Lots going on in the speaker's race today. Rep. Ken Paxton (R-Plano) got two endorsements today: one from a pro-life group, the other from the board of directors of a state Republican grassroots organization. Meanwhile a Texas House Republican caucus has been scheduled for Jan. 10, and Rep. Warren Chisum (R-Pampa), still a candidate in the race who thinks the Republican supermajority mandates a more conservative speaker than Straus, wants to make sure that caucus leader Rep. Larry Taylor (R-Friendswood), will call for a vote to determine the Republican preference for Speaker of the Texas House.

First the pro-life endorsement. ...

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus today announced that he is appointing Rep. Will Hartnett (R-Dallas) as the master of discovery – somewhat like a judge – in the contested election for state representative in House District 48, which covers the northwest portion of Travis County. Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) was recently declared the winner by the very thin indeed margin of 12 votes over Republican challenger Dan Neil.

Quoth the Speaker:

As speaker of the house, acting under the authority of Section 241.009, Election Code, I hereby appoint Representative Will Hartnett as master of discovery in the matter of the contest of the election for state representative, District 48, that was held November 2, 2010.
In accordance with Section 241.009, Election Code, the master shall supervise discovery proceedings, issue any necessary process, receive and report evidence, and perform any other assigned duties in assisting the committee to which the contest is referred and the house of representatives in disposing of the contest in accordance with Chapters 221 and 241, Election Code.

The election contest will begin when session begins. ...

With barely a week before Christmas, two state agencies -- the Texas Workforce Commission and the Office of the Attorney General have issued reports having to do with Texas' job market. Both give something of a reason for continued hope in Texas' continued economic recovery.

The Workforce Commission announced on Friday that employers in Texas added 19,100 jobs in November. The Child Support Division of the Attorney General's office announced that Texas employers reported 385,059 new hires in November.

Some may wonder: what's the difference between "jobs added" and "new hires"? ...

While it is customary to give during the Christmas season, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in a letter to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, announced yesterday that it plans to take.

Specifically, it will take over permitting for the state's Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program that regulates greenhouse gas emissions.

Not that TCEQ ever was particularly gung ho about regulating greenhouse gases to begin with. The state agency is challenging the EPA's rules calling for the regulation of greenhouse gases in court.

"Earlier this month," reads the letter from EPA Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy, "EPA issued a final rule with a determination that the permitting programs for thirteen states, including Texas, are not adequate because they do not apply PSD to greenhouse gas emissions." EPA gave each state an opportunity to set a deadline to include greenhouse gas regulations in their PSD programs, but state officials in Texas have "made clear, in letters to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, in statements in the media, and in legal challenges to EPA's greenhouse gas rules … that they have no intention of implementing this portion of the federal air permitting program." ...

Rep. Allan Ritter (formerly D-Nederland) and Rep. Aaron Pena (formerly D-Edinburg), flanked by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Speaker, two Railroad Commissioners, and a couple dozen or so GOP House members, announced today that they are switching parties from Democratic to Republican.

No matter what happens in HD 44, the late Edmund Kuempel's former seat (probably stays R), and no matter what happens in HD 48, where Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) holds a very slight edge over Dan Neil (probably stays D), the Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives will have a two-thirds -- i.e. "super-" -- majority.

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie's response to both switches has been a) to say that the Reps are abandoning their districts, and b) say both should resign and run as Republicans.

Ritter and Pena both said they were switching to the GOP to better represent their districts, and neither Pena nor Ritter will resign to run. Pena remarked that a tragedy of today's politics is that elected officials are expected to represent their party. "I run to represent the people in my community," he said. Both said that if any of their donors wanted their money back, they could have it. Neither received financial help from the Texas Democratic Party, they said. Pena said that was part of the problem.

There is a lot to say here. For now, a few highlights from the press conference:

U.S. Dist. Judge Henry E. Hudson, a 2002 George W. Bush appointee, ruled today that Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's requirement that individuals purchase health coverage is unconstitutional. Here's his ruling.

Atty. Gen. Greg Abbott today praised the decision, which specifically ruled on a case that was brought by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Texas is signed on to another case that, with 19 other states, also challenges the individual mandate.

Abbott held a press conference announcing that he will be in Florida on Thursday for his own lawsuit which is separate from the Virginia lawsuit. Abott's case includes Texas and 19 other states, and it is similar to Virginia's case because the main point of contention, according to Abbott, is the (un)constitutionality of the individual mandate to purchase health insurance.

What is different about the cases is that Virginia already had a prohibition in state law against an individual mandate. Texas has no such law, which means, according to Abbott, that it is too late for Texas to create such a law because the federal requirement already exists. But the legislature can, Abbott suggested, adopt laws that prohibit other types of individual mandates.

Abbott said the case of the 20-state coalition is that the individual mandate is unconstitutional but also that Obamacare amounts to a federal "commandeering" of state Medicaid programs "by forcing it to expand in a way that will be a tremendous burden to our taxpayers in the amount they have to pay in the Medicaid system." The goal of Abbott and the other state attorneys general is not just an overturning of the individual mandate, but the whole package. [...] Said Abbott in a statement released today:

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee has released its interim report on all charges with one noteworthy exception -- the first, asking the members to study the health care policy changes including Obamacare and the impact to Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the state budget, and make recommendations for the efficient implementation of programs. That's a joint charge with State Affairs.

After a cursory review, here's what jumps out at me from the interim report.

Rep. Leo Berman (R-Tyler), a longtime opponent of Speaker Joe Straus, sent the following letter earlier today to Gary Polland, whom we reported in today's Lone Star Report endorsed Straus.

Berman shared his letter with us. We post it below:

Dear Mr. Polland:
Your report in Texas Insider did not answer the question, Speaker's Race UPDATE: Should There Be One, and Is There a Real Race?

In fact, your report sounded more like a one-sided love fest between two best friends and could have been written by Joe Straus himself. If you really want to answer the question, ask why the Democrats elected Joe Straus Speaker. It could be the pledges made to Democrats by Straus that promised:
1. No bills on illegal aliens on the House floor
2. No pro life bills on the House floor
3. No voter ID bill on the House floor
4. No incumbent Democrats will be challenged ...

Greg Coleman, who was picked to serve as the state's first solicitor general in 1999, died in a plane crash near Destin, Fla., last night.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who during his service as Texas Attorney General first hired Coleman as solicitor general, issued the following statement today:

“Sandy and I are deeply saddened by the news of Greg’s tragic passing. He was a dear friend, a first-rate lawyer, and an even better human being. This is a tragic loss for his wife, family, friends and the State of Texas. Our prayers are with Stephanie and their family during this difficult and sad time.”"

More on the crash at Texas Lawyer and the Austin American Statesman.

 

On this the day before Thanksgiving, the State Auditor's Office has dropped a highly critical report on the Texas Department of Insurance's Division of Workers' Compensation. The report finds that the division maintains unreliable information and has weaknesses in complaint processing, the medical quality review process, and the enforcement and sanction process.

Those problems increase the risk of injured workers receiving unnecessary medical procedures and overutilization within the workers' compensation system, the report finds. In other words, Texas employers that pay for the workers' compensation system are at risk of paying for a lot of unnecessary stuff, which will hinder their ability to keep Texas creating more jobs.

Here's the summary and full report. Lawmakers will be considering sunset legislation in 2011 for TDI and the Division of Workers’ Compensation -- and these findings may well come up. ...

Today the jury in the Tom DeLay money laundering trial has posed a total of four questions to Judge Pat Priest regarding the substance of the law. The answer from Priest has been essentially the same each time: refer to your charge, jury.

The latest was a request for the definition of “money fraud.” Before calling in the jury to answer the question, the defense argued that the judge should point out to the jury that DeLay is not being accused of money fraud. The state said the judge should simply refer them to the existing charge before them. Priest ultimately told the jury that if there were an allegation of money fraud it would be contained in their charge, and that he is afraid the jury may be straying away from the decisions that they must make.

UPDATE: The jury informed Priest at about 4:45 p.m. that they were making progress but would like to go home for the evening and return at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Priest, the defense, and the prosecution all agreed to let the jury go. At about 4:52 p.m. the jury was dismissed for the night.

The jury earlier requested some phone and email records that had been entered into evidence over the course of the trial.

It took over an hour for the defense and prosecution to sort out which exhibits would and would not go back to the jury. Priest ultimately ordered that a couple boxfuls of evidence including voluminous email records from Russell Anderson, an accountant for Texans for a Republican Majority PAC. ...

The Coalition for the Survival of Charitable Bingo today announced a new slate of lobbyists with several big names, including former Sen. Kip Averitt (R-Waco) and former Rep. Pat Haggerty (R-El Paso). Also joining are former Sen. Dan Shelley, and veteran lobbyists Jennifer Rodriguez, Mike Higgins and Glenn Deshields. Their mission: to persuade lawmakers to pass legislation to allow video lottery terminals at charitable bingo halls.

Why? Because with the 11-figure budget shortfall expected for the next session, the lawmakers may well allow video lottery machines at racetracks, Indian reservations, casinos, and other facilities. If that happens, then charitable bingo halls wil not be able to compete unless they are able to feature video lottery terminals as well. Thus the coalition for their "survival." The release does not consider the odds of gambling expansion of any sort making it out of either chamber this session, particularly the uber-Republican House, where the GOP has a 99 to 51 majority. Casinos themselves are prohibited in Texas, and allowing them would require a constitutional amendment.

Judge Pat Priest said this morning that he had struggled for an hour last night to come up with a way to answer the question the jury asked last night – whether money can be illegally laundered even if the transaction began legally. Jurors have been deliberating since closing arguments were completed yesterday in the tral of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay for money laundering.

Ultimately, Priest told the jury this morning that they basically would have to make do with the information they currently have on the law and on the facts of the case.

This is not what the prosecution wanted. ...

In today's article, I wrote that the Sunset staff review calls for many of the Railroad Commission's duties to be passed to a new Oil and Gas Commission, which would consist of five part-time appointed members, rather than the Railroad Commission's current three full-time elected commissioners.

"Such a change would require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature, as the three-member elected Railroad Commission has been enshrined in the state's constitution since 1890," the article said.

This afternoon a member of Sunset staff contacted us and said that abolishing the Railroad Commission would not require a two-thirds vote of the legislature because it would not require a constitutional amendment to do so. The sunset staff member cited Art. 16, Sec. 30 (b) of the Texas Constitution. It says:

At the beginning of the Sunset Advisory Commission's meeting Nov. 16, Sunset staff interim executive director Ken Levine was appointed permanent executive director without objection.

Levine became interim director of Sunset after previous director Joey Longley resigned the position in September 2009 to join Blackridge Texas, a lobby firm. The appointment basically means Levine will continue doing what he has been doing since that time -- directing Sunset staff in the ongoing state agency review process, which right now includes the Texas Department of Insurance, the Texas Youth Commission, the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and the Texas Department of Information Resources. That last one came under some considerable scrutiny at yesterday's hearing for charging state agencies too much money for services provided.

All the precincts have reported in in the Texas House races. We can now add the following to last night’s list of GOP victories in Texas.

Republican Bill Zedler will return to the House, having ousted Rep. Christ Turner (D-Arlington). Republican John Garza has defeated David Leibowitz (D-San Antonio). Also, Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Alpine) survived a closer-than-expected race against challenger Republican Thomas Kincaid, Jr.

Also of note in the State Board of Education, challenger Republican Charlie Garza has defeated incumbent Rene Nunez (D-El Paso) in District 1 with all precincts reporting.

Republicans have picked up three seats in the Texas Congressional delegation. It has been known since last evening that in CD 17 challenger Republican Bill Flores had defeated incumbent Democrat Chet Edwards. Add to that Republican Francisco “Quico” Canseco winning over Democratic incumbent Ciro Rodriguez in CD 23, and incumbent Democrat Solomon Ortiz falling in CD 27 to R. Blake Farenthold.

This morning Texas Rep. Warren Chisum (R-Pampa), appropriations chairman under House Speaker Tom Craddick in the 80th session, told reporters that he is "still in the race for Speaker of the House."

This despite current speaker Joe Straus' announcement last night that he has 122 pledges -- and the number steadily rising, according to Straus.

Chisum said a GOP caucus vote could be open or secret. He said that under his leadership the House would look at the Arizona immigration law (although he did not express support for a "carbon copy" because the state can already do a lot of the things in that law). He also discussed eliminating outdated agencies.

Chisum wants the House GOP Caucus to meet and select the speaker.

A lot has happened in the last few weeks in Texas House District 3, where challenger Republican Erwin Cain is running to unseat 12-year incumbent Mark Homer (D-Paris).

Paris Tea Party Patriots founder Janet Post first made waves when she endorsed Homer in the race. On Oct. 26 the entire Paris Tea Party Patriots Executive Board responded by announcing their resignation from the party and endorsing Cain.

Paris Tea Party Treasurer Larry Davis, stated: "This action was not taken lightly. Janet was apparently working against the stated conservative philosophy which the Tea Party stands for and the rank and file members adhere to. Sadly, she stepped over the line when she stated in a radio advertisement that she was 'the original founder of the Northeast Texas T.E.A Party' and endorsed a candidate who does not represent the principles on which the organization was founded. It should be made clear that she only represents herself with this action, and the resignation of the entire Board speaks volumes about her leadership.”

A man listed on the Texas Department of Public Safety's sex offender registry stars in an attack ad paid for by the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee, aimed at sullying the image of Erwin Cain, the Republican Candidate in HD 3.

The ad features highlights from the legal deposition of a man named Bobby Phillips. He claims that HD 3 Republican candidate Erwin Cain sold drugs including marijuana in 1977 -- when he was in high school.

"Erwin Cain just don't need to be in office," Phillips says. "We got enough crooked people in office now."

Cain has been quoted in The Paris News calling the ad "despicable" and "extremely hurtful to my family."

He goes on to say:

Attorney General Greg Abbott today issued an opinion that will limit the way bingo hall owners can operate eight-liners, which are gambling machines that have been the focus of much debate at the Capitol.

Abbott today found that bingo tickets, pull-tab bingo tickets, gift certificates and other such prizes awarded by eight-liners do not meet the requirement for the “fuzzy animal” exclusion from Texas’ constitutional prohibition against gambling. In other words, if any bingo hall operators are using eight liners to award free bingo tickets etc to players, they need to stop, Abbott’s opinion would indicate.

The opinion was requested in April 2010 by Texas Lottery Commission Chair Mary Ann Williamson and Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston). In Texas, eight-liner gambling devices are not illegal in themselves. It depends on how they are operated. Under Texas law, eight-liners can only award “noncash merchandise prizes, toys or novelties” like fuzzy animals, to those who play them. At issue in the AG opinion was whether gift certificates to play other games, like bingo tickets, pull-tab bingo tickets, or anything else that would allow someone to continue gaming for free, would meet that exception. Abbott ruled in the negative. ...

Rep. Diana Maldonado (D-Round Rock) asked now-former Williamson County Democratic Party Chairman Gregory Windham to resign six months ago, both confirm. However, Maldonado said that she did so because of his "colorful criminal and civil history coupled with his erratic behavior."

Windham told LSR it was because Maldonado believed he only won because of his "Anglo-American last name." Mitra Salasel, Maldonado's campaign communications director, said Maldonado never said anything of the sort and that Windham was running against another Anglo-American, Paul Stempko.

Windham acknowledged that he was arrested on a DWI charge in 2008, but said the case was dismissed and pleaded down to a Class C misdemeanor possession charge. "As far as I know I have no criminal record," he said, although he admitted to having some speeding tickets.

The two Democrats started sniping with each other shortly after Windham announced his resignation as chair of the Williamson County Democratic Party, and endorsement of challenger Republican Larry Gonzales in the race.
...

The Chairman of the Williamson County Democratic today made two announcements. One: his resignation from the party's leadership on the grounds that the county party has drifted too far to the leftist policies associated with Washington.

Two: his endorsement of HD 52 challenger Republican Larry Gonzales against Rep. Diana Maldonado (D-Round Rock). The Maldonado campaign could not be immediately reached for comment.

"After several opportunities to hear the candidates for State House Rep 52, I have decided to support Larry Gonzales as the next Williamson County State Representative," Windham said in a statement. "Larry's experience, intelligence, and knowledge of the political process far exceed that of the Democratic candidate. He is a family man, business owner, and a gentleman willing to build bridges and represent his district rather than his party."

His statement can be found here.

Regarding his resignation, Windham said:

Texas musician, writer and sometime political candidate Kinky Friedman told the Texas Tribune yesterday that he is endorsing Libertarian Kathie Glass for Governor of Texas. He said neither of the two major party candidates are really bringing anything new. They both, he cited as examples, support the death penalty and oppose gambling.

Friedman also said, "I mourn the passing of the Democratic Party," saying they deserve to get beat "bad." "This is the harvest that Obama has reaped," Friedman told the Tribune. It’s a government by ego. I sense that he doesn’t love America. I sense that he loves Obama."

Interesting fact: Guess where Kinky was born. Not Texas. Yep, Chicago, Illinois -- Barack Obama's pre-White House home town.

Friedman ran as an independent for Texas Governor in 2006 and then briefly for the Democratic gubernatorial nod in 2010 before switching over to, and losing, the Democratic primary for Texas Agricultural Commissioner.

This is Friedman's second endorsement for governor. His first was over the summer for a dog named Woodrow. ...

Interesting. Rick Perry defeated two women in the Republican gubernatorial primary earlier this year. Now, according to a recent poll by the state's biggest newspapers, women are favoring Rick Perry 50 to 40 over Democratic candidate Bill White. In fact, Perry is, according to the poll, doing better among women than he is among men.

It must be said at the outset that this is just one subset from just one poll. It is possible to get a different result if one surveys 500 or so other women in the state. But if the poll had returned results of women breaking 50 to 40 for Bill White, the poll would be considered simply an accurate portrayal of the likely election night result, and then major political observers would likely move on.

But as it happens the actual results have sent members of the Texas press and the blogosphere searching for an explanation. Gromer Jeffers on Inside Texas Politics seemed utterly perplexed.

In our Sept. 17 story on how immigration is a pocketbook issue, we stated: "[Rep. Leo] Berman [R-Tyler] argued that although federal law prohibits illegal aliens from receiving public benefits, Texas law allows them to receive free public K-12 education and free healthcare."

Berman actually said that federal -- not state -- law allows those benefits for illegal aliens. Here is how Berman put it in our interview with him last week:
"An illegal alien is only authorized two benefits by the federal government. One is free healthcare. And that free healthcare comes about by the EMTALA Act -- The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, which allows them to go into any emergency room at any hospital. The other thing they get is something that happened right in my district in Tyler, Texas, back in the 70s. That's when [federal court] Justice William Wayne Justice ruled that illegal aliens are entitled to a free education in Texas schools. So that's what they're authorized."

Berman said that illegal aliens are not allowed to access state-level benefits like food stamps, or Medicaid. But they do, Berman said, through use of fake ID's or falsified or stolen social security cards. ...

By now most people have seen Gov. Rick Perry's first television ad (shown below), if only because of the bad press it's gotten.

Owners of a couple of the establishments featured in the ad have told press that they did not know their stores would be used in a political ad for Perry and do not support his re-election.

A few thoughts:

1. There are two types of evidence in any argument. One is empirical, the other is anecdotal. Empirical evidence is superior to anecdotal evidence -- because an anecdote could merely be an example of a statistical outlier, i.e., an unusual situation.

Rep. Warren Chisum (R-Pampa) today told Jay Root with the Associated Press that he is considering running for Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. He will reportedly decide sometime before the November elections.

If nothing else, it's an interesting prospect, considering Chisum was Chairman of House Appropriations under Speaker Tom Craddick in 2007.

Chisum, a conservative Christian, seems to take a different view on gambling as a possible revenue source to close the budget gap than current Appropriations Chair Jim Pitts (R-Waxahachie). Pitts suggested expanded gambling for such purposes when his committee met earlier this year. At that time he estimated the budget shortfall at between $15 billion and $18 billion. Chisum told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that he considers gambling "a poor way to finance a government." ...

The Harris County Tax Office today responded to the Texas Democratic Party's lawsuit filed yesterday.

Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Leo Vasquez said that the organization Houston Votes, which he last week said was responsible for rampant voter irregularities in his county, has "taken off its non-partisan mask by sending in the Democratic Party machinery to fight its losing battle."

The Harris County Tax Office has posted several links on its website relating to Houston Votes, including examples of problems with Houston Votes, a slide presentation which includes, on page 13, six of the same signatures of one Carmella Bellazer, on applications submitted on the same day to the tax office -- July 30, 2010. Bellazer told the Houston Chronicle that those who approached her assured her it was all right to fill out multiple applications.

Here is Vasquez's full statement:

As noted in last week's issue, there will be no issue of The Lone Star Report this week.

Have no fear: We will publish again on Sept. 10.

Happy Labor Day!

The Senate Select Redistricting Committee met for the first time this morning, a low-key gathering for what will no doubt be a long and contentious process.

State Demographer Dr. Lloyd Potter, of the University of Texas at San Antonio, gave the committee members, many of whom serve as chairs in other committees, a 50,000-foot view of the changes in Texas since the last census was taken in 2000.

Since then, Texas has grown 18.8 percent, compared to the national average of 9.1. Texas is also the second largest state in both population and area, Potter said. ...

Texas' Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday ruled in favor of the Attorney General Greg Abbott that a judge in Texas cannot grant a divorce to same sex couples married outside the state, since a granting of divorce implies the existence of a legal, valid marriage.

Dallas state district Judge Tena Callahan ruled in Oct. 2009 that Texas' same-sex marriage ban violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. It was believed at the time that the ruling could effectively legalize gay marriage in Texas, despite the fact that 76 percent of voters here voted in support of a 2005 constitutional amendment to define marriage as only between one man and one woman. The Aug. 31, 2010 ruling reverses and remands Callahan's ruling.

The opinion by Justice Kerry Fitzgerald begins:

Rep. David Swinford (R-Dumas), who has been in the Texas House for 20 years and most recently chaired State Affairs under Speaker Tom Craddick, sent a letter to Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Speaker Joe Straus today announcing his resignation from the House effective at close of business Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010. Wrote Swinford:

After much consideration I have decided to resign as State Representative of District 87, at the close of business Tuesday, August 31, 2010. I have been honored to serve in the House of Representatives for 20 years and am not seeking re-election to the office.

After much discussion and consultation with District 87's political leaders, community leaders and good friends, I have decided the greatest parting gift to my constituents would be to retire early. With your help, a special election could be called for the same date as the general election to defer any additional cost to the state during the election process. I feel this would greatly benefit my district and my new state representative.

Swinford told LSR he is retiring early in order to give the next representative, whom he firmly believes will be Walter "Four" Price, "an opportunity to … be a sitting member for a while before the rest of the freshman class."

In a dare-I-say welcome shift from finger-pointing, name-calling and accusations, the governor's race has taken a turn into the dark woods of actual policy.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White said late last week that the state should, in essence, overturn its existing regulatory structure on homeowners' and automobile insurance and go to a pure prior-approval system. (Stories at Dallas Morning News and WFAA.) ...

At a meeting of the Texas Youth Commission governing board this morning, Executive Director Cherie Townsend and board Chairman Scott Fisher both disputed claims made in the letter, from four advocacy groups to the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging systemic problems of abuse and lack of safety for offenders incarcerated at TYC facilities (as reported in today's LSR).

Townsend said TYC has made "significant positive changes" since 2007. "The frequency with which any of these allegations or actions that are inconsistent with agency policy are happening, is now occasional or isolated, not routine operations, and for anyone to suggest otherwise is not based on fact," she said.

Fisher, in a written statement released today, said the TYC Board "takes very seriously every allegation of abuse, mistreatment or neglect of youth in TYC," and "are committed to investigated the cases and taking the appropriate action swiftly."

Lack of communication? ...

Sen. Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) and Rep. Byron Cook (R-Corsicana) along with other members of the Texas Legislature and Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief today announced that the state will more than double the air quality monitoring network in the Barnett Shale region.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) currently has seven automated gas chromatograph (AutoGC) monitors in operation in the Barnett Shale region, which operate around the clock, measuring levels of more than 45 volatile organic compounds, including benzene.

The emissions data collected from the monitors is used to evaluate current air quality conditions in the region and posted online. ...

Today the House Committee on Fiscal Stability is meeting to discuss Texas' ability to meet its current and future budget obligations.

At this point, everyone knows it's going to hurt.

On Saturday Corrie MacLaggan at the Austin American-Statesman gave a snapshot of the problem Texas faces, reporting that proposed cuts for family services programs designed to prevent child abuse, neglect, and delinquency, could affect 14,000 Texans.

We can expect dozens more stories like this as Texas' economic picture comes more into focus as the session approaches -- each probably including the Democratic drumbeat that, yes cuts will be necessary, "but also," dot dot dot. ...

Railroad Commission Chairman Michael Williams and Commissioner Victor Carrillo joined Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones in passing her resolution to call on the Barack Obama Administration and the 111th Congress to "cease and desist" what they consider to be usurpations of the state's right to "regulate and manage oil and natural gas exploration and production within their sovereign borders."

“I appreciate Chairman Carrillo and Commissioner Williams for their willingness to join me in this fight on behalf of the oldest and most respected energy regulatory agency in the United States and on behalf of the statutory authority of the Texas Legislature from which we derive our jurisdiction,” said Jones.

The resolution will be sent to Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Senate majority leader Harry Reid, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House minority leader John Boehner, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, and the governor of each state.

The resolution contains 11 "WHEREAS" clauses, including a reiteration of Texas HCR 50 from last session, brought by Rep. Brandon Creighton, which slams federal encroachment as offensive to states' rights under the Tenth Amendment.

Here's the "RESOLVED" section in full:

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs today said state sales tax revenue in July was $1.69 billion, up 2.2 percent compared to one year ago.

“Total monthly sales tax revenue has now exceeded year-ago levels for the last four months,” Combs said. “Sales tax collections in major sectors such as retail trade, the oil and natural gas industry and construction are up from a year ago. We are monitoring these sectors to see if collections are returning to consistent growth.”

Combs will send:
*$556.3 million in August sales tax allocations to local governments, up 2.3 percent compared to August 2009;
*sales tax payments of $375.5 million to Texas cities, up 2.2 percent compared to last August;
*sales tax payments of $33.7 million to Texas counties, 0.2 percent below last August;
*$23.5 million in sales tax revenue to 169 special purpose taxing districts, up 11.1 percent compared to August 2009; and
*$123.5 million to 10 local transit systems, up 1.6 percent compared to a year ago.

So far this calendar year, compared to this time last year:
*sales tax allocations to local governments are down 2.5 percent;
*city sales tax revenues trail by 2.2 percent; and
*county sales tax allocations are down 5.6 percent.

After hand-delivering a letter addressed to President Barack Obama calling for more troops on the Texas border, Gov. Rick Perry said that the situation on Texas' border will continue to grow "markedly more deadly" during an address to the Texas Public Policy Foundation today.

"Bottom line: an unsecure U.S.-Mexico border is a serious national security threat, menacing the safety and security of our citizens, and the federal government is obligated to secure that border," Perry said. "Unfortunately Washington has been an abject failure to date, in that they're leaving our border vulnerable to exploitation, and our citizens exposed to very grave danger."

Perry met with Obama in person for what the governor estimated to be a maximum of two minutes today as the president arrived in Texas to give a speech at the University of Texas at Austin.

"I sincerely hope he will take the time to read [the letter]," Perry told the audience, saying it was written in "all good faith."

"Smart meters" (reported on in this week's subscriber issue) are expected to help Texas meet its energy efficiency goals, the centerpiece of which is the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (or CREZ).

CREZ is a giant transmission project in which the Legislature recently invested $5 billion, overseen by the PUC which seeks to bring wind energy from West Texas to the state's population centers. Several of the CREZ projects have been approved, and construction is under way for nearly all priority projects, PUC spokesman Terry Hadley said.

Today Atty. Gen. Greg Abbott filed a legal challenge against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision to disapprove of Texas' flexible air permitting process, which leaders in Texas including Gov. Rick Perry have said is crucial to Texas' economic success and air quality improvement.

Abbott's petition for review can be viewed here.

The flex permitting program, which has been in place since 1994, allows emitters to allocate emissions on a facility-wide basis rather than by source point, allowing producers to raise emissions in one area of a facility and lower them in others, granting them more flexibility to meet the clean air standards. The EPA rejected the program on July 15, 2010 on the grounds that it did not fit well into the regulatory framework of the federal Clean Air Act.

The AG's office filed today's challenge against the EPA on behalf of TCEQ in "an effort to defend the state's legal rights and challenge improper overreach by the federal government," according to a release from the AG's office. EPA Spokesperson Joe Hubbard issued the following statement to LSR today in response to the AG's action:

In a Senate District 22 executive committee meeting called today in Waco by Republican Party of Texas Chairman Steve Munisteri, eight county Republican chairmen from the district unanimously nominated Sen. Brian Birdwell (R-Granbury) as the Republican candidate in the upcoming November election for the seat formerly held by Kip Averitt.

Last month, Birdwell won a runoff against former Sen. David Sibley to finish out Averitt's term.

From a Republican Party of Texas press release:

When is money in the budget not exactly money in the budget? When it's dedicated.

Some moneys that are included in the revenue estimate calculation for the state can only be spent for certain purposes, possibly adding another hurdle to Texas' upcoming budget challenge, based on discussions earlier today in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on General Government, chaired by Rep. John Otto (R-Dayton).

The subcommittee met to discuss general revenue-dedicated funds and the Constitutional Debt Limit.

There are currently 265 dedicated account balances which total just under $3.7 billion, Legislative Budget Board analyst Stewart Shallow told the committee. The largest is the System Benefit Fund at $671 million, and the Emissions Reduction Plan with $515 million.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst today announced he is changing around some committee chairmanships in the state Senate, effective immediately.

New chairmanships include:
*Troy Fraser (R-Horseshoe Bay) at Natural Resources;
*John Carona (R-Dallas) at Business and Commerce;
*Tommy Williams (R-The Woodlands) at Transportation and Homeland Security;
*Chris Harris (R-Arlington) at Jurisprudence;
*Bob Deuell (R-Greenville) at Nominations;
*Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio) at Select Committee on Veterans Health. ...

With relatively few fireworks (pardon the Fourth of July pun), the Sunset Advisory Commission adopted Sunset recommendations with a few modifications to the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, and the Texas Department of Insurance, among others.

During TDI deliberations, the panel voted down a proposed modification to move away from the current system of file and use for insurance carriers, towards a system of prior approval.

Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa (D-McAllen) recommended, as expected, to move away from the file-and-use system at TDI, under which insurance carriers are allowed to file their insurance rate increases with the department and then use them withou having to wait for approval. Hinojosa wanted to move away from that back to a prior approval system.

Specifically, ...

The Texas Supreme Court has issued a stay in the ongoing case in which the Democratic Party is attempting to prevent the Green Party from being placed on the ballot for the general election in Texas in November. The stay means that the Supreme Court is suspending the ruling of Travis County District Court Judge John Dietz while the Supreme Court investigates the matter.

The Green Party was able to file their statewide candidates with the Secretary of State as a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling. “If Bill White wants to debate … about corporate contributions in general, of which we understand the Democrats have taken millions in corporate money, we’ll be happy to talk about their ties to Microsoft and AT&T all day long,” Green Party attorney David Rogers told LSR.

“I think it’s obvious that the court has decided that this is a serious issue of law and needs to be carefully considered,” Rogers said.

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie issued the following statement in response to the ruling:

Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced final disapproval of the flexible permit program that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) had submitted for inclusion in its clean-air implementation plan.

The EPA has taken criticism from Texas regulators for not having taken action on this or other air permitting programs since they were first submitted to the EPA in the 1990s.

TCEQ Commissioners on June 16 approved changes to the Texas flexible air permit rules, in order to address EPA's concerns that the Texas program does not comply with federal Clean Air Act requirements. EPA's disapproval today does not apply to those changes, which will be opened up for public comment from July 2, 2010 through August 2, 2010.

Brian Birdwell has won the runoff against David Sibley in the special election race to round out the unexpired term of now-retired Sen. Kip Averitt (R-Waco).

Birdwell's victory comes despite being outraised and outspent by fellow-Republican Sibley. Turnout was down compared to the original runoff May 8, when 29,851 votes were cast. Tonight 24,351 votes were cast. Ellis County flipped to Birdwell tonight. He also carried Hood and Johnson counties. Sibley, not surprisingly, carried McLennan. Birdwell got 14,198 votes (57.87 percent), and Sibley 10,333 (42.12 percent).

Rep. Leo Berman (R-Tyler), a major figure among grassroots conservatives who cared enough about the Republican Party of Texas platform to attend its June 11 meeting, at 7:10 this morning filed the paperwork to challenge Joe Straus for Speaker in the next legislative session.

"I thought the election for speaker last session was a farce … a sham," Berman told LSR, recounting that eleven House Republicans, whom he characterized as "liberal to moderate," decided on Straus and then brought his name to the House Democrats. In order to persuade the Democrats to go along with Straus, the Republicans promised that no pro-life, anti-illegal immigration, or voter ID bills would come to the House floor, Berman said.

"Rep. Berman's facts are inaccurate," said Straus spokesperson Tracy Young, Straus' press secretary. "The Speaker has made no deals with anyone." ...

Tomorrow the special election runoff for Senate District 22 will be held to finally decide who will represent the district that includes McLennan, Johnson, and Ellis counties among others for the remainder of now-retired Sen. Kip Averitt's (R-Waco) unexpired term. David Sibley, former Senator for SD 22, and retired Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell, both Republicans, are vying for the seat.

Eight-day contribution and expenditure reports were filed last week for the race. Here is a quick look.