of their wealthy campaign contributors.

On the other side of the coin is the so-called property tax reduction. The plan would have lowered property taxes, but it raised sales taxes and increased fees on such things as car purchases and household goods. Unless you make over $140,000 you would have seen a net increase in what you currently pay in taxes and fees. This doesn't sound like a tax reduction to me. Provisions to add a payroll tax to businesses and end loopholes in the tax law that give huge benefits for many companies were defeated by those lobbies and taken out of the bill, while a payroll tax on schools to supplement TRS Care remains.

In the end, legislators like Craddick and Berman led the way in denying educators a much deserved raise, watered down the teacher retirement system, and then as a final farewell, gave all educators a kick in the teeth by blaming us for the failure of the legislature to act, while at the same time giving themselves a nice pension increase.

I have a suggestion for these legislators. The next time you are called into session, why don't you actually listen to people who have dedicated their lives to educating children. Those of us who are in schools every day and work directly with students might have a little insight on what could be done to make our schools better. Instead of bashing us every chance you get and blaming us for your failures, why not work with us to write a bill that is good for ALL the children in Texas? How about a new "reform" that recognizes the importance of public education and provides equitable funding and resources to actually pay for the high expectations and standards you demand?

I am proud to say that Representative Hopson and Senators Eltife and Staples listened and sponsored bills and amendments to help all children. Unfortunately they could not counter the stronghold the leadership had on many legislators like Mr. Berman, which resulted in yet another failure of the legislature to pass a school finance bill.

Tale Told By a Idiot, Full of Rage and Fury, Signifying Nothing

By Damon McCullar

That sums up the our latest special session. The triumphs of this special session were bill that were not passed. Namely HB 2 and 3. The session who's primary focus was education reform and finance ended with neither, but we did get raises for judges (i.e. pension increases for the Reps), eminent domain legislation and a telecom bill. The last session was a million dollar joke. It was over in the first week if memory serves but they just kept plugging along, neither chamber willing to concede defeat. Texas Monthly put it best:

Three Blind Elephants

See how they run from responsibility? The Republican leadership has blown it—again—on school finance. If only there were consequences.

IF NOTHING ELSE, the second special session was a spectacle. Its only product was embarrassment, unless you count disaster metaphors: train wreck, meltdown, implosion. After two regular sessions and three special sessions, stretching over 32 months, Capitol wags were left to debate which film the school finance saga more nearly resembled: Groundhog Day (lawmakers are condemned to relive the same experiences over and over) or Weekend at Bernie’s (they drag around a corpse—in this case, another dead school finance bill—and act as if it’s alive).

God Save Texas and This Honorable Court. Maybe the Supreme Court can succeed where the Lege has failed. Unfortunately, there are whispers that the Supremes in Texas won't rule until after the March primary to give Gov. Perry political cover. The real losers are the kids, as it always is. The GOP leadership is more worried about next November than they are about this August when kids go back to school.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

By Phillip Martin

The good thing about this special session is that the House and Senate discovered that there is a bipartisan group of legislators that are committed to listening to teachers, parents, and taxpayers about the best ideas and plans for education. Legislators aren't willing to pass any old education bill, and they are willing to make sure they get the job done right.

The bad thing about this special session is that nothing got done. Even after Democrats and Republicans joined together to pass an education bill that teachers, parents, and taxpayers supported, the leadership buried it. The Senate spent a couple weeks giving each other cover, but after Craddick and Grusendorf shut down the bipartisan version of the education bill (that a majority of members wanted), everything has been posing for the camera. A lot of frosting without the cake, if you will.

The ugly thing about this special session is that Perry, Dewhurst, and Craddick simply refuse to compromise. Can not, will not, do not want to compromise. The House and Senate won't work together, and Perry is too busy running a campaign to put forth an education plan that has any support. I can see the three of them, standing in a dark room next to a broken lamp that fell on the floor, looking out to the voters of Texas as each one of them points at the other and says, "he did it."

The thing is, the state of Texas needs that lamp and that light. The people of Texas want that ever-loving light to shine on their children, and give them hope that, with education, anything is possible. With education, race and wealth fall by the wayside. With education, it doesn't matter where or to whom we are born -- so long as we have the opportunity to succeed. With education, we can pull ourselves up by the bootstraps and go out and succeed in the world.

The good thing is that a majority of legislators believe that. The bad thing is that they aren't allowed to have their voices heard, because of that very, very ugly thing we call the Republican Leadership.

Something Stirring in the House

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

The House is about to awake from it's slumber.

HB 8 has been filed by Rep. Swinford. No text yet, but the caption...

Relating to property tax relief and protection of taxpayers, certain taxes, fees, and property, and other matters relating to the financing of public schools; providing civil and criminal penalties; making an appropriation.

HB 71 filed by Grusendorf...

Relating to public education and public school finance matters.

Here we do again...

Is the Senate Serious?

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Yes, we read that Senator Rep. Gallego hand delivered his letter to Speaker Craddick saying that the Senate plans on getting their business done on SB 8 to try to save face do something about education House shouldn't Sine Die because there is support out there for the Democratic alternative. (Boy did I fumble the names there getting it mixed up with Senator Mario Gallegos. But the fact that the Senate is trying to work on SB 8, and now Telecom instead, does relate to my point that even if the House were to stay, it really seems like their heart isn't in it because neither is the Senate's.)

So even though the House has had problems trying to sine die because they don't haven't had a quorum at times, the Senate doesn't seem to be taking things all that seriously either. The Quorum Report reminds us that Sen. Leticia VanDePutte is vacationing in Bermuda, Sen. Jon Lindsay is on vacation in New Mexico, and Sen. John Carona is attending to business in Colorado. And Sen. Frank Madla has been in the hospital.

So Dewhurt may be able to get something on the floor tomorrow, and the House may crawl back together to debate a stripped-down education bill to fund textbooks and public school technology but above all, there is a specter of death hanging about both chambers.

Craddick and Dewhurst can have a pissing match about who's attempting to make any good faith progress, but in the end it's just the people of Texas getting hosed with another pointless 'no leadership' session.

Pack it up folks.

TFN Ranks Educators On Education Issues

By Vince Leibowitz

The Texas Freedom Network has released a report card, ranking members of the Texas House on education issues.

Interestingly, the report card ranks Legislators using the same standards the state uses: Exemplary, Recognized, and Academically Unacceptable.

Of the 63 legislators ranked Exemplary, all but three are Democrats. Of the 23 listed as Recognized, all except two are Republicans. Democrats Al Edwards and Velma Luna made this list.

All 63 legislators ranked Academically Unacceptable are Republicans.

You can view the list here. The complete 'Report Card' is here.

Nevertheless, there are a couple of things you may want to know about the report card, though.

First, except for HB2, almost of all of the votes used to generate the rankings have to do with school vouchers, code named by the Republicans as "school choice." Second, it appears as though absences and 'present, not voting' instances aren't used in calculation of the percentage used to determine a legislator's ranking.

The reason for the selection of the legislation by TFN is, I'm sure, because they are one of the most outspoken opponents of vouchers in Texas. Regardless, the votes of a legislator for vouchers do, in my opinion, certainly define his "acceptablilty" in my eyes.

**Special Thanks to Carl Whitmarsh who forwarded this information to a couple of Democratic lists I'm on.**

Vince Leibowitz is County Chairman of the Democratic Party of Van Zandt County. He may be reached at Vince_Leibowitz@verizon.net or at Vince_Leibowitz@bluebottle.com.

Lost that Lege-ing Feeling

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

Craddick wants to go home.

"We have worked diligently to find a final compromise to HB 2 and HB 3. At this point in the special session, neither chamber has been able to pass any legislation, nor does it not appear that they will. We are wasting time and money, and it is unproductive to prolong this process.

In less than two weeks schools are set to start, and it is vital for them to have the updated textbooks necessary to do so. The funds for those books can only be granted through budget execution, which cannot be done while we are in session.

I suggest we sine die, continue working together to reach an agreement, request the Texas Education Agency send us a list of reforms they can carry out without the Legislature changing the statutes, and wait to review the Supreme Court's ruling before formally meeting again."

...

Neither chamber can sine die without the permission of the other up to three days before the scheduled conclusion of the session.

Yep, leave it to those activist Supreme Court Justices in Texas, especially since I believe Perry has appointed a near if not outright majority of them in his 4 years of Governating. Are you sure you want to put it in their hands Craddick? That's worse than letting the Senate win to moral high ground for the session.

Then again, Craddick anagrammed spells "Did Crack". Must have to think anyone cares about the House's relevance these days.

Kay Sheads a Tear

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

It must be bad when the Texas lege, busy doing nothing, get's called out by the state GOP Mamma, Kay Bailey Hutchison.

The failure of Texas lawmakers to agree on school and tax reform disappoints U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who backed out of the governor’s race earlier this summer to remove politics from the public education debate, she said today.

“Of course I’m disappointed, as every Texan is, that we are not fully funding our schools and that we are not (lowering) these onerous property taxes on many of our citizens,” she said after speaking to the Texas Association of Broadcasters.

Onerous. That's certainly our word of the day. But remember, she backed out of running for Guv because she cares, really cares about Texas.

“I thought when I bowed out of the governor’s race that it would take the politics out of the Legislature. That’s one of the reasons why I announced early,” she said. “I really thought that would help. I see no change, and I’m disappointed."

So are we KBH. So are we.

Real Cost of the Legislature's Failures

By Vince Leibowitz

The average person--or at least, the average person not involved in public school education in Texas--may read the stories about the Texas Legislature's failure to come to grips with school finance and simply think, "well, that's politics (or government) as usual."

It usually takes a story like this one in the Dallas Morning News to make people realize that such legislative failures have a real cost--and real impact--on the people of Texas:

Millions of new textbooks for foreign language, health, art and music classes cannot be delivered to school districts because the Legislature, caught in a stalemate over school finance for months, hasn't authorized their purchase.

Kids without school books. It may not be as terrible as kids without access to healthcare, kids in a broken protective services system, or kids in under-funded mental health facilities.

But, it's still bad. And, it's yet another failure for which the blame falls directly on the doorstep of the Republican Party of Texas.

I know, I know: I'm just another partisan Democrat complaining about a legislative failure and looking for something--anything--to blame it on.

You can say that, or you can look at the real record.

For decades in Texas, Democrats worked toward positive improvements for the people of this state. Even as the legislature became home to more tax-phobic, religious zealot, corporate whore, help-the-rich-and-screw-the-poor Republicans, the Democratic leadership managed to find common ground and do it without walk-outs, shutting off mics, and a myriad of tactics the present majority has used to forward their partisan agenda.

Texas government today is stuck in a quagmire of partisanship. Sure, there may be a few--and I emphasize few--Republicans who are willing to work toward some type of middle-ground, but the fact remains that the majority appear to be far less than willing to sacrafice the goals and agendas of their far-to-the-Right party and their moneyed contributors like James Leinninger and Bob Perry for the citizens of Texas.

These people get elected by smearing their Democratic opponents as "liberal," and campaign as though they were God's personal heirs to Sam Houston, Mirabeau B. Lamar and the other Fathers (and Mothers) of Texas. They claim that Democrats will tax the people to death, and that they will bring about a serious departure from "politics as usual" inside the "Austin beltway."

They sure as hell have. State government is far, far from "politics as usual," today.

And, it's taken us nowhere.

In a couple of short sessions, what small amount of goodwill the Legislature built between the people of Texas has been slaughtered on the alter of Republican partisanship.

If you don't believe me, look at the latest approval ratings for the Texas Legislature. I don't have a link to one of the recent polls, but I'm sure you can search this site for them; the polls have been posted here several times.

And, people wonder why these folks get elected. Of course, the wedge issues must be considered: religion, so-called morals issues, and, of course, abortion.

My only hope is that, perhaps, when someone's child comes home with a 15-year-old Spanish book held together with duct tape or someone's child's grades are suffering because they don't have access to appropriate text books when school starts, that Texans will realize who is to blame.

But, that's not enough, is it? Knowing who is to blame is one thing, but the leap to realizing who can fix the problem is quite another thing. Democrats have been so deamonized by the Republican Party and have suffered from the "Bush" coat tails for enough election cycles that it will take the Democrats out in the trenches to make the difference and help people realize that we are the party that built Texas--that we are the party that looks out for "you," whether you're black, white, brown, old, young, an unwed mother, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, and regardless of religion, sexual orientation, race or what side of the proverbial "tracks" you grew up on.

That's what we as Democrats have to offer. Hopefully, the time has finally come that the people of Texas will realize that.

School Finance: More On Educator Feedback

By Vince Leibowitz

This morning's Dallas Morning News had an interesting article on school superintendents and the Legislature's special session on school finance.

It included yet another wonderful quote, this time from no less than Speaker Tom Craddick, who noted:

"The superintendents have really beat our members up the last few days...The school people are against it. It makes it tough to vote."

How cute. The speaker is now likening Texas public school superintendents to school yard bullies.

On a more interesting note, former Texas Education Commissioner Jim Nelson, now superintendent in Richardson ISD in the DWF Metroplex, says it might be a better idea to wait for the Texas Supreme Court to render a decision on the whole mess before the legislature does anything:

Some superintendents suggested that the state would be better off waiting for a school finance ruling from the Texas Supreme Court, expected in the next few weeks.

"I guess I've come to the conclusion that's how it's going to have to happen again," said Richardson Superintendent Jim Nelson, the former state education commissioner.

Of course, that may or may not be a good idea. Remember when Rick Perry said his appointees on the Supreme Court wouldn't force changes on the Legislature?

UPDATE: Just noticed, Pink Dome has something on this, too.

Vince Leibowitz is County Chairman of the Democratic Party of Van Zandt County.

Educators Blamed For Finance Bill's Failure??

By Vince Leibowitz

Scrolling through Google News's most recent stories on the Texas Legislature tonight, I ran across this one from the Houston Chronicle.

It discusses the Senate's plan to try and salvage something from this special session with a revised education bill.

Of particular interest, though, was this phrase in the story [in bold, with a couple of other paragraphs included for context]:

Late Thursday, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Senate Education Chairwoman Florence Shapiro announced that a revised education bill will be heard by the committee Monday.

The measure was rewritten to meet the objections of school superintendents and other educators whom they blamed for thwarting the Legislature's progress.

Their announcement came after the lieutenant governor and senators spent much of the day in a series of private meetings with Dewhurst struggling to salvage the session.

You've GOT to be kidding me! School superintendents and educators now deserve the blame for the tax-phobic, over-partisan Texas Legislature's failures? What's next? Blaming Texas public school students?

Let's be serious: public school educators and administrators don't deserve the "blame" for the failure of the Legislature to come up with a new school finance plan, of for "thwarting" the Legislature's progress.

The obvious reason educators and administrators have lobbied heavily against previous legislative packages is because they aren't what's best for Texas public schools, students, teachers, administrators or taxpayers.

Although I hate to play the "partisanship" card on this issue, it simply must be thrown down.

The fact of the matter is that Republicans are more concerned about passing a school finance measure that looks good on paper and that is better for business and special interests than for schools. Of course, for the sake of the voters back home, this is done in the name of "tax relief." I'm not saying that some property tax relief isn't necessary, but clearly, if tax relief was the only real issue on the table, a consensus would have been reached by now.

The GOP's actions on school finance have gone beyond "tax relief" and allegedly improving education. Clearly, the GOP has something else on its mind aside from tax relief and schools, and I suspect it has a lot to do with who signs their campaign contribution checks.

Vince Leibowitz is a (sometimes) regular contributor to Burnt Orange Report. He is County Chairman of the Democratic Party of Van Zandt County.

The Leadership Stands at Ease

By Phillip Martin

--A Ben Sargent cartoon from May 5, 2004

LTG Dewhurst continues to insist he has the votes to pass SB2, but he has now pulled everyone behind a closed-door caucus meeting to make sure. Many people continue to believe he doesn't have the votes -- remember, Speaker Craddick also thought he had the votes, and we all saw what happened Tuesday.

Everyone needs to start working from the center out, and not from the left/right in. Governor Perry can sign HB1 and schools can go on this year as normal. In the meantime, that majority of bipartisan lawmakers that want to get things right and aren't just looking for campaign cover should convince the leadership to step back. Let those willing to come together work out the school finance plan, and tell Perry, Dewhurst, and Craddick to stop playing politics with Texas' public schools.

An Open Letter to Rep. Grusendorf

By Phillip Martin

Dear Rep. Grusendorf:

In today's Dallas Morning News article, you said the following about what happened during debate on House Bill 2:

"I wish they had been for something instead of against everything," Mr. Grusendorf said.

In a day filled with confusion and chaos, one thing remained strong: Democrats and many Republicans are for a better school finance bill that brings real reforms and billions of more dollars to Texas classrooms, and a better tax bill that delivers significant property tax relief to most Texas homeowners.

The courageous Democrats and Republicans that passed the Hochberg amendment onto your bill did so for the children, teachers, and parents of their districts. That majority of House members are for lots of things. Here's a list, so you know in the future:

They are for putting billions of more dollars into Texas classrooms.

They are for giving an across-the-board teacher pay raise that won't disappear after taxes.

They are for maintaining local control on such issues as the school start date, school board elections, and classroom management.

They are for letting educators run public schools instead of companies.

They are for increasing the homestead exemption, so that someone other than the richest ten percent of Texans could see some real property tax relief.

But there is something else they are for, Rep. Grusendorf: they are for debate, and discussion, and a democratic government that allows for the majority to rule. You weren't for any of those things, Rep. Grusendorf, and neither were Speaker Craddick, Rep. Keel, and many of your other Republican allies. You were for shutting down debate on the single most important issue in the state.

You are for doing the Governor's bidding, and that's not what the majority of lawmakers came here to do. I'm afraid you and the Republican leadership are going to have to live with that reality, and learn to compromise.

And isn't it funny...that's been the Democrat's education plan all along, remember?

It is called the Learn and Live plan. Tell your bosses to take notes.

HB 3 Just Failed

By Karl-Thomas Musselman

And the House stands adjourned until Thursday at Noon. HB 3 fails with what appeared to be an 8-128 vote. Keffer who was carrying it announced he was voting no.

Rep. Dunnam gave a short speech just before it all died expressing his displeasure at the process and that they had an chance today to make some real progress for the children of Texas but that it was apparent that today these bills were killed so people could go home.

Phillip should have a round up later tonight on the lay of the land and today's events. The archived feed of today's events will be here in a bit.

House Bill 2 Just Failed

By Phillip Martin

The Speaker put every amendment onto the bill, without any debate. No one knew what got put on the bill, but because Grusendorf made the motion, no one had time to object. That left every member without a clue as to what was now in the bill, and all the Republicans broke and voted against House Bill 2. Now, the House has planned on voting for House Bill 3.

As soon as anyone can make sense of anything, I'll update. Until then, I'm done posting for a while...

Hochberg Amendment Passes!!!

By Phillip Martin

The vote was 76-67, giving Democrats and over a dozen moderate Republicans the biggest victory over the leadership in several years. It just goes to show that when we work together with bipartisan support, anything can happen.

BUT, as many have noted, we're not through yet.

We must, must, must encourage all those who voted for the Hochberg amendment to make sure it stays in HB2, and then to pass HB2 on both second and third reading. There are also many other important issues concerning school finance reform that we have not addressed, including issues concerning privatization, the school start date, and the time of school board elections. Future amendemts will look at these issues, and, hopefully, they can build off of the momentum of the Hochberg vote so that we can continue to bring real education reform to our public schools.

Stay tuned for more updates, including a detailed analysis of what's in the Hochberg amendment, as they develop throughout the afternoon. Also, per K-T's request, here are the 14 Republicans who joined with every House Democrat to pass the Hochberg amendment:

Brown (Fred), Casteel, Geren, Goodman, Goolsby, Griggs, Haggerty, Hamilton, Hunter, Jones (Delwin), Kuempel, Merritt, Pitts, Reyna.

Republicans Fail to Shut Down Debate on HB2

By Phillip Martin

A motion by Rep. Keel to move to previous question would have entirely shut down debate on HB2, not allowing a single amendment to be presented for the bill. The motion failed 63-80.

This was the sickest, most disgusting move Speaker Craddick and the Republican leadership could imagine.

Speaker Craddick also ruled that motions of personal privlege, which have always superseded any other motion, were no longer allowed. This ruling showed that Speaker Craddick knows no bounds when it comes to force-voting.

I will keep everyone updated as the debate continues...

Local Post Becomes Statewide Story

By Phillip Martin

This past Saturday, the Fort-Worth Star Telegram picked up the story about how the people in Rep. Joe Moreno's district have gone without representation for these two special sessions. The story, which echoes parts of a post I had previously written, leads with a strong condemnation of Perry's actions:

Democrats and voting-rights advocates are outraged that Gov. Rick Perry set a November election to replace late state Rep. Joe Moreno, leaving his heavily Hispanic Houston district without representation during special sessions on school finance.

"What this is doing is disenfranchising all those people and making them second-class citizens while one of the most important debates facing the state is going on in Austin," said Ana Yanez Correa, who lobbies the Legislature on behalf of Hispanic causes.

I know Governor Perry is no longer legally responsible to order an expedited election, but for Perry and the GOP to champion morality one moment and boast that they can barely crawl over the minimum requirements of the law the next is flat out wrong. The votes on the tax and education bill are within a single vote, and it's tough to fathom that Perry would have acted the same if the district in question voted a different way.

Texas Education Crisis

By Damon McCullar

Gov. Perry is now into his 6th Special Session. Each special session cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.7 million dollars. Each one of these special sessions have had something to do with reference">public education. So what have Texans have to show for our 10.2 million dollars?

We have a public school system that is near the bottom of the barrel in the United States when it come education. We are ranked 33rd in the country, tied with West Virgina and 48th in the country in SAT scores. On the issue of drop out rates, Texas has the highest.

The administration would love to have you think that things really aren't that bad. They would point you to schools that have done wonderful things in Houston and Dallas. This "Texas Miracle", however, turned out to be a Texas mirage. Enron-style accounting practices turning out 100% completion rates and cheating on the TAKS test by school districts and students have reached such alarming proportions that out of state companies have been called in to investigate the allegations.

There will be a detailed post on Monday about the shortcomings of the current HB 2 and 3 being considered in the current special session, so I won't go too much into detail here on it. That being said, the clear winners in HB 3 are business interest and insurance companies. They businesses don't have their burden raised outside of a few inconsequential loop holes being closed while whole segments of the economy have no tax burden what-so-ever. The insurance companies get a huge tax cut. I guess their investment in TAB (a pro-business political action committee) is paying off. The rich also make out in HB 3 with a cut in their property taxes. Those in the middle and lower classes get taken to the cleaners in several ways.

First there is the raise the sales tax. This would give Texas the highest sales tax in the country. Also, those with the "vices" of smoking and drinking will see prices on cigarettes and alcohol go up as the taxes on these particular items go up as far as three-fold.

In addition folks in the middle and lower classes get shafted on accessibility to education and quality of education. These bills do raise teacher salaries, but by a paltry sum. The best teachers our state has to offer are going to pack up and move to a state that will pay them what they are worth. Also, these bills do nothing to reign in the sky rocketing cost of tuition. The University of Texas system has seen tuition cost go up 37% since deregulation and Texas A&M has seen tuition prices go up four time the rate of inflation in one year. With combination of higher tuition prices and higher taxes on the middle and lower class, you have tuition prices going up, while family income is going down. These two conditions make it less and less possible for families to send their children to college. Couple that with the lower quality of education and you get a system where students can't afford to go to a state college and they aren't competitive for out of state colleges. This will begin a downward spiral that will squeeze the middle class to the brink of extinction with no hope of upward mobility.

That's my take on it....what do you readers think?

A gentle reminder

By Jim Dallas

The House Democrats have a plan, and during the first special session, Tom Craddick killed it.

Blink and You Miss it

By Phillip Martin

The 2nd Called Special Session opens in the House and Senate. BLINK. The education and tax bills are sent to respective select committees. BLINK. House Bill 2 and 3 voted out of committee. BLINK. Public schools get no new money so the wealthiest Texans get property tax cuts. BLINK!

In their joint press conference, Dewhurst and Craddick both claimed they had the votes to pass HB2 and HB3 (something nice to tell the press, but a substantially doubtful reality). I watched the press junket and took notes. Here's what they said:

Dewhurst: "We've got a good foundation to build on...we're making progress...timewise, I decided to get a bill out of committee...House Bill 2 is revolutionary...whether it takes us one day or thirty days, let's get it done and let's get it done right."

Craddick: "Hope we can get this done quickly...we're very committed to get this done and over with...we expect the governor's bill to come out...it's all money."

So, despite immense opposition from teachers, superintendents, and parents, the leadership is going to push through the same old House Bill 2. And despite immense opposition from homeowners, taxpayers, and businesses, the leadership is going to push through the same old House Bill 3.

The definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

What Do Ya Get....

By Damon McCullar

What do you get for 1.7 million in tax-payer money and 30 days of work at the Lege? If you throw in another $20 dollars, you can get a T-shirt.

Final Judgment: Leadership Needs to Step Back

By Phillip Martin

Sen. Whitmire successfully filibustered HB2, and the 1st called special session ended without a single bill to help fund Texas' public schools or to lower property taxes for Texas homeowners. Word around the capitol is that neither the House or the Senate had the votes to pass HB2 anyway, which tells the leadership something important:

You can't just ram any old education bill through the Legislature. It's too important, and it's not a partisan issue. The leadership's misplaced priorties continue to put the rich ahead of our public schools.

Unless the leadership steps back and lets a bipartisan try to do what is best for Texas, don't expect anything different from this next special session, which begins Thursday morning at 10:00 am.

To note: the Governor's proclamation only called for property tax relief, which means that House Bill 3 will probably start over from scratch, and once everyone is agreement on HB3, they will come back and try to pass HB2. Also, the Speaker is expected to appoint a special committee to study the tax issue.

For any additional late night rumors and early morning gossip, stay tuned to our friends at Pinkdome, who kept a running comment all night on the process.

Judgment Day for Texas Legislature

By Phillip Martin

...I wish I was special
But I'm a creep, I'm a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here
I don't belong here...
---"Creep" by Radiohead, official song of the Republican Leadership

An article in the San Antonio Express News confirms what many around the capitol believe to be true -- that with HB3 already dead, if HB2 doesn't pass, then there's no reason to call anyone back for an immediate special session. The article reads:

Ogden said he believes Perry’s decision on a new special session to deal with taxes likely will hinge on whether lawmakers are able to pass a related bill, House Bill 2.

Trying to pass HB2 without HB3 proves what opponents of the bills have been saying all along -- that HB3 NEVER contained a dime for our public schools, and all that tax-swap bill really did was cut taxes for the rich. As it is, HB2 amounts to a series of horrendous education reforms that will only hurt our state's public schools.

Bottom line: we need to encourage the Senate and House members to kill HB2, which means we need to make sure that all Representatives are there at their desks all day today, ready to stop this embarassing piece of legislation. Voting for any old bill just isn't good enough. It's not good enough for Texas public schools, and it won't be good enough come election day.

Here's what's in the HB2 conference committe report:

1) The HB2 report is loaded with unfunded mandates that will force local school districts to pay for more with less. Nowhere in the bill is there any proposal to solve the school finance crisis, which is what everyone was supposed to be doing in the first place.

2) The HB2 report would give teachers their health insurance stipend back disguised as a bogus salary increase along with a measly $500 guaranteed raise and an insulting merit pay system - a plan that will only drive more teachers from the classroom.

3) All the hard-line Republican items are in there, too. Privatization of schools, an inequitable finance system that only benefits a few wealthy districts, and elimination of state standards and funding formulas that guarantee all children receive a better learning environment.

4) Finally, the HB2 conference report includes a clause in the final section that would allow the bill to go into effect at any future date - this summer or in two years - whenever the legislature might pass a plan like HB3. Once again, this clause proves that the only way to prevent an immediate special session to pass this mess is to kill HB2, now!

Eminent-Domain Bill Runs Into Trouble

By John Pruett

Tuesday might have spelled trouble for the House's revision of SB 62. The bill, authored by Sen. Kyle Janek (R-Houston), came in response to the Supreme Court's June decision on municipal use of eminent domain. On Sunday, the House passed the extensively amended Senate bill.

However, yesterday Rep. Frank Corte, Jr. (R-San Antonio) led the charge in a 91-40 vote to block sending SB 62 to Conference Committee after fears that the bill's language would be watered down. This means the bill returns to the Senate. Channel 8 in Dallas reports:

The Senate didn't take the bait, with the bill's author calling parts of the House version "absolutely insane" and choosing instead to kill the legislation.

"There were some good amendments in the House that we would like to take, but a couple of those are just lawyers' dreams," Mr. Janek said.

It's not readily apparent what the Senate's decision means for an amendment authored by Rep. Rene Oliveira (D-Brownsville) that would prohibit "lodging facilities" from being included under eminent domain for "economic development."

Oliveira's cousin Carlos owns the restaurant Players, which has been embroiled in a dispute with the UT System over the construction of a conference center and hotel.

If anyone has more information on whether the Senate will keep Oliveira's amendment, then please chime in.

HB 2 and 3 Coverage Continued...UPDATE!!!

By Damon McCullar

***Early Morning UPDATE***
Well, it seems the I's have be dotted and the T's crossed. As had been mentioned in the comments, it is believed that Speaker Craddick is going to "let" the Republicans vote their districts on HB 2 thereby dooming it. HB 3 is said by the Statesman to contain a .75% raise in the sales tax. The Senate has vowed to reject anything over .5%. HB 2 won't be eligible for a vote until Wednesday morning and HB 3 won't be eligible for a vote until Wednesday afternoon (unless 2/3rds vote to suspend the rules). It remains to be seen what the compromise is and the threat of a filibuster still looms in the Senate over HB 3. Unless a miracle happens it seems that this special session was for naught. It seems the only thing that was proven is that still nobody likes the proposals that were introduced during the regular session.

***NOON UPDATE***
The conferee's have signed off on HB 2. Now it goes to the printers and is delivered to all the members. A vote cannot occur until 24 hours after all the members get a copy to analyze. Of course on a 2/3rds vote they could suspend the rules, but all the insiders that I've heard from say this isn't likely. The Senate conferee's are still looking at language on HB 3. It's still not been signed off on and it will have to go through the same process. So if a compromise on HB 3 is found it will probably be tomorrow evening before it is taken up for a vote. Stay tuned...

***AFTERNOON UPDATE***
HB 2 has been said to be in member's hands by 7pm tonight. That puts the it on the floor at 7pm tomorrow night, unless they vote to suspend the rules. If HB 2 and HB 3 have been decoupled, so now one can pass without the other. However is HB 2 (teacher pay, textbooks, etc) passes without HB 3 (how to pay for everything just mentioned) then the local districts have to cough up the money (can we say unfunded mandate?). Stay tuned...

***EVENING UPDATE***

HB 3 is dead. From QR:

Disappointment over the inability to find a broad based business tax underscored the final conference committee on HB3 this afternoon.

Conferees once again reiterated that they were close on a final bill. Senate Finance Chair Steve Ogden even said that if the odds of success were great if the Governor did call another special session.

But the reality is that the grandiose visions of major school property tax reductions were all but vanquished absent a solution to the ultimate question of how to bring service industries and partnerships into paying taxes. What was once an $8-$14 billion dollar tax bill during the regular session had been diminished down to a mere $2 billion.

House Bill 2 and 3 Weekend Round Up ***Update***

By Damon McCullar

There's been a whole lot of moving and shaking in the Lege over the weekend over HB 2 and 3 and as of 2:30am this morning, the conference committees still had not reached a consensus on HB 2. At that time the Senate submitted its proposal to the house and we will have to wait until this morning to see if the House accepts. The sticking point on HB 2 at this point is recapture, or how much wealthy school districts should have to give to the less well off school districts.

The sticking points on HB 3 are the sales tax and the homestead exemption. This weekend a $15,000 increase in the homestead exemption was shot down and it appears as if the Senate is beginning to cave on the sales tax. The Senate approved a .5% increase while the House wants a 1% increase. There have been statements that seem to say that the Senate may give on the sales tax if other taxes are trimmed. Sen. West, D-Dallas wants the homestead exemption to be raised to $22,500 to off set the raise in the sales tax, but as of now there is no raise in the homestead exemption on the table. Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso has promised to filibuster HB 3 if there is any raise in the sales tax above the .5% the Senate agreed upon.

Time is running on on the Lege. The special session ends on Wednesday. There is a 24 hour madatory wait period for analysis once the bills come out of conference. If an agreement is not reached today, it is likely that no agreement will come out of this special session. Odds are we will be back here in August with yet another special session on school finance.

Stay tuned for updates.

***NOONISH UPDATE***

According to QR, a deal was reached on HB2 early this morning, but once all the conferees had woke up and actually read the bill, there some language that was not part of the deal found its way into the bill so whatever deal there was is now off pending further meetings. There is still not a consensus on HB 3. The main sticking point now seems to be the "unintended consequences" of HB3. The clock is ticking!

***EVENING UPDATE***
As the hours tick by on HB 2 and 3 the conferees have started trying to "detach" HB2 from HB 3. It seems that conventional wisdom at the dome is that HB 3 is a sinking ship and if anything is going to be salvaged from this special session that HB 2 will have to be decoupled from it. Rumor also has it that another special session will be called on Thursday to start all over again. That's exactly what they will have to do too unless they get something passed. Tick , Tick, Tick...

***LATE NIGHT UPDATE***

QR is reporting that a deal has been struck on HB 2.

Chair Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) confirmed tonight that the Senate conferees are ready to sign off on the committee report for House Bill 2.The 400-page bill currently is being printed.

Spokesman Mark Miner from Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's office also confirmed Dewhurst would have a response to HB 3 in the morning. Most of the Senate offices are now cleared for the night.

Tick, Tick, Tick...

***Early Morning UPDATE***
Well, it seems the I's have be dotted and the T's crossed. As had been mentioned in the comments, it is believed that Speaker Craddick is going to "let" the Republicans vote their districts on HB 2 thereby dooming it. HB 3 is said by the Statesman to contain a .75% raise in the sales tax. The Senate has vowed to reject anything over .5%. HB 2 won't be eligible for a vote until Wednesday morning and HB 3 won't be eligible for a vote until Wednesday afternoon (unless 2/3rds vote to suspend the rules). It remains to be seen what the