You're A Good Man, Charlie Geren

by: Chaille Jolink

Thu May 16, 2013 at 08:05 AM CDT

If you're an astute observer of the Texas Legislature you know one of the stranger stories of this session is the story of Senate Bill 346 by Senator Seliger.

This bill requires 501C(4)s and 501C(6)s (AKA SuperPACS) to disclose donor information. Currently they operate unchecked and unchallenged by regular campaign fundraising rules, and since the Citizens United these PACs have operated as fundraising mechanisms for candidates and other issue based campaigns.  

One of the more notable PACs affected by SB 346 is Michael Quinn Sullivan's 501(c)4, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility.  

As Sonia Smith with Texas Monthly writes:

"
His 501(c)(4), Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, would be the most high-profile group required to disclose contributions under Seliger's measure. During the 2012 elections, "Empower Texans dba Texans for Fiscal Responsibility" spent $352,000 in Texas races, according to the state ethics commission. A full $333,000 of that money was spent during the primary cycle to support opponents to Speaker Joe Straus and those allied with him. None of these donors were disclosed.

(And Sullivan, as Texas Monthly's Nate Blakeslee noted in his profile of him in January, faced an ethics complaint filed by two Republican legislators last April that alleged he had acted as a lobbyist without registering as one.)"

Although the bill seemed to have far reaching implications and was ripe for debate and revision, SB 346 still moved along as a somewhat innocuous bill, until it passed through the whole Senate.

Click Below To See What Happened
 

House Faces First Midnight Deadline, What's Next

by: Chaille Jolink

Fri May 10, 2013 at 09:00 AM CDT

Last night the Texas House of Representatives adjourned promptly at midnight, passing their first major deadline this session. This closes the first chapter of this session, as all house bills on the calendar that did not pass out of the full House by midnight last night are now dead.

So where are we?

One notable thing was that the House did not approve funding for long term water projects, one of the Governor's stated priorities this session.

HB 4 passed the House earlier this session, which creates long term water preservation projects and authorizes more revenue bonds for the Texas Water Development Board. HB 11 funded this measure, however HB 11 failed. HB 11 funded these long term water projects by taking money out of a 'flushed-with-cash' the Rainy Day Fund. Because HB 11 pulled money out of the Rainy Day Fund it takes a two-thirds vote to pass, which means the bill needed Democratic support for it to pass. This gave Democrats leverage to be able to say that if the legislature is going to pull funding from the Rainy Day Fund for water infrastructure, it should also pull money for education.

HB 11 died with a sustained point of order, proving a show of strength for Democrats. The win declared that if the House were to tap into the Rainy Day Fund the monies will have to be (at least in some part) for education. Now with the house bill deadline past, only senate bills can pass through the House Chamber. So with no current approval for water funding on the House side, lawmakers are scrambling to avoid a special session by searching for ingenious ways to fund HB 4 without an actual house bill. Rick Perry has noted that he will call a special session if there is no funding for long term water projects.

Rep. Drew Darby gave an interesting insight into the future by simply stating the words "special session" on the House Floor last night.

Find out why he said it below the jump.  

House Tensions Run High as Deadlines Loom

by: Chaille Jolink

Wed May 08, 2013 at 00:00 AM CDT

Yesterday was a very dramatic day in the Texas House.

Looming with the deadline that any non-local House Bills must be passed out of the full House by tomorrow night, tensions can run high, and that came to boiling point yesterday.

With the passage of HB 500, a bill that was debated for several hours yesterday, the stage was set for drama. HB 500 cuts taxes for businesses to the tune of almost $666 million dollars. There was vigourous debate on the bill and on the priorities of using these extra monies for tax breaks. Sylvester Turner, proving to be a budget hawk, like most Democrats this session was most notably against the spending, as his displaying of an abacus made clear.

But one of the most tense and contentious moments, forcing R's to battle with one another was what came next, an amendment to HB 3153, a fairly non-contentious bill without the proposed amendment.

The amendment, authored by Representative Phil King, would have transferred funding from the Public Integrity Unity to the Attorney General's Office, unless the current District Attorney, Rosemary Lehmerg resigns. Lehmberg was convicted of a DUI last month and is currently serving her sentence in the Travis County Jail.

The Public Integrity Unit is a unique entity because it is funded by the state, but it is meant to investigate and prosecute officeholders in the state. It is housed and run under the umbrella of the Travis County District Attorney's Office. If Lehmberg resigns, Rick Perry would have the power to appoint someone as the Travis County DA until her term expires.

The amendment had a point of order overruled on it for germaneness, and caused several prominent members to speak against it, noting that it is bad public policy, and bad politics for a myriad of reasons. Democrat Sylvester Turner and Republican Charlie Geren both spoke against the amendment.

To read what they said click "There's More"  

State Rep. Who Owns Over 500 Guns Thinks Guns on Campus Bill Is Crazy

by: Chaille Jolink

Tue May 07, 2013 at 10:05 AM CDT

This past weekend, while the NRA met in Houston, and Rick Perry was busy saying something stupid, the Texas House of Representatives debated every gun bill on the docket this session. All of them passed, save one which would have made a concealed handgun license a valid form of ID for businesses in the state (ironically this was probably the most sensible bill).

But, during the debate for the campus carry bill, one freshman representative took the Republicans to task, questioning their gun-toting credentials, and staunchly opposing the infamous bill that allows students with CHLs to carry guns on college campuses.

Representative Terry Canales of Edinburg is a freshman Democrat, whose day job as a defense attorney lends him to defend his beliefs on the House floor unabashedly. The Representative told the Houston Chronicle yesterday that,

"There is a time and a place for responsible gun ownership," Canales said, noting his opposition to allowing firearms on college campuses. "My support of the Second Amendment is unwavering, but when it comes to our children's safety and education, there are limits."

The Representative noted that he has acquired so many guns because his mother has given him a gun for Christmas every year since he was ten years old. He also said that guns are "good as gold" in terms of their value, so collecting them is a profitable and even prudent hobby.

These laws that legalize guns on campus are dangerous. They threaten the local control of universities to decide for themselves what is safe for their own campus, and law enforcement officials are opposed to any such measures, because of it so obviously undermines their authority. Stack all this up and add Rep. Terry Canales, and it's clear that the Republicans supporting this measure are bad on issues like public safety, local control, and gun ownership.

While these bills have cleared the hurdle of the House they face an uphill battle in the Senate. Deadlines loom large this week in the Legislature and each day that passes there is less and less of the likelihood that a bill will succeed. Here's hoping that prevails, and that Rep. Canales keeps Republicans on their toes.  

Texas House Eliminates the Lottery and Bingo in Texas

by: Chaille Jolink

Tue Apr 23, 2013 at 03:49 PM CDT

UPDATE: In one of the biggest, "oops, never mind" moments of the session, the House moved to reconsider the vote for HB 2197. The vote to reconsider takes a two-thirds majority which passed 110-37, and the bill itself eventually passed with a 92-53 vote onto 3rd reading.

In a surprise 82-64 vote against HB 2197, the sunset bill allowing the continuation of the Texas Lottery Commission, the House single handedly removed more than $2 billion dollars from the state budget. With the passage of SB 1 earlier this month the House already approved spending measures from revenue from the Texas Lottery, including money for education and veterans and indigent health care, just to list a few.

The bill met with opposition led by freshman Representative Scott Sanford, who is also the minister at Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church. He spoke about the moral ills of the lottery, which is a common argument that keeps casinos out of Texas, but not one generally used for eliminating the billion dollar industry that is the Texas Lottery Commission.

When the bill passed, several younger tea party members cheered with victory, probably unaware that they tied the hands of budget writers, charities all over Texas, and public schools in their districts, to say nothing of the countless jobs within the Texas Lottery Commission.

Representative Anchia, the author of the bill told the Texas Tribune that charities can no longer have bingo as fundraisers.

"VFW Bingo's dead now," Anchia said. "They're going to have to go back to their constituents and explain why bingo is illegal."

The Texas Lottery Commission's projected proceeds are $2,075,000,000, to the Foundation School Program for the 2014-2015 fiscal years, according to the Comptroller's Revenue Estimates.

Rep. Sylvester Turner, one of the conference committee members for the House Budget expressed his concerns for the vote that had just happened on the back mic, noting that he's going to have to confer with the Senate with $2.2 billion dollars less than expected without the passage of this bill. When asked what happened, all the response he got behind the speaker's dais was, "The Lottery Commission is gone."

The House is now currently in a whirlwind trying to undo the damage done by voting down this sunset bill. In the past, when sunset bills dealing with large agencies like this haven't passed, a special session is usually imminent.

When the Republican members were speaking against this bill, one of the members on the back mic quoted a notorious author, saying that the lottery was a tax on poor people, and for people who can't "do math." Yet with the Tea Party Republicans cheering to eliminate the lottery commission, but also passing a budget that has the $2.2 billion dollars already spent, it seems the people who can't "do math" are not the people who play the lottery, but the tea party members themselves. Too bad the members don't tax themselves, jackpot!  

Looking West

by: Chaille Jolink

Thu Apr 18, 2013 at 08:00 AM CDT

First, if you are able you can give blood at the Capitol Area Blood Bank of Central Texas, and please visit the American Red Cross of Central Texas on facebook for more information and other timely updates.

Even as of this morning it is not clear what caused the accident, as CNN reports:  

"What caused the explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. was not immediately known. But its location -- next to an apartment complex, a nursing home and a middle school -- did not help matters."

As it turns out, according to Wikipedia, Adair Grain Inc. owner of the West Fertilizer Company was investigated for failing to secure a permit when a neighbor complained about an ammonia smell coming from the plant. According to the Dallas Morning News, "The business stored anhydrous ammonia for sale to farmers. State and federal documents describe West Fertilizer as a seller, not a manufacturer."

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) investigated Adair Grain, Inc. and eventually issued a permit in 2006, yet according to the Dallas Morning News, Texas officials knew that these 12,000 gallon tanks of ammonia were close to homes, a nearby school, and other vulnerable citizens. In fact one of the conditions of the permit by the TCEQ was to build a wall between the fertilizer tanks and a public road nearby, to prevent accidental vehicle collisions which can almost certainly cause explosions.  

These large fertilizer tanks are used as irrigation systems essentially, but contain ammonia, which is a commonly used fertilizer. These tanks are filled with anhydrous ammonia, the commercial term for just plain ammonia without water, which is just a compound of hydrogen and nitrogen (not the liquid from). These tanks, not unlike hot water heaters, need to be kept at a certain internal level of pressure in order stay safe.

Whether or not this tragedy could have been completely prevented remains to be seen. What seems suspect is that the permit process started through a complaint, but according to the DMN there were no public comments for or against the TCEQ permit being issued. Hopefully we will get more information and better news as the day goes on, keeping West and all of Texas in our thoughts and prayers.  

Bills To Watch This Week in the TX Legislature

by: Chaille Jolink

Tue Apr 16, 2013 at 01:44 PM CDT

HB 377 by Representative Burnam renames a part of I35W in Fort Worth to Cesar Chavez Memorial Freeway. This bill pushed through the House and was just received in the Senate yesterday. There has been some push back for reasons passing understanding regarding this bill. Even if the bill is placed on the intent calendar, it can sit there for weeks until the bill can pass the two-thirds vote to get onto the floor for debate.

Speaking of a bill that has been sitting in the Senate Intent Calendar for weeks, SB 537, has been there since April 2nd. This is the bill by Senator Deuell that essentially regulates away abortion in Texas. The bill makes abortion clinics comply with a hundred page statute making it an ambulatory surgery center. This will basically force all clinics in Texas, save five, to shutter their doors because they can't afford the compliance cost. If this bill goes to the floor, it will be because a Democrat let it happen. There are democrats in the Senate who are vulnerable to and have mixed voting history with this issue in the past.

Online voter registration, HB 313 had it's first hearing in House Elections yesterday. This bill is being carried by Representative Mark Strama working with Travis County elected officials including the newly elected Travis County Tax Assessor/Collector Bruce Elfant. The bill has some likelihood of passing, seeing there is a Republican joint author of the bill. It address the serious issue of access to voter registration by allowing for online voter registration in Texas. The best place to read about the bill, and any election updates is Michael Li's blog, Texas Redistricting and Election Law.  Empower the Vote Texas is also a reliable source of legislative information.

Finally, HB 2019 is one of multiple legislative attempts to reign in the reckless payday lenders in Texas. Former Speaker and Dean of the Texas House of Representatives, Tom Craddick, a rare ally in progressive legislation, particularly one that regulates a business, is the author of the bill. The bill simply regulates the fees that payday lenders charge, not the interest rate, which is about 150 percent. Tom Craddick has a constituent, who took out a loan of $6,000 dollars for the funeral of a loved one. She has now paid over $12,000 to the payday lender, which is all kosher under current law. Craddick filed the legislation last session, along with Travis County Representative Eddie Rodriquez, but it died in committee. Senator Davis carried a companion bill a little further on the Senate side but it was removed from the intent calendar days before the end of session.  

First Blue Ribbon Lobby Day a Success

by: Chaille Jolink

Thu Apr 11, 2013 at 01:05 PM CDT

Their website states:

Blue Ribbon Lobby Day is different from most other advocacy days because it's organized by, for and in support of Texas women. As Democratic and progressive women, we know that many in the Texas Legislature prefer to play politics with women's lives over finding real-life solutions to important issues such as public education, insuring more Texans (our children especially) and making sure all women have access to essential healthcare. On Blue Ribbon Lobby Day, we'll celebrate the lawmakers who fight for us and put the other ones on notice: Texas women are united, we're watching, and we're keeping score.

The movement stemmed from the history of Republican women lobbying the capitol every year wearing red. This year Democratic men and women from all across the state, knowing now more than ever that their voice needs to be heard in the Pink Dome, decided to show up in full blue force.

The best news is this is just the beginning. The organizing effort for the Blue Ribbon Lobby Day is going to continue to provide opportunities for women to get involved at the Capitol, because after the large response they had, it is clear that Texas women are ready to have their voices heard.

For more information check out blueribbonlobbyday.com.

Texas House Approves Progressive Amendments to Budget Including Adopting Anti-Voucher Amendment

by: Chaille Jolink

Thu Apr 04, 2013 at 08:25 PM CDT

Although the Medicaid eligibility amendment was later reconsidered and eventually withdrawn, House Republicans are also withdrawing, or really withholding amendments regarding women's health and anti-choice issues, in a surprising bipartisan detante in order to move the budget debate along. Of course, the BFD of the bunch is the passage of the amendment brought to the floor by Representative Abel Herrero of Robstown to end school vouchers in Texas.

A super-majority of House members -- including 51 Republicans and the Chair of the House Public Education Committee -- voted for the amendment banning vouchers. Every single story notes what a huge message this sends to Rick Perry, Senator Dan Patrick, and anyone else pushing voucher bills down the pipeline.

Herrero's amendment simply stated that the money from TEA cannot be used to invest in private institutions, essentially keeping public money for public education. While there was some heated debate it was short lived, and eventually Herrero defended his amendment by stating, "Members at some point we have to make a choice; if we are with our public schools, or not."

Republican operatives are already beating the drums calling on primary retaliation, despite the fact that members were encouraged to vote their districts. The republican leadership did not put any pressure on the vote because of this primary issue, and as they say, "left it to the will of the House."

Now the will of the House is clear. What isn't clear is if this most recent move will permanently stop the school vouchers movement in the Texas Legislature or not.

Builder Rep. Workman Files Legislation Undoing Local Construction Ordinances

by: Chaille Jolink

Tue Apr 02, 2013 at 02:12 PM CDT

On the deadline for filing legislation, Workman filed a series of bills attempting to dismantle longstanding city ordinances and regulations to make the City of Austin more "development friendly."

One of the things Workman was aiming at in one of his bills was to remove the grandfathering rules within the City of Austin, allowing for dense development in some places in Austin. Another bill would also limit Austin's treasured Save Our Springs Ordinance which Austin voters approved in the mid 90's so the City could limit development that would pollute the watersheds that feed Barton Springs and the Edwards Aquifer.

Under the SOS Ordinance, no more than 15-25 percent of a property can be covered by pavement or structures if that property sits over Austin's portion of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, deemed an environmentally sensitive area by everyone, including the federal government (it is known as a Sole Source Aquifer by the federal government making it eligible for funding to protect it).

The Edwards Aquifer provides water for 2 million people including parts of Austin and San Antonio, one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States. Maintaining and preserving this water supply are critical to growth in central Texas. The recharge areas of the aquifer, some are within Workman's district, are environmentally sensitive to pollutants and are constantly being threatened by disregard of this resource by developers like Workman.

Chuck Lesniak with the City of Austin told the Statesman last week:

"There is a tremendous amount of science out there that correlates the amount of impervious cover in watersheds with flooding and pollutants in the water," Lesniak said. "We're the second-fastest-growing city in the country. ... A lot of that is because of how desirable Austin is, and that has a lot to do with these regulations and what they're protecting. These bills really take a short-sighted view of our economy."

A few of the threats to the recharge zone of the aquifer include highway construction, agricultural chemicals, runoff from paved surfaces, and leaking underground storage tanks. The picture to the right is from 1993 and shows Midnight Cave, a part of the Edwards Aquifer in Southern Travis County, one year after the SOS Ordinance went into effect, and before one of the first attempts to cleanup the aquifer. The trash in the picture includes household garbage, oil filters, and automobile parts.

Workman also wants to remove Austin's tree protection rules, which would allow property owners to cut down potentially hundred year old trees that the city protects. Workman states that it is for fire prevention, but cities including Austin already allow tree removal if safety is ever a concern.

Having a city resolve city issues is a best practice that needs to be maintained. If Workman's SOS bill passes, the state would be forcing any city in Texas to pay money to a private property owner if the city needs restrict more than half of the development, undermining any city's particular environmental, preservation, or historical needs. Also undoing existing ordinances at a local level is unprecedented and irresponsible.

Although Workman states it's about private property rights, there is no doubt that if any of these bills pass Workman Commercial Construction Services will be an obvious benefactor if these environmental and historical ordinances are done away with.