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Boy Scout Delegates Vote 61-38 to Allow Gay Scouts (But Not Adults)

Karl-Thomas Musselman — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:20:59 GMT

Just hours ago, the approximately 1400 voting members of the Boy Scouts of America's National Council adopted a change in policy that would allow gay scouts to be members by a margin of 61%-38%. Gay adults would still be ineligible to serve, leaving BSA exposed to criticism from both conservative and LGBT advocates as well as opening itself up to new legal vulnerabilities according to some.

The policy will become effective January 1, 2014. The National Committee additionally noted that because of the expansive process involved, it has "no plans to further review this matter."

"Based on growing input from within the Scouting family, the BSA leadership chose to conduct an additional review of the organization's long-standing membership policy and its impact on Scouting's mission. This review created an outpouring of feedback from the Scouting family and the American public, from both those who agree with the current policy and those who support a change.
"Today, following this review, the most comprehensive listening exercise in Scouting's history the approximate 1,400 voting members of the Boy Scouts of America's National Council approved a resolution to remove the restriction denying membership to youth on the basis of sexual orientation alone. The resolution also reinforces that Scouting is a youth program, and any sexual conduct, whether heterosexual or homosexual, by youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting. A change to the current membership policy for adult leaders was not under consideration; thus, the policy for adults remains in place. The BSA thanks all the national voting members who participated in this process and vote.
Read the full statement from BSA.

The public at large has been polled about this outcome.

In the new poll, 63 percent of Americans support allowing gay scouts to join, and the public opposes the plan to continue to ban gay adults from Boy Scout leadership by a 56 to 39 percent margin. The results contrast with a USA Today/Gallup poll last year, where only 42 percent said openly gay adults should be able to serve as leaders.

Tom DeLay's Lawyer James Bopp Drafts Response to Boy Scout Policy on Homosexuality

Karl-Thomas Musselman — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:05:59 GMT

Maybe best known as being Tom DeLay's lawyer, James "Jim" Bopp recently drafted a letter to the Boy Scouts of America regarding potential legal exposure from the proposed "split-decision" solution to the organizations ban on gay scouts. With delegates having voted just hours ago and the results still unknown as of this writing, reading his review could be prescient or merely an entertaining footnote.

Still, a good read either way. Check it out below the fold.

Texas House Votes to Allow Student Organizations to Ignore University Non-Discrimination Policies

Karl-Thomas Musselman — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:30:00 GMT

What was supposed to have been dead when HB 360 ended its journey last week has been revived and approved as an amendment to SB 215. By a vote of 78-67, the House approved Rep. Matt Krause's bill as an amendment, though it should be noted the opposition was bipartisan with 13 Republicans voting no. The support consisted of all Republicans and one Democrat, Ryan Guillen.

The amendment would prohibit Texas universities from requiring student organizations to follow university-wide non-discrimination policies. In the name of freedom of speech, association, and to "promote diversity of thought and the marketplace of ideas" on college campuses, the Krause Amendment effectively nullifies non-discrimination policies-- policies intended in part to create a safe learning environment where everyone's ideas are allowed to be shared in the first place.

If the law to which this amendment is attached becomes law, campus organizations will be able to discriminate based on race, religion, veteran status, HIV/AIDS status, gender, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, and they will be able to use taxpayer resources to do it.

This issue has been a pet project of Rep. Krause who two years ago defended 14-year-old Dakota Ary, who remarks about homosexuality resulted in a suspension and investigation into the teacher who was cleared as the target of the student's harassment. It's the sort of typical "reverse discrimination" legislative reaction one might expect from Republicans, but maybe not a majority in the Texas House.

Equality Texas is actively monitoring the legislation and released the following via email.

The Krause amendment was one of 15 amendments added by the House to Senate Bill 215. It is likely that a conference committee will be needed to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of SB 215. Equality Texas will be actively engaged throughout that process working to strip the Krause amendment from the bill's final version.
We will keep you apprised of this process as it unfolds.

House Calendars Deadlines Kills Two Anti-Gay Bills in Texas

Karl-Thomas Musselman — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:30:00 GMT

Tuesday night at midnight was a procedural deadline on the Calendars Committee for bills in the Texas House to be set for consideration before the full body. As of 12:01 AM yesterday morning, the failure to schedule HB 1568 and HB 360 resulted in both bills reaching the end of the road for this legislative session.

HB 1568, by Rep. Drew Springer of Muenster, attempted to punish the Pflugerville Independent School District for offering health insurance benefits to the unmarried partners of employees. During the legislative process, the bill was modified into an attempt to massively expand the powers of the State Attorney General by giving him the ability to shut down any school district, without an appeals process or oversight, as we previously reported.

HB 360 by Rep. Matt Krause of Fort Worth, also died last night. HB 360 would have prohibited universities from requiring that officially recognized school organizations abide by the universities' nondiscrimination policies.

AISD Bond Election Turnout Light, Early Voting Ends Today

Karl-Thomas Musselman — Tue, 07 May 2013 20:33:24 GMT

Turnout has been light, just 16,651 voters through Monday in Travis County for all local elections, the largest being a nearly billon dollar bond measure for the Austin Independent School District. That equates to a turnout of just 3.81% with today's final early votes and Saturday's Election Day votes being the last opportunities for AISD voters to weigh in on the future of the school district.

With unseasonably enjoyable weather (for May in Austin), attention has not been on the election. Devoid of Austin city council races which voters elected to move to November of 2014, the AISD bond campaign has been the only major show in town- and the most organized opposition to it seems to be the Statesman Editorial Board whose failure to endose the bonds this weekend went mostly unnoticed as Statesman content began slipping behind its new paywall. The bonds have been endorsed by the Austin Chronicle, Burnt Orange Report, and the TCDP for perspective. Be sure to check out the new ad released by the pro-bond campaign Fix Austin Schools.

With hours left to vote, Travis County voters can cast ballots by 7PM at any of these early vote or mobile vote locations. This Saturday's 7AM-7PM Election Day polling locations are available here.

Disclosure: I began working on the bond campaign's digital ad strategy after Burnt Orange Report issued an endorsement.

All Things Equal- Austin Traffic Congestion Worse Than New York City

Karl-Thomas Musselman — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:30:00 GMT

According to analysis of the INRIX 2012 Traffic Scorecard, Austin has a higher traffic congestion score than New York City. While that might be comforting news to Rep. Elliott Naishtat, an Austin Democrat from New York City (whose introduction into local politics began with a joke about his anterior habitation), Austin scored 4th for congestion behind San Francisco, Honolulu, and Los Angeles which was rated America's most congested.

#4: Austin
Congestion score: 20.7

Population density: 406.7 people per sq. mile (70th highest)

Average commute time: 25.8 minutes (45th highest)

Pct. driving to work: 85.8% (47th lowest)

No metro area with more than a million residents had a greater percentage increase in population from July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012, than Austin's 3% growth, according to the Austin Statesman. This is hardly news for the area, which has expanded rapidly for more than a decade and, like much of the state, has been unable to expand transportation infrastructure to handle this growth. In 2012, Austin was one of four metro areas with an INRIX index score higher than 20, well above the 6.6 score for the U.S. overall. It was also one of just six large metro areas in which the INRIX index score worsened compared to the year before.

Emphasis mine. But before I discuss why Austin is where it is, let's be sure everyone's on the same page about what's being measured here. Click to continue reading.

The scorecard assigns an index score for the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas, and individual road segments within those areas. Scores are functions of the percentage difference between road segments' uncongested (or "free flow") travel time and the calculated travel time on the roads during peak hours (6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday). 24/7 Wall St. also reviewed population density from the 2010 Census, as well as travel time and commuting methods for each metro area from the Census Bureau's 2011 American Community Survey. All data used were the most recent available.

Congestion in this way emphasizes situations where a normally short trip becomes long versus long trips becoming longer. It has to do with the percentages, so even though New York City which has the highest average commute time in the country, the highest population density, and high public transit rates can have Austin move ahead of it. Both are over capacity for their transit systems. Austin's problem is that haven't even begun to seriously build alternatives to handle the growth choking an arterial system that has been maxed out in places for literally over a decade already. NYC's problem is that there are just so many people left after throwing every form of public transit option at the problem. Austin is still struggling to accept the reality that the path forward requires making that leap to more expensive but necessary transit upgrades.

It's painfully urgent. Light Rail is 12 years and counting behind schedule. Mopac express lanes start this fall for completion in 2015, when it seems every city in Texas figured that one out in the '90s. Bus Rapid Transit * has stations being built but no passengers as of yet. BikeShare is coming the soonest of them all, but still has zero users. Austin's Commuter Rail is making a tiny, important, and costly dent in solving traffic woes. All while freight rail rumbles through West Austin, except when replaced the occasional Amtrak, neither of which has the impact that real Regional Rail one day in the future may have. All while traffic on I-35 and Mopac watches on.

So long as Austin is going to remain an economic powerhouse, honey badgering through national recessions and drawing people to it, the demand on our transportation network (if you can call it that) is only going to get greater. Austin has to make a decision about what to do about it and it desperately needs leadership on the issue, someone who can save the city from its penchant to put process over progress.

HB 1568 Passes Committee, Cuts Funds to Districts Offering Domestic Partner Benefits

Karl-Thomas Musselman — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:59:46 GMT

A Texas House bill to cut funding to school districts which decide to offer domestic partner benefits has moved out of committee. HB 1568 passed on a 6-4 vote out of the Public Education Committee last week and has now been referred to Calendars. It is sponsored by over 30 Republicans.

While the text of the bill has no mention of domestic partnerships, this anti-gay and anti-local bill would allow the state to credibly threaten school districts like Pflugerville and Austin. It's intended to keep any other ISDs from considering to offer domestic partnership benefits to their employees unless they want to risk having their accreditation and funding pulled by the state. The trigger here is Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's opinion released this Monday where he argues that districts like Pflugerville or Austin would be in violation of the state's constitution if they offered similar benefits in the coming school year.

HB 1568 is a small bill which gives the state a huge amount of leverage. It goes against the very heart of local control and more importantly, goes against public sentiment. According to recent polling, 65.7% of voters support extending domestic partnership benefits to government/public university employees; an increase of 3.4% from 2010.

Should this bill make it out of Calendars and onto the House floor, expect the reality of public opinion and the desire of local jurisdictions to offer competitive benefits to suddenly crash into a wall of Texas Republican ideologues. There are cracks to exploit, but this bill is dangerously close to becoming a flashpoint.

Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt Announces Run for Travis County Judge

Karl-Thomas Musselman — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:00:00 GMT

Until yesterday she was Travis County Commissioner for Precinct 2, a flying reindeer shaped district covering parts of central, west, and north Austin. Now Sarah Eckhardt is officially a candidate for Travis County Judge. She is expected to face soon-to-be-former Travis County Democratic Party chair Andy Brown in the Democratic primary next March.

Eckhardt took the opportunity to subtly draw distinctions with Brown in her remarks and later email announcements, casting him as being wet behind the ears and beholden to the local Democratic establishment.

"Serving as the chief executive and administrator of Travis County and presiding over the Commissioners Court is not a job for beginners."
"The people of Travis County are weary of politics as usual, and they long for fair, effective and efficient county government. When the people choose the next Travis County Judge, they will be looking for a candidate with experience, love for public service and the courage for excellence."

As a current Commissioner, Eckhardt, who serves until her interim replacement is appointed by Judge Sam Biscoe, stressed her experience working on the Court. As County Commissioner, Sarah Eckhardt often plays the role of "policy wonk" on issues ranging from transportation, environmental protection, contract negotiation, civil and criminal justice administration, and the countywide social safety net. In addition to that work she noted her prior 8 years of service at the County Attorney's office, her electoral success having defeated an incumbent (Karen Sonleitner, who plans to run for her old seat in 2014), and recent poll numbers which show her with higher name ID than Andy Brown.

To read the full remarks from Eckhardt's announcement, continue reading here.

Thank you for coming. I am grateful and honored to you all for being here. And, I am especially grateful to:
• The love of my life, Kurt Sauer
• And our kids, Hank and Nadine, for loving stage door mom, soccer mom AND working mom
• My Office Staff for making me look smart and capable the last 6 years
• My Campaign Staff for believing in my brand of Public Service
• And Maria's Taco Express, a fine local business, for feeding us today
I also want to give special thanks to my mom, Nadine Eckhardt. This is her house and I am her youngest child. Both of my parents have been life long public servants. My father Bob Eckhardt would have been 100 years old this year. He was a US Congressman and spent his life in public service. My mother never held elective office. She raised the family while working in public service for others. Both of them instilled in us a belief that, through courage and hard work, public service makes a real and lasting difference in people's lives. To paraphrase Ralph Yarborough, the work of government is to put the jam of society on the lower shelf so everyone can reach it
I've gathered you all here today to announce that I am running for Travis County Judge to work for Travis County, ALL of Travis County. Austin, Del Valle, Wells Branch or Apache Shores. Man or a woman. Gay or straight. Native or immigrant. Masters degree or GED. I will work to get the jam on the lower shelf so everyone can reach it.
Travis County is home to Austin, one of the fastest growing cities in the US. And it is also home to smaller communities that are growing even faster. I have spent the last several months talking about county government with residents from every corner of our community.
And, in March of 2014, I want the people of Travis County to have the choice of a candidate with experience, love for the work of public service, and the courage for excellence.
Serving as the chief executive and administrator of Travis County and presiding over the Commissioners Court is not a job for beginners. Each year, the County Judge and his or her Commissioners Court sets the tax rate, establishes the budget and decides the countywide policies affecting approximately 1.1 million people, 5000 employees, 1000 square miles of territory and $800 million in revenue.
We need a leader who
• Asks the hard questions
• Says no to our friends when they ask for too much
• Says yes to our opponents when they bring a better idea for getting the job done
I've proven to be this leader - and I have proven that I can win. A recent poll put my name recognition higher than any other declared candidate for this office - I lead by nearly 20 points.
It's hard to believe that Travis County has never had a woman chief executive. I want to be the first woman because I am the most qualified candidate for the job.
Announcing my candidacy means I have to resign as Travis County Commissioner for Precinct 2, a job I love doing. But, the challenges we face and the solutions I seek have become larger than any one precinct. You will see me on the Commissioners Court for a little while longer. I owe it to the People of Precinct 2 to make sure they have an experienced voice on the Court. And, the Texas Constitution requires me to "continue to perform the duties of [my] offices" until Judge Biscoe appoints a qualified Interim Representative.
After that, I will run full tilt and full time to lead the County with Experience, Heart and Courage.
Our challenges are great. But, our opportunities are even greater. Unlike some in our state, our people believe in good government. And, Travis County has a deep bench of dedicated public servants ready to answer the call of a leader with experience and expertise. We WILL get that jam where everyone can reach it. And we WILL keep plenty of jam on the shelf for this generation and for generations to come.
In March of 2014 I hope you will entrust me with the job of Travis County Judge.
Thank you!
Remarks of Travis County Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt, May 1, 2013

Time Warner Cable Responds to Google Fiber by Offering Austin "Free" Wi-Fi

Karl-Thomas Musselman — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:01:14 GMT

The effects of Google's announcement that Austin will be receiving Google Fiber in the next year have netted another announcement of "new service" to be suddenly offered by the area's least favorite telecom company. While Time Warner Cable won't be building a 3rd Gigabit fiber network to complete with Google and AT&T, they announced today on their corporate blog that they will be offering a free citywide Wi-Fi network in Austin.

"We've been rolling out our free Wi-Fi network across our footprint for some time now, as part of our larger strategy to offer significantly more value to our Internet subscribers. Austin was in the game plan for 2013. But Google's recent announcement encouraged us to deploy our network more aggressively now," said Jeff Simmermon, Time Warner Cable's director of digital communications

But just like the AT&T announcement of big plans for their own Gigabit Internet in Austin without any actual details, Time Warner's announcement also comes with plenty of caveats. Mainly, it's not actually anywhere close to a citywide network, and it's not free because it's only available to existing Time Warner customers with at least a standard Internet or business class Internet subscription.

Time Warner Cable says that its "free" closed Austin Wi-Fi network will first be made available in areas like Zilker Park, Barton Springs, Lamar Boulevard, Congress Avenue, and the Fifth/Sixth street. That's mostly the same areas currently covered by the City of Austin's actually free to everyone municipal wireless mesh. As you can see from the map, the initial coverage area is relatively meager. And it's not as if Austin is known for having a shortage of open Wi-Fi hotspots.

Another important question is the speed of the network. Austin's free municipal wifi network is not known for it's blazing fast downloads, but it wasn't built for that purpose, nor was it ever intended to compete as a replacement option for Internet service. Time Warner Cable provides no information online as to the speed of their Wi-Fi hotspots, and a call to the company yielded confirmation that they do not give out that information or guarantee any level of speed.

"It depends on your distrance from the hotspot and how many other users are on the network" was what the TWC Wi-Fi rep told me over the phone. That's true of most networks, and with additional questioning, she confirmed that the company simply doesn't have or give out that data.

Why is the speed important? Given Time Warner Cable's clear pushing of downloading their Android and iOS apps, whatever Wi-Fi speeds they are offering need to be competitive with 4G LTE cellular download speeds. And as the chart below indicates, cellular LTE speeds are now competitive with Wi-Fi, often exceeding it in the upload speed category. This info is from 2012, and it's only gotten faster as the carriers have built out their 4G network.

Let's not be naive- Time Warner is competing as much with AT&T as it with Google Fiber. Not that Austinites particularly care given the low esteem they hold for what has been the city's near monopoly player for many years.

Texas Senate Passes Bill to Allow Online Voter Registration

Karl-Thomas Musselman — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 22:20:26 GMT

Yesterday, a bipartisan group of Texas Senators passed very sensible legislation which will provide for the establishment of an online voter registration system for Texans. SB 315, sponsored by Sen. Carlos Uresti, passed by a 21-10 vote on third reading after having passed 7-0 out of committee. It will now move to the House for approval where similar bipartisan legislation has been filed in the form of HB 313. The records of the final votes was as follows.

Yeas: Birdwell, Carona, Davis, Duncan, Ellis, Garcia, Hancock, Hinojosa,
Huffman, Lucio, Nichols, Rodriguez, Schwertner, Seliger, Uresti, Van de Putte, Watson, West, Whitmire, Williams, Zaffirini.
Nays: Campbell, Deuell, Eltife, Estes, Fraser, Hegar, Nelson, Patrick, Paxton, Taylor.

Voters with an unexpired driver's license or personal identification card will be able to go to an official state website where they will be able to register to vote online. The Texas Department of Public Safety already maintains records of most of the required information in order to register to vote and more importantly, maintains a database of signatures used on the cards they issue. The issue of a signature has been the stumbling point in previous calls for online voter registration and thanks to advances in technology is one we can now move past.

"Voting is a fundamental right and a public duty in our democracy, yet many Texans don't participate in the electoral process," Uresti said. "Online voter registration will encourage more people to participate by making the registration process easier and more convenient."

For more details and stats on online voter registration, continue reading below the fold.
Currently 12 states offer online paperless voter registration, two others are in the process of implementing laws to do so. Arizona, the first state to offer online registration in 2002, experienced a 9.5 percent increase in the number of people signing up to vote in just the first two years. More than 70 percent of all voter registrations are now performed online in Arizona, according the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Online registration also saves money. According to a 2010 report, "Online Voter Registration: Case Studies in Arizona and Washington," each paper registration costs 83 cents, compared to 3 cents for registering online.

"My bill simply acknowledges that we live in the electronic age," Uresti said. "It's time we brought the voter registration process into the 21st Century."