By Mark Lavergne on 4/26/2010 3:12 PM

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:

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By Mark Lavergne on 4/23/2010 3:10 PM

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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By Mark Lavergne on 4/23/2010 11:13 AM

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 ...

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By Mark Lavergne on 4/13/2010 4:21 PM

Yesterday the Texas Ethics commission reported a last-minute $10,000 donation to the campaign for the Republican nomination in House District 66 for former Plano City Council member Mabrie Jackson, who is pitted in the GOP runoff against Van Taylor.

The money comes from Texans for Economic Development, a PAC that represents the interests of racetrack owners who favor the installation of video lottery terminals (industry speak for slot machines) at racetracks. The group has a history of running political attack ads against conservative, anti-gambling House members including Reps. Phil King (R-Weatherford), Betty Brown (R-Terrell), and Nathan Macias (R-Bulverde).

Kevin Brannon, a consultant for Jackson's runoff opponent Taylor, said, "I think Plano voters will be very troubled by this last-minute infusion of yet more liberal special interest money, this time from a casino gambling group that is funded heavily by liberal democrats."

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By Mark Lavergne on 4/12/2010 4:05 PM

The GOP runoff in State Board of Education District 10 has taken on a familiar feel.

Over the weekend the campaign for Dr. Marsha Farney, a Williamson County resident and educator, sent out two mailers to residents -- one comparing her opponent Brian Russell to Barack Obama, the other making myriad claims about Russell's background and record.

Russell is a Senate Republican Executive Committee member from Travis County. He is a lawyer who homeschools his children, with a long history in local and state-level Republican politics.

The mailers came after reports circulated that Farney's husband, Bryan Farney, gave money to then-Sen. Obama during the 2008 Democratic primary. Bryan Farney indeed did donate $2,300 on March 7, 2008, to Obama.

Why would he do such a thing? According to Marsha Farney's website (emphasis added):

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By Mark Lavergne on 3/31/2010 12:33 PM

Texas' senior U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison today announced that she intends to complete her term, which will end in 2012.

From her press release sent out today:
 

“For family reasons, I had planned to begin making a transition home to Texas this spring,” Hutchison said. “But it is clear to me that the stakes in our nation’s capitol have never been higher. President Obama’s victory on health care legislation has emboldened those who want an even bigger and more intrusive federal government.”

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By Mark Lavergne on 3/26/2010 2:28 PM

In today's Lone Star Report, we covered the need for housing of new charter school campuses. We wrote: 

"Brooke Terry, a policy analyst for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, cited the policy group’s recent report finding that around 15,000 students were currently on waiting lists for charter schools in Texas."

That sentence should have read:
 

"Brooke Terry, a policy analyst for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, cited the policy group’s recent report finding that about 40,000 students were currently on waiting lists for charter schools in Texas."

LSR regrets the error.

Terry's latest paper on the charter school waiting list can be found here.

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By Mark Lavergne on 3/23/2010 9:54 AM

The Public Utility Commission of Texas today announced the launch of new website www.smartmetertexas.com , which aims to make both residential and commercial electric consumers with smart meters more able to keep track of and control their electric bills.

“SmartMeterTexas.com gives Texans more control over their electricity use,” said Public Utility Commission (PUC) Chairman Barry Smitherman. “Smart meters increase reliability, enhance customer choice and enable demand response.”

Customers should have their most recent electric bill on hand when visiting the Website to verify identity.

The PUC has authorized four transmission and distribution utilities (TDU) to deploy smart meters for their customers:
• ONCOR
• CenterPoint
• AEP Texas Central
• AEP Texas North

In recent weeks Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) and other lawmakers including Rep. Ralph Sheffield (R-Temple) have called attention to complaints from Oncor ratepayers over smart meters that allegedly overestimated people's electric usage, leading to skyrocketing utility bills. In response, Oncor has begun side-by-side accuracy tests comparing smart meters with analog meters.

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By Mark Lavergne on 3/17/2010 8:58 AM

Republican David Sibley, who served in the Texas Senate from 1992 to 2002, announced this morning that he will run for the seat being vacated today by Sen. Kip Averitt (R-Waco), who has occupied the seat since Sibley left. Gov. Rick Perry is expected to call a special election, but no word yet on when it would be held.

Said Sibley in a statement:

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By Mark Lavergne on 3/15/2010 1:06 PM

The Houston Chronicle reported earlier today that Rep. Al Edwards (D-Houston) is requesting a vote recount in the primary bout he lost by 10 votes March 2 to former Rep. Borris Miles.
 

Edwards filed the paperwork and submitted a $4,400 deposit this morning at the state Democratic Party headquarters in Austin, a spokeswoman confirmed.

Election day results showed Miles with an 11-vote lead. After an early-voting ballot board canvassed provisional and mail ballots, 39 votes were added to the total in the House District 146 race, and Edwards closed the gap by one vote. The tally stands at 5,050 for Miles and 5,040 for Edwards.

The Edwards campaign will cover the cost of the recount unless the outcome of the race changes, in which case the state party would pick up the tab.

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