Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison have each released new attack ads saying ... well, not much new.

Here's Perry's:


Here's Hutchison's:


Here's the script for Perry's ad:

The Texas Civil Justice League Political Action Committee (TCJL PAC), a lawsuit reform group, today released a list of endorsements for the upcoming primary elections.

It's mostly Republicans, with a few Democrats mostly from the Rio Grande Valley and El Paso, all of whom have a history of supporting tort reform.

The TCJL PAC has announced support for the following candidates for statewide elected office (all Republicans):

*=Incumbent
-Governor Rick Perry*
-Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst* (R)
-Attorney General Greg Abbott* (R)
-Comptroller Susan Combs* (R)
-Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples* (R)
-Railroad Commission Victor Carrillo* (R)
-Supreme Court, Place 9 Eva Guzman* (R)

Other endorsements include:

The Young Conservatives of Texas added to its endorsement list this week. Here they are:

For the State Board of Education, Republicans:
Joanie Muenzler,
Don McLeroy,
Geraldine “Tincy” Miller, and
Randy Rives.

McLeroy and Miller are incumbents. Muenzler is running for the seat vacated by Rick Agosto’s (D-San Antonio) retirement, and Rives is running against incumbent Bob Craig (R-Lubbock).

For Texas Supreme Court, the group also endorsed
Rick Green for the open seat on the Texas Supreme Court and
incumbent Eva Guzman for re-election.

YCT endorsed Dave McIntyre in Congressional District 17 (incumbent Chet Edwards, D-Waco).

For the State Legislature, YCT backed Republicans
Raul Torres in HD 33,
Mike Murphy in HD 65,
Charles Perry in HD 83,
John Frullo in HD 84,
David Andrews in HD 85, and
Fernando Herrera in HD 148.

Frullo is running for the Carl Isett (R-Lubbock) open seat. (We cover that race and the primary challenge against Delwin Jones [R-Lubbock] in this week's issue.) The rest are running against incumbents.

Rep. Terri Hodge (D-Dallas), treasurer of the House Democratic Caucus, this morning announced that she is quitting her campaign for re-election to House District 100 and pleading guilty to a single charge of making a false statement by failing to report income on her personal tax returns -- a felony. She pled this morning in federal court.

Hodge had drawn a primary opponent, a Dallas lawyer Eric Johnson. As the Republicans have not fielded a candidate for the seat, Johnson is all but a shoo-in. Hodge's name will remain on the ballot.

The Austin American Statesman has the story.

Also the Dallas Morning News has the press release from Hodge's campaign.

The effect of Hodge's guilty plea means that upon sentencing, she will be immediately ineligible to ever serve in public office again. It carries a maximum of three years in prison. Although she will no longer be able to serve in public office (unless she receives a presidential pardon). Also, she has said that she will resign upon sentencing.

We covered the four-way GOP primary in House District 52 this week. Here's a look at how the issue of property taxes are at play there:

Kay Bailey Hutchison may now be finally doing at least some of what she has to do in order to beat Rick Perry. Whether scarcely one and a half months is enough time for her to actually pull it out is another question. She's recently come out with real policy proposals than can be translated into bills, and running some ads that actually have a little bite.

For one, she came out today with a set of proposals to reform ("bring more sunshine to" in her campaign's words) Texas government.

One got the sense that after last night’s debate, Gov. Rick Perry was just letting it all hang out as he gave the keynote speech at the luncheon closing out the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s annual policy orientation. He improvised a number of jokes and diverted from his prepared remarks for almost two minutes at one point to reiterate his basic formula of conservative governance – a formula that has worked well as his re-election campaign mantra.

Said Perry:

You don’t have to be an expert in political science to understand the concepts of government. They’re really very simple. Don’t spend all the money. Keep taxes low. Have a regulatory environment that’s fair, and predictable.

Gov. Rick Perry's announcement today that he is refusing to compete for federal Race to the Top education dollars for education made Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie angry. But two of the state's major teacher organizations -- the Texas Classroom Teachers Association and the Texas American Federation of Teachers -- stand with Perry on the issue.

Gayle Fallon, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, explained the teacher organizations' support for Perry's decision. "Race to the Top is the first step in federalizing our Texas school systems and imposing a national high-stakes test on our children and teachers," she said. "This is not acceptable. We support Governor Perry in his refusal to sell our schools to Washington for less than $75 per student.

The House Parliamentarian who resigned under the tenure of Speaker Tom Craddick in the closing days of the 80th Regular Legislative Session is now going to be the Chief of Staff for Speaker Joe Straus.

Denise Davis, whom Straus invited back to serve as parliamentarian when his tenure began in 2009, has also worked for two Lt. Governors, the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Legislative Council.

Said Straus:

Kay Bailey Hutchison, challenging Gov. Rick Perry for the GOP nomination for Texas Governor, today unveiled her plan to address illegal immigration.

Hutchison's plan, for starters, includes expanding the participation of state and local law enforcement in the federal 287(g) program, so-named for a 1996 addition to federal law that allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to train certain state and local law enforcement officials to help enforce federal immigration laws. So, under a Memorandum of Understanding between the Dept. of Homeland Security and the state or local law enforcement agency, an officer would be "cross-designated" as an agent of ICE. The cross-designated officer would then have the authority to identify, process, and detain illegal immigrants he encounters during his regular daily law enforcement activity.

The Republican Party of Texas announced yesterday that Chairman Cathie Adams has selected Jesse Lewis to be the Party's next Executive Director. He starts work Jan. 11.

Lewis has worked for the state GOP before, as a field representative, statewide field director and deputy political director from 1999 to 2003. He also has served as chief of staff for Texas House members Arlene Wohlgemuth and Sid Miller. His resume also includes work for the Texas Workforce Commission.

Said Adams:

Former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle filed Dec. 18 for Lieutenant Governor, the number two statewide elected office.

Gov. Rick Perry today announced a new appointment to the Texas Forensic Science Commission, the agency recently at the center of a controversy regarding the 2004 execution of capital murder convict Cameron Todd Willingham.

Now, Perry has appointed the chief medical examiner for Tarrant, Denton, Johnson, and Parker Counties: Nizam Peerwani. He is a member of the National Association of Medical Examiners, the Texas Medical Association, the Tarrant County Medical Society, and, interestingly, Amnesty International, a global organization known for its opposition to the death penalty.

In today's weekly issue, we not that Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Victor Carrillo filed for re-election. The release from Carrillo's campaign announcing his bid included an update on Carrillo's medical condition, which we post below:

Early last month, Carrillo underwent surgery in the Texas Medical Center in Houston to remove a benign brain tumor. The procedure, performed by an expert medical team, was successful. Carrillo returned to work full-time last week. Chairman Carrillo and his wife of 25 years, joy, greatly appreciate all of the genuine concern and prayers offered up by colleagues, friends and family.

Moments ago Houston Mayor Bill White announced that he is running for Governor of Texas.

White's statement included one veiled jab at Gov. Rick Perry in particular:

I am proud of the people of Texas, and as Governor I will move us forward as America's great state of opportunity. I'll be a Governor who challenges Texans to lead, not leave, the United States.

And another veiled jab at both Republican candidates Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison:

His name is Van Taylor, and he is an Iraq War veteran who served as a U.S. Marine Captain captain, a businessman and a seventh-generation Texan. The announcement released yesterday describes him thus:

A pro-life conservative and Lifetime member of the NRA, Van received the endorsement of the National Right to Life Coalition, the Texas State Rifle Association, and numerous conservative organizations. Taylor has a long history of serving the Republican Party, including attending national conventions, serving as a delegate to Texas Republican State conventions, volunteering on Republican campaigns across Texas and providing financial support to Republican candidates. In Plano, he is a Republican Precinct Chairman and serves on the Collin County Republican Party Executive Committee. Taylor also serves as the state chairman for the National Defense Committee as well as a state Vice Captain for Vets for Freedom.

Said he:

The Austin American Statesman reported today that the Texas Youth Commission's Ombudsman, former Dallas state district judge Catherine S. Evans, has been indicted on a felony criminal charge in Houston County of smuggling a weapon into an East Texas lockup.

Spokeswoman Allison Castle tells LSR that Gov. Rick Perry has accepted Evans' resignation. Said Castle:

Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), who chairs the House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee, today announced that he will be running for re-election to the Texas House. He represents HD 32, which includes Aransas, Calhoun, San Patricio and part of Nueces County.

Said House Speaker Joe Straus:

On behalf of the staff here at LSR, we would like to wish our readers a Happy Thanksgiving. (Please note that we will not be publishing an issue this week, Nov. 27. Our next issue will be Dec. 4.)

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts "Welcomes the Competition" from Democrats in the race for re-election, and an El Paso House member has chosen not to run for the Senate.

Today one candidate for Texas Governor unveiled an education plan, another unveiled an education funding plan, and the actual Governor told the Commissioner of Education not to change Texas' education standards in hopes of attaining the federal government's stimulus carrot on an stick.

Looks like Thomas Schieffer, Democratic candidate for Texas Governor, will announce this afternoon at 3 p.m. at the Speaker's Committee Room at the Capitol that he is bowing out of the governor's race.

Now the Houston Chronicle reports that former Houston Mayor Bill White is, according to a reliable source, jumping into the Governor's race.

If true, whoever wins the Republican primary will have a serious general election fight on his or her hands. White could win big margins in Harris County, especially after the role he played in Hurrican Ike recovery.

If not, then the Democratic field of candidates would boast Hank Gilbert as arguably its least eccentric, most mainstream candidate.

Moments ago House Speaker Joe Straus released interim charges. The full set can be accessed here.

We will have more comments on the charges in tomorrow's weekly issue of the Lone Star Report.

 The Sunset Advisory Commission met for the first time today. Members approved without objection the review schedule and the proposed meeting schedule. They also made some changes to rules and across the board recommendations.

Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa (D-McAllen) raised the question of whether going forward the Sunset Commission would limit its review of agencies to the structure and process under which they operate. Chairman Glenn Hegar (R-Katy) said that sunset members need to talk to their colleagues in both chambers to try to keep sunset bills focused on the sunset recommendations, rather than allowing the bills to become, as happened in several cases last session, "Christmas Trees."

Rep. Brian McCall (R-Plano) confirmed to LSR moments ago that he will not run for re-election to HD 66 in 2010. He has represented the district since 1991.

"I've always wanted to leave on kind of a high note, and it's been a while since I've had a high note. Gotta take 'em when you can," he said.

He said he doesn't know where he is going from here, but is "excited about new opportunities." He observed that he ran a business for 20 years and, by the time he closes out his term, he will have represented his district for 20 years, indicating that the next chapter for him may last another even two decades.

 The old saying goes that sometimes politics makes strange bedfellows. The flipside, that politics can sometimes make strange enemies, is also true.

Consider the Austin American Statesman's editorial page, which has published an oped from Fred Hartman, vice chairman at Hartman Newspapers and chairman of the Texas Daily Newspaper Association's Legislative Advisory Committee. Hartman slams the Texas Municipal League, a taxpayer-funded lobby group with a long track record of pushing legislation at the Texas Capitol to increase taxes, most recently the Texas Local Option Transportation Act, which would have allowed municipalities to place local gas tax increases on local ballots to fund local transportation projects including rail and other mass transit.

Hartman's beef with TML? The group recently passed a resolution from the City of Sugar Land to push for a change in law next session that would take the teeth out of (i.e. create "less restrictive penalties" for violating) the Texas Open Meetings Act, which requires that government agencies meet in a forum viewable by the general public, to avoid backroom deals -- the kinds of deals that can result in things like tax increases.

The Texas Forensic Science Commission Chairman John Bradley, whose day job is District Attorney of Williamson County, came before Chairman John Whitmire's Senate Criminal Justice Committee this morning to talk about where the commission, created by 2005 legislation authored by Whitmire(D-Houston) goes from here generally and in regards to the case involving Cameron Todd Willingham.

A few quick highlights:

Here's a hint: He's wearing all black and a cowboy hat, and holding a cigar.

House Speaker Joe Straus announced appointments to the Sunset Advisory Commission today. They are:

*Rep. Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton) -- vice-chair;
*Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas);
*Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana); and
*Lamont Jefferson -- public member.

Holdovers are:

*Rep. Linda Harper-Brown (R-Irving); and
*Rep. Carl Isett (R-Lubbock).

Lamont Jefferson is a partner at San Antonio law firm Haynes and Boone, LLP. His page at the Texas Bar website shows he does pro bono work. Oh yeah, and he is Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson's brother.

Each appointee will serve a four-year term.

Mary Alice Robbins has a Nov. 5 piece that shows some of what could be expected at the much-anticipated Senate Criminal Justice Committee hearing tomorrow that will feature Texas Forensic Science Commission Chairman John Bradley (also Williamson County District Attorney). Many are wondering what Committee Chairman John Whitmire (D-Houston) will ask Bradley and how he will ask it.

Controversy swirled when Gov. Rick Perry removed Forensic Commission Chairman Samuel Bassett and replaced him with Bradely -- two days before the commission was to hear a report from arson expert Craig Beyler concluding that evidence used to confirm arson in the 1991 case of Cameron Todd Willingham was faulty. His report argues that arson could not be confirmed in the case, thought it does not conclusively rule out arson.

At least based on what Whitmire told Robbins, he does not appear poised for a knockdown fight with Bradley before the cackle of media outlets that will no doubt fill Capitol Extension E1.016 tomorrow morning. Robbins reports:

Boyd Richie is not happy.

The Texas Democratic Party Chairman held a press conference this morning to express his profound displeasure with Rep. Chuck Hopson's (Jacksonville) switch from the Democratic to the Republican Party, a move Hopson attributes to Barack Obama.

"President Obama and the Democrats in Congress just don't reflect the values of this district," Hopson was quoted saying.

Richie has different ideas of why Hopson is switching.

LSR reported in this week's issue on the controversy between Democrats and the Harris County tax office regarding voter registration operations.

The story is publically viewable here.

One detail not included in the story: Democratic Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan fired Andy Taylor, outside counsel to the county in the lawsuit. The attorney he brought on to replace Taylor, John Odam, is himself a former Harris County Democratic Party Chairman.

In talking with LSR earlier this week, Ryan said his handling of the case was "completely non-partisan."

And it looks like the resolution agreement reached between the Democrats and Harris County hasn't quieted the the war of words, which continues this week between Harris County Tax Assessor Collector Leo Vasquez and Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie ...

Rep. Terri Hodge (D-Dallas) faces federal corruption charges, accused of accepting bribes from developer Brian Potashnik in exchange for her support of his low-income housing projects.

The Dallas Morning News reports the date for that trial has been set for: March 8, 2009, the Monday after the March 2 primary.

So the question now is:

Rick Green, a former House member 1999-2003, has announced he is running for Texas Supreme Court Place 3, which is being vacated by Justice Harriett O'Neill.

Here's his Web site,

and his announcement, in which he says:

Sen. Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands) Rep. John Otto (R-Dayton) today announced the launch of a new website, www.AppraisalReform.com, which aims to bust myths about three proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution, Props. 2, 3, and 5, previously written about in our newsletter on Oct. 16. The propositions address abuse in the property tax appraisal system.

The website was created by STAR PAC, a statewide political action committee. Williams and Otto, who co-chair the PAC, co-authored the legislation authorizing the placement of Propositions 2, 3, and 5 on the ballot.

The El Paso CBS affiliate and the Dallas Morning News are reporting that Sen. Eliot Shapleigh (D-El Paso), a fire-breathing liberal in the Texas Capitol who recently authored a book about how fiscally conservative policies like low taxes and spending caps starve the government, is not running for re-election in 2010.

Here's his statement:

In our family, public service is the highest calling. While other public service may lie ahead, I will not run for the Texas Senate in 2010. During each day of the last decade, we have endeavored to do our very best for the people of our great community and state. In public life, especially in Texas during this decade, doing what's right, not what's expedient is what matters. I am grateful to the people who elected me for the opportunity to serve.

More on this to come, I'm sure.

The Texas Association of Business (TAB) today released "For the Record" (.PDF version here), the association’s biennial scorecard rating legislators on how they voted on issues affecting the state's business climate. The scorecard used 12 votes to score state Senators and 11 votes to score state Representatives.

Railroad Commissioner Victor Carrillo, hospitalized at Brackenridge in Austin on Thursday Oct. 1, was released yesterday Oct. 4 and is now resting and recovering at home according to a statement. According to Susan Lilly at Lilly and Company, LLC, Carrillo is remaining in contact with his staff at the Texas Railroad Commission.

Said the statement from Lilly:

Chairman Carrillo is still under medical supervision while awaiting further diagnosis and a subsequent course of treatment that will be determined when more information is available.

Chairman Carrillo and his wife Joy appreciate all of the calls and emails of concern. The Carrillo family asks that you keep them in your prayers for a definitive diagnosis and a quick recovery.

Carrillo underwent some tests at Brackenridge Hospital and during his stay there was, according to a previous release from Lilly, alert and talking to his friends, family and medical staff.

Melinda Fredricks, a former State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) member for SD 4, has announced today that she is running to chair the Republican Party of Texas.

Tina Benkiser announced on Sept. 26 that she is stepping down to be a senior advisor in the campaign to re-elect Gov. Rick Perry. Cathie Adams of the conservative Texas Eagle Forum recently threw her hat into the ring.

Now Fredricks. She today sent a letter to the SREC, which said:

I want to be clear up front: If elected, it is my intention to serve for the interim and not to run for chair in June. We have the greatest grassroots party in the country, and the power of our party should reside with the delegates to our state convention. I think they should be able to choose a candidate without anyone running with the advantage of incumbency.

She goes on to say the party needs to "rejuvenate" with the "youthful idealism of College Republicans," and "broaden our appeal to Hispanics and other minorities while preserving our principles, and work more closely with elected leaders  who ultimately determine whether the ideals of our platform become the laws of our state."

Cathie Adams of the Texas Eagle Forum is running to become the next chair of the Republican Party of Texas, the Dallas Morning News and theAustin American Statesman are reporting.

The Morning News entry indicates Robin Armstrong will not be vying for the position.

In today's LSR, Adams, also a Republican national committeewoman, speaks admiringly of Benkiser's leadership and the successes the GOP has had in Texas during her tenure as chairman. Benkiser announced her pending resignation Sept. 26.

Joey Longley, who has served as executive director of the Sunset Advisory Commission for 14 years, is resigning at the end of the day tomorrow, Sept. 30, and will join the office of Blackridge, a Texas-based lobby firm.

Longley has worked in Texas politics for 30 years. As executive director, he was responsible for day-to-day operations of the staff, planning the course of agency reviews, producing reports, conducting public hearings, and interacting with the Commission and the Legislature.

Ken Levine, the Deputy Director, will take over as acting director when Longley leaves. Because there is currently no Chairman of the Sunset Advisory Commission, it is not yet clear exactly who will be the interim or long-haul executive director of Sunset. Levine told LSR that he has requested an interim executive director be appointed.

The Public Utility Commisison's summit on federal Cap and Trade legislation continued yesterday. The Cap and Trade bill, HR 2454, would put a nationwide cap on emissions, require companies to trade CO2 "credits" for the right to emit, and set goals every few years for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, including 83 percent by 2050. Here are some more highlights from the summit:

Before a gathering of chairmen, policy experts, environmentalists, farmers, and others, Gov. Rick Perry once again slammed HR 2454, also known as the Waxman-Markey "Cap and Trade" legislation, saying that if passed in its current form, it would amount to "the largets tax increase in American history," and calling it a "pending meteor strike on the Texas economy."

He called on Texans to contact their elected officials to express their disapproval both of the bill and of what he again alled the "activist EPA" [federal Environmental Protection Agency]. Among other concrete economic ills, he said that the bill would cause the price of gasoline to rise 41 percent, and that it would force many agricultural-based families to lose their farms. Hundreds of thousands of jobs would be lost in Texas in the coming years as a result of the legislation, he said.

 The Texas Public Policy Foundation is moving on up.

At its 20th Anniversary Gala on Friday evening Sept. 11, TPPF, a conservative think-tank known for in-depth studies on an array of policy issues facing Texas, announced a fundraising campaign to establish a permanent headquarters a block and a half away from the Texas State Capitol. (The architectural rendering can be viewed here.)

TPPF's current location is already relatively close to the Capitol building, but the new location will move it even closer. The foundation signed a contract to purchase a historic storefront at 916 Congress Ave., one and a half blocks south of the Capitol. TPPF’s Capital Freedom Fund campaign intends to raise more than $5 million toward the purchase and renovation of the building, originally built in 1876, into a state-of-the-art headquarters.

Marc Katz, who owns Katz's Deli ("Katz's Never Kloses"), is running for Lieutenant Governor as a Democrat, the Austin American Statesman reported today. One of his major campaign issues is the revised franchise tax, about which he has complained to newspapers in the past.

Katz today was quoted in the Statesman:

Katz will never quit for Texas. There’s no question we’re in one of the most difficult periods for the State of Texas. But I don’t see any urgency (among state leaders). There needs to be some urgency … some vision.

I can’t help it. I can’t afford not to do something for Texas.

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who many have speculated would vie for the U.S. Senate seat that Hutchison will at some point vacate to run for Governor, today announced that he will run for re-election to the number two statewide elected office.

Tomorrow -- September 4, 2009 -- there will be no weekly issue of the Lone Star Report.

Don't fret: We will publish again on Sept. 11.

In the meantime, enjoy the glorious and long-awaited advent of College Football, and Happy Labor Day!

The Texas Public Policy Foundation today released a study (found here) indicating that bilingual education in Texas is the most expensive but not most effective way to transition students lacking in English proficiency (called "English language learners -- "ELL") into the state's English-based education system. The study defines "bilingual education" as "instruction provided to students in their native tongue in all subjects in a self-contained classroom with other students who speak the same language."

Hank Gilbert, the 2006 Democratic candidate for Agriculture Commissioner, and outspoken opponent of toll roads, has told the Austin American Statesman that he plans to go for the Democratic nomination for governor.

Gilbert was quoted in the Statesman saying:

I just feel like we need that person at the top that has the experience of fighting in the (Legislature) and fighting to get things done for the people of Texas across this state, get people inspired to take a hard look.

The left-leaning Burnt Orange Report calls this "an exciting development," surmising that his entry into the race could create a more active Democratic primary and prevent Democratic voters from crossing the aisle to vote for Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Gov. Rick Perry Aug. 25 announced appointments to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and to the University of North Texas Board of Regents.

Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams has gotten an endorsement from former U.S. House Speaker and conservative firebrand Newt Gingrich. Williams' campaign website has published a glowing column by Gingrich, touting Williams' extensive resume and conservative bona fides, and, of course, asking for money for Williams' campaign.

An excerpt from Gingrich's endorsement:

As someone who has been elected statewide in Texas three times, Michael caught my eye by advocating the right energy policies for America’s future. Unlike the liberals who want to bring fossil fuel exploration to a grinding halt and worsen the economic crisis, Michael wants to expand domestic exploration of both traditional fossil fuels as well as clean, renewable sources.