Ed. Note: To see a quick overview of the bills the Texas House considered today -- along with a policy overview of each bill -- read the Texas Legislative Study Group's floor report.
Here is a look at today's calendar in the Texas House -- the first of the session. The hyperlink over the bill number will take you directly to the Texas Legislature Online page for that bill, wherein you can look at the actual text of the bill, the bill analysis, etc.
We hope to do this, as much as possible, every day there is a calendar on the floor of the Texas House. The Texas Legislative Study Group puts out an analysis for each day's Calendar. I'll be linking to them atop the page every day because, well (See Update below.) They do outstanding work and it would be foolish not to highlight their efforts. Their reports are made by a large group of staffers that track the bills through the Committee process, speak to lobbyists about the bill, and work with the individual Member to make sure they understand the bill. Their work is just incredible.
And yes, I used to be Chief of Staff for Rep. Garnet Coleman, who chairs the Legislative Study Group. There's a reason I write so much about policy on BOR -- he taught me about how to talk about policy, and he helped develop my belief that if you focus on the policy, the politics will take care of itself. Anyone should be so lucky to have the opportunity to work for him; I did, and I want to share some of the excellent work he and the LSG produce because I think it will better inform all Texans about the actual laws that our Representatives are working on at the Capitol.
Finally -- I'd link to the conservatives' version of their floor report, but it just says "yes/no" and gives no actual policy analysis. You know -- lock step and all.
Here's today's calendar -- and I promise, future posts won't have the long and winding introduction:
HB 873 by Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D) - Film incentives bill. Want to have more movies made in the state of Texas? This bill will make that easier to happen by allowing grants to be awarded to digital media producers, and it will increase incentives for those who spend more money in the state.
This bill is a lot bigger deal than some of Rep. Dukes critics give her credit for; it's an easy way to bring money to communities while simultaneously encouraging the arts as an important subject. Art/movie/film communities are non-existant in public schools, and this bill at least brings the real deal to town -- so those who want can learn from experience and have the opportunity to see and work in a field of industry they can't gain knowledge about in school.
HB 394 by Rep. Patrick Rose (D) - Allows small businesses to qualify for the Texas Economic Development Fund. First two bills -- Democrats working to improve the the economic issues of the day. I am proud to be a Democrat.
HB 1822 by Rep. Burt Solomons (R) - Gives rulemaking authority to the PUC to unify language on electric bills, thereby creating transparency in the process. freshman Rep. Diana Maldonado (D - Round Rock) is a co-author of the bill.
HB 313 was enacted in 2007 to rectify the abuse of NAFTA in which individuals buy a truck or trailer in another state and use it outside border commercial zones. The unintended consequences of this legislation required Mexican truck operators to obtain Texas registration plates every time they crossed into border commercial zones, even if they were not owners of the vehicle.
HB 782 allows truck drivers passage to and from border commercial zones without having to obtain new registration plates for Texas. The vehicle must have registered plates indicating a reciprocity agreement and must also be registered in the country that the owner of the ehicle is a citizen in or resides in. Canadian provinces that exempt currently registered vehicles owned by nonresidents are also effective in a border commercial zone.
HB 38 by Rep. Franke Corte (R) - Allows for veterans and their families to pay in-state tuition rates regardless of their residency status.
HB 693 by Rep. Vicki Truitt (R) - "Exempts falconers from having to hold a pest control license." For the record, that was two economic development bills, a utility rate bill, a transportation bill, a veterans & higher education bill...then that other big issue, Falcon licensing. Republican State Rep. Vicki Truitt, everyone -- FTL.
HB 968 by Rep. Mark Homer (D) - "Removes the restrictions on hunting with crossbows during bow hunting season." And right behind Rep. Truitt we have Democrat Rep. Mark Homer! Who says good things don't come in pairs!
(I joke around, but I worked for a rural State Rep. for nearly two years, from 2005 through summer of 2006, and these are absolutely the bills that constiuents will write in and demand action on the loudest. So while I joke about their relative importance to state business, both Rep. Truitt and Rep. Homer are still serving their constiuents. If you can survive the crossfire of the bow-hunter shooting down the falcons, you can see a certain amount of democratic beauty in that.)
HB 1695 by Rep. Sylvester Turner (D) - Allows the PUC to require for utilities that experience severe outages due to weather to consider a disaster preparation/management kind of plan. Though it doesn't outright require them, it lays the groundwork for the creation of those plans -- and when it comes to the PUC and utilities, sometimes you need the small moves to set up the big ones.
HB 1637 would improve benefits under the shared work unemployment compensation program for underserved workers and industries by adding greater work schedule flexibility in determining benefits. Currently, benefits are granted based on a consistent 40-hour workweek, which many businesses and employees do not follow, especially in the manufacturing industry.
In manufacturing, for example, facilities operate on a 24-hour, 7 day-a-week basis, so it makes sense to employ workers on a schedule alternating 3 and 4 day weeks. However, under current statute, workers on an alternating biweekly schedule that averages 40 hours per week would be eligible for less benefits than workers who work consistent 40-hour work weeks.
This bill gives affected businesses greater flexibility in retaining their workers, thus preventing layoffs. In this economic climate, this bill is needed to make the shared work unemployment compensation program more effective and equitable when it’s needed most. This bill is favored by a broad array of business and labor groups.
I'm very proud to see two of our freshman members, Rep. Diana Maldonado and Rep. Chris Turner, with legislation on the first day's calendar. Rep. Maldonado and Rep. Chris Turner were the first two candidates that TexBlog PAC endorsed. For everyone who donated to TexBlog PAC and helped us support these candidates -- this is your investment paying off for you.
Update: I forgot that the LSG Floor Reports are subscription-only, and it is the other reports -- their higher ed reports, state school reports, etc. -- that are open to everyone. I should have remembered this since I worked with them so much, but I think I just got excited at reading the first Calendar of the session and their first Floor Report of the Session. And yes, I'm a policy dork that gets excited about stuff like that -- why do you think I'm spending my Spring Break posting on BOR? Deal with it.
Since they sell subscriptions -- a la Quorum Report & Texas Weekly -- I won't be able to link directly to it every day. Though, like I do with QR, I will crib from my subscription if/when it is necessary and appropriate, and I will still use their excellent research to form and shape these calendar posts.
Bottom line: you'll still be able to come to BOR for coverage of what is happening at the Capitol. So keep reading!
Looks like the state senate is prepared, should it pass hearings, to cap tuition costs at the time the student originally entered college.
Sen. Juan Hinojosa, D-McAllen, is backing a tuition moratorium at public universities. He called tuition deregulation a "back-door tax."
"I do not blame the universities; I do not blame the regents," he said. "I blame the Legislature for passing the buck. We took the cap off and said `have at it."
Kudos to the senate for clamping down on universities who are pricing low income and minority students out of a higher education.
This move comes on the heels of Vince Leibowitz's blog revealing Representative Vicki Truitt's attempt to tack on more college debt by requiring students to purchase medical insurance before entering college or risk not being admitted.
So basically the state senate takes two steps forward in alleviating the pain of skyrocketing tuition costs, while the state legislature takes two steps back in moving towards tacking on additional debt for students.
If you want to take action on this (send a fax, email, or testify, make sure you check below the jump.
Evidently, there simply aren't enough roadblocks to accessible high education in Texas.
Now, State Rep. Vicki Truitt (R-Keller) wants every student enrolling in an institution of higher learning in Texas to have medical insurance before they enroll. Those who don't will have to purchase it through the school.
This is insane. While many families are fortunate enough to have insurance coverage that will cover dependent children through their college years, many low- and middle-income Texas families aren't this fortunate.
State Representatives Gene Seaman, Rob Eissler and Vicki Truitt, as well as State Senator Kim Brimer appear to be involved in potentially illegal (case by case) schemes- using campaign funds to pay for Austin area properties.
Each of these "Rent to Own Republicans" employs a different method to skirt the law, but it is evident in each case that the practice of using a spouse as a funnel to convert campaign contributions into mortgage payments or condo dues is simply improper. While Texas families are working hard to make their house payment every month, these Republicans are buying luxury condos courtesy of their special interest contributors.
Because Gene Seaman is the only one of these folks who has a competitive challenger (or even an opponent), let's focus on his tale which the Corpus Christi Caller Times has already picked up on.
State Rep. Gene Seaman used campaign contributions to pay his wife $44,000 since at least 2002 for an Austin condominium that he sometimes occupies. He also used at least $19,500 in contributions to pay condo fees during the same period.
Seaman's campaign finance reports indicate that he has paid $1,000 a month rent for a condo at the Towers of Town Lake, a waterfront high-rise complex with a view of Town Lake and downtown Austin, for the past several years. The same reports indicate he paid roughly $500 in additional condo association/homeowner association fees each month.
The rent checks, according to Seaman's finance reports, were made out to Austin Land Co., which is listed at the same address as the condo he is renting. Yet as of Friday afternoon, there was no Austin Land Co. with offices at that address, and the Texas Secretary of State did not have a record of a company by that name currently operating in the state.
Instead, the money has been going to Seaman's wife, Ellen, who is listed on Travis County tax rolls as the sole owner of the condo, Seaman's spokesman Mac McCall said.
BOR has gotten ahold of these materials and you can view them online. Click the links below to view...
1) Seaman's TEC Reports- rent & assoc. dues paid to non-existent Austin Land Co.
2) TCAD report listing Ellen Seaman at the address with a Homestead Exemption
3) Picture of the Seaman property
It's an illegal error, appraisal district officials said.
The Austin condo, valued at $234,345 by the Travis County Appraisal District, carries a homestead exemption as well as an over-65 exemption. The couple's Ocean Drive home, valued at $316,369 by the Nueces County Appraisal District, is in Gene Seaman's name and has the same exemptions, which is illegal under Texas law, according to appraisal district officials.
Unless Gene and Ellen Seaman were divorced or legally separated, they could not legally have the two sets of exemptions, said Nueces County Assistant Chief Appraiser Michael Mantz.
I'll follow up with two points.
1) Democrat Juan Garcia is a TexRoots endorsed candidate worthy of your $$ running against Seaman. Donate here, please.
2) There are reasons we should have a Run, Everywhere strategy. There are lightning strikes. Vikki Truitt has no Democratic opponent. Will Brimer have one in 2 years? It's too late for that now, but you can support Juan Garcia.
