While it's still early in the game to figure out which direction the Legislature may take in regard to camera enforcement of intersections, Transportation Committee Chairman Rep. Joe Pickett (D-El Paso) said it's not too early to start gathering information on red light camera revenues, accident statistics, costs, cost-savings, etc.

That red light cameras will become an issue in the 82nd Legislature seems almost inevitable, as a ban on camera enforcement came within a hair's breadth of being attached to the TxDOT Sunset Bill in May.

Terri Hodge, the former Democratic Texas House member from Dallas recently replaced by Rep. Eric Johnson (D-Dallas), was sentenced to one year in prison today, the Dallas Morning News is reporting.

Hodge pleaded guilty to tax fraud in Feburary. Her sentence begins June 22.

“As a public official, my actions have cast a bad light on many other elected official. What I’ve done has contributed to some people’s distrust of the political system. All I can say is I am truly sorry for my mistakes," Hodge said, via the Morning News.

A press release from the David Sibley campaign lends some credit to verbal reports that Senate District 22 candidate Brian Birdwell was determined by a district judge to be eligible for appearing on the May 8 special election ballot.

Hood County's District Judge issued an advisory opinion, prompting Kirsten Voinis of the Sibley campaign to release this press statement (received at 5:26 p.m.):

“The David Sibley campaign's focus is on conservative values and winning the special election on May 8. We have not been involved with, nor do we have any interest with, any court intervention with the special election. [...]"

Some public school districts in Texas are suing to avoid having to accurately report the course averages that their students earn.

At a hearing in Austin today, Travis County District Court Judge Gisela Triana-Doyal heard arguments from both sides and set the trial date for June 28, in which some 11 school districts from around the state will try to stop Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott from voiding their minimum-grading policies pursuant to a bill passed last session. Some school districts set minimum-grading policies requiring that students never receive grades of less than say 50, 60, or even 70 percent, regardless of the actual quality of their work.

The school districts are claiming the new law, SB 2033 (text and analysis) from Sen. Jane Nelson (R-Lewisville), requires only that students be graded accurately on individual assignments and exams, not on actual report card grades. The Houston Chronicle reports:

The staff of the Sunset Advisory Commission today released recommendations on a number of agencies, including the Texas Department of Insurance, and the Public Utility Commission.

TDI
Most of the TDI recommendations are holdovers from the 2008 sunset recommendations. The TDI sunset bill failed to pass the House last session, and a safety net bill had to be passed in a special session to extend the agency for two years and re-examine the appropriateness of the recommendations passed by the Sunset Advisory Commission in 2008.

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This week's issue features an interview with Former Texas GOP Chairman Tom Pauken, to discuss his new book, Bringing America Home. It can be ordered from Chronicles Press by calling 800.383.0680. The book is also available on Amazon.com.

Here are some extra highlights from our 45-minute interview with Pauken, the current chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission.

On whether Gov. Rick Perry more resembles George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan
"I think philosophically in terms of his policies, he's closer to Reagan than Bush. I think Gov. Perry has been strong on the pro-life issues as Ronald Reagan was. And then Gov. Perry has been strong on the idea of fiscal responsibility and keeping taxes down. So overall I think that Gov. Perry's a more conservative governor than George W. Bush was when he was governor ...

Among Austin-area conservatives (yes, there are some), no agency of local government (other than maybe the Austin City Council) is a bigger target than Capital Metro. The Austin-area transit provider is bad even by the standards under which transit agencies are judged. Now the non-partisan Sunset Advisory Commission has produced staff recommendations which basically confirms everything Austin conservatives said about the agency: that it wastes money, that it suffers from misplaced priorities, that it needs major reform. Frankly, there's not much to add to this excellent report, so I highly recommended clicking here to read it in its entirety.

Now that the staff recommendations have been published, the Sunset Commission will have hearings in May, and will make decisions in July. www.sunset.state.tx.us has more details on the process.

LSR Managing Editor William Lutz gave a commentary on WFAA's Inside Texas Politics Sunday. Lutz discussed the Tea Party movement and how the press thinks the movement is wimpy. Lutz suggests making an impact in the May school board races is one way the Tea Party Movement can get the respect it deserves. Inside Texas Politics airs every Sunday at 9 am, WFAA, Channel 8 in North Texas. We post a copy of the program below: (Lutz's commentary starts about half-way into the program).

Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Bill White is making the GOP spin machine's job too easy. In 2002, Democrat Tony Sanchez made a campaign issue out of alleging that Gov. Rick Perry hasn't held a private sector job. Perry turned that into an instant campaign issue noting that he worked on his family ranch and served in the military. That attack boomeranged on Sanchez, and now it appears White may be repeating that mistake. Today's Wichita Falls Record-News reports that White criticized Perry for not holding a private sector job in a speech in Wichita Falls.

It didn't take long for the GOP to fire away at White.