Bio:
Sam is District Director for State Rep. Miklos (D-Mesquite). Previously he was Field Director for Sam Coats Mayoral campaign in Dallas and Chris Dodd's Presidential bid in Iowa, as well as Deputy Manager for Dallas Co. Sheriff's re-election Campaign.
Here is a clip from the media advisory sent to BOR.
As a state, Texas ranks high on a number of public health indicators:
In 2003, one out of every two births in Texas was paid for with public dollars.
The Texas Department of State Health Services estimates that the first year of a Medicaid-funded pregnancy costs nearly $8,500.
In contrast, the cost for a year of family planning care for a woman - including a pap smear and a year of contraception - is only $170.
The federal government provides $9 in matching funds for every $1 Texas spends on the Women's Health Program.
Texas has the highest rate in the country of teens giving birth.
The Texas Prevention First Act - filed as SB 837 and its companion HB 1842 - reduces unintended pregnancies and curbs the spread of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) by focusing on prevention measures. SB 837 and HB 1842:
seek to promote Texas' family planning program which provides preventive health care to low-income women and their families;
ensure accurate and effective information in the sex education curriculum of schools; and,
Keep parents informed of the content of their child's sex education and provide information on how to get involved in their local schools.
Lon Burnam (D-Ft Worth) filed HB 1937 today, which seeks to bring serious attention to the excessive energy rate's in Texas, as well as the disproportionately large salary's of executive's at firm's like TXU.
Rep. Lon Burnam (D - Fort Worth) filed HB 1937 today. The bill would require electric companies with rates above 125% of the national average to pay their executives minimum wage. The national average is currently 10.2 cents per kilowatt/hour (kWh); TXU, for example, charges 15 cents for their standard rate offer. They would need to shave approximately two cents per kWh in order to continue paying their executives hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
It's time for Texas' electric companies to act more responsibly," said Rep. Burnam. It is simply unconscionable to pay a CEO over $50 million in a year when low-income people are struggling with all-time highs on their electric bills. The Legislature could send a clear message to TXU's new owners that the state of Texas will not tolerate this kind of corporate greed.
I assume most of you have seen the stats, nevertheless I think it's always good to keep this conversation on our agenda. Each time we read that the average CEO is earning 431 times that of the average employee, we are reminded of how important this issue really is. As long as so many Texas families are struggling to pay their ridiculously-priced energy bills, it is necessary that we expose the excessive salaries that are very much to blame for current costs. And though I believe strongly in the power of a free capitalistic and profitable society to encourage innovation, I feel we must establish a limit to which we are willing to allow our financial superiors to take advantage of the rest of us.
TXU Corp., the biggest power producer in Texas, accepted a $44 billion buyout offer led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group, a person familiar with the deal said.
The buyout firms will pay between $69 and $70 a share, or almost $10 more than the closing stock price at the end of last week, and will assume about $12 billion in debt, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the deal hasn't been announced.
The companies that want to buy TXU Corp. would build only three of the 11 coal-fired power plants TXU has proposed, and would cut retail electricity prices, addressing two issues that fueled public outcry against the power company.
The buyers, Texas Pacific Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Goldman Sachs, signed an unusual agreement with two environmental groups. They promised to scale back the coal plant building program - as well as to cut pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
Rep. Elliott Naishtat (D-Austin) filed a bill this week that would legalize the use of medical marijuana by Texas patients, and would allow doctor's to prescribe the drug without prosecution.
The Texas Democratic Party received a reimbursement check this week for court fees incurred during the Tom Delay ballot lawsuits. That court win is a testament to the ongoing Democratic revolution that has finally penetrated our state. It comes as another nail in the coffin to the faction of the Republican party that bought our state with corrupt and unlawful practices.
Tuesday night I had the privilege of attending a YD meeting in Dallas. I have only recently learned the extent of their influence in the National Organization, and was surprised by an overwhelming energy in its membership. One item on the agenda seemed to strike everyone's attention; and it was not the coctail bar.
The fast-tracking of TXU's coal-fired power plants has started a strong dialogue among Texans, compelling many to seek alternative sources of energy, and demanding an implementation of proper power plant regulation screening procedures. Some of the dialogue is productive, bringing up wonderful ideals for alternative measures, while others lash out unproductively at an energy plan they simply can't understand. The dividing line is very thin.
Today we read that TXU has demanded that its most ardent opponent, Environmental Defense, pull its most recent attack ad.
TXU asked one of its main opponents on Wednesday to pull a TV ad that accuses the Dallas-based company of profiteering from rate hikes and planning 11 "massively polluting" coal-burning power plants.
The spat is the latest round in an expensive media war over plans by TXU and other power companies to build 16 coal plants in Texas. TXU plans 11 of those.
Environmental Defense should urge other power companies to follow suit "instead of misleading the public with scare tactics," he wrote.
TXU's new plants would emit 78 million tons of carbon dioxide per year in addition to the 55 million tons per year the company's existing plants emit. TXU is already the state's biggest carbon dioxide emitter.
Environmental Defense has since rejected TXU's demand, and the ad will remain on the air in the Dallas-Waco area.
In related news, Senator Kerry said he would soon propose legislation to prevent the construction of these power plants unless serious changes are made in emission levels. And believe it or not, certain candidates for mayor of Dallas have even refused to take contributions from TXU and thus it appears that the Texas utility monster may be losing its steam...
In response to growing support for private school vouchers, several influential Texas leaders, including former Lt. Governor Bill Ratliff, have formed an opposition. "Raise Your Hand" is a public education advocacy group that strongly opposes State funded vouchers for private schools.
Legislation has been proposed in both Houses that would seek to create an innovative source of funds for sexual assualt services.Rep. Ellen Cohen (D-Houston) has proposed charging admission fees at topless bars, while Sen. Royce West (D-Dallas) proposed an annual registry fee of $5,000 for all 'sexually oriented businesses.' It is alleged that such a plan could bring in as much as $40m each year.
For all you river-tubing fans, the New Braunfels City Council voted to allow only '12-pack-sized' coolers for users of the river and banned alcohol entirely in many surrounding park areas.
Governor Perry proposed to cut $300m in State funding for 'special' projects at Colleges. How "special" are they to you?
A think-tank that supports private-school vouchers released a report claiming that students who dropped out of High school in 2006 are likely to cost Texans $377m each year.
I don't believe it made BOR headlines, but last week, 32 lawmakers sent a letter to Governor Perry demanding that he rescind the order for all 6th grade girls to receive the HPV vaccination. Only one of them was a Democrat.
Rep. Pete Gallego sent out a release today talking about the need for immediate property tax relief for seniors. HJR 1 -- which is discussed in the letter -- is by Rep. Leo Berman, but is co-authored and contains langauge drafted and furthered by Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin.
"I appreciate Jim Keffer setting HJR 1 for a public hearing tomorrow and accommodating my request to move this resolution instead of the more problematic alternative. The vast majority of members want to expeditiously give senior citizens and the disabled the same tax relief given to all other Texans last year. This is a great way to show all Texans that Democrats and Republicans are working together to provide our elderly and disabled with the property tax relief they were promised."
Background and History
Last week, the Senate opted to entangle their proposed constitutional amendment regarding tax relief for seniors with language used to justify busting the state's spending cap for the first time in history. Over the weekend, Speaker Craddick embraced the same problematic idea, despite the fact that many members believe that any discussion of busting the state spending cap is premature until a proposed state budget is available for review.
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) was dead on when they said "it's wrong to hold tax cuts for seniors hostage to the spending cap issue." The umbrella of giving senior citizens the tax break they have earned should not be used to provide cover for busting the spending cap, especially when the specific expenditures (and amounts of those expenditures) for which the cap is to be busted are unknown.
Yesterday, State Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Alpine) sent a letter to Speaker Craddick asking that HJR 1 be brought to the floor as a stand-alone measure. HJR 1 had not even been set for hearing prior to Rep. Gallego's letter - only HJR 60, which coupled the senior citizen tax relief with busting the spending cap - had been filed. Today, Rep. Gallego asked a series of parliamentary inquires on this same topic.
Immediately after Rep. Gallego concluded his inquiries regarding the need to get HJR 1 to the floor, Chairman Keffer moved to suspend all necessary rules so that his House Committee on Ways and Means could hear HJR 1 in committee tomorrow.
The Washington Post paints an eerie picture of Cactus, Texas, a small town that was left nearly deserted after heavy immigration raids in December.
Howard Wolf, a member of the Sunset Advisory Committee, wrote a scathing letter about the state's regulation of alcoholic beverage distribution. He claims there is a link of corruption between lawmakers, the TABC, and wholesale distributors.
In Ore City, a High School student was arrested and held on a $250,000 bond for allegedly plotting to blow up his school. The odd thing is, the student has apparently been threatening to do so for over a year - why was he arrested only now?
For what it's worth, the DMN confirmed that former Senator Phil Gramm, a long-time friend of the Governor, is Vice President of the consulting firm with which Perry discussed selling the Texas Lottery.
My West Texas reports that $913m in TX CHIP funding has been redistributed to other states since 1997, due to a mandate that requires all unused funds to be allocated elsewhere in the nation.
